How to overcome Discouragement.

When you’re on the battlefield of discouragement, it is lonely, dark, and a little scary.

We were in our camper after a long, fast season of change. We had just been pushed out of our pastoral positions in the church we had been leading, the church we loved, from people who were our friends. As things unraveled, we put our house on the market and it sold unbelievably fast. I really was counting on it taking a few months for it to sell, this way our kids could have that time with their friends, and feel like something was a little normal in their lives. But that didn’t happen. Our house was sold within a couple of hours of it being listed… actually, I don’t even think the listing was live yet, and we had multiple contracts on it. It was SOLD. I was TICKED! And so freaking lost. 

SEASON OF UNCERTAINTY

In the blink of an eye, and with no warning a season of uncertainty came in like a mighty wind. So, we grabbed a camper and decided to have a summer full of “fun and adventure.” It seemed like the right thing to do for all of our hearts.  We wrapped up moving out of our sweet home, moved into our “new-to-us” camper, and headed down the road. As most people would be, we were all stressed and really, really sad.

I remember while being at our second camping location, I laid in our small camper bedroom, staring at the ceiling. I had this feeling of heaviness all over my body. It was as if I was laying under a wet, weighted blanket and I couldn’t move. I found the simple task of breathing to be difficult. Nothing was coming easy… literally, nothing.

I layed there searching for what the Lord might be speaking to me, but all I heard and felt was like that old-school television static. All I could hear was that annoying white noise. I was surrounded by a lot of people and 2 dogs in a tiny space, but felt very much alone and forgotten. I couldn’t move. The hardest part of this whole scenario was that I couldn’t figure out what was actually happening to me. As a mom and a wife, I had to be able to function to help carry us forward. It’s my job. But, instead, I was the one in a place of desperately needing help.

So I prayed… And I prayed… And I prayed. I asked the Lord to turn off the static and meet me in my tiny camper room, to help me out from beneath the blanket I was suffocating under.

PEACE CAN NOW COME IN

Slowly I began to feel the static quiet. Peace began to fill my heart and mind. The confusion began to dissolve. I could now see more clearly that I was drowning under the weight of discouragement. I began to realize I was broken.

Up to this point, I hadn’t had the time to actually feel all the feelings that come with such a massive transition. But now in my camper, with nothing to actually do, I felt everything… all at once.

Right there, in my tiny camper room, I entered into a year-long battle with the enemy, the battle of discouragement. And this particular battlefield is lonely, dark, and a little scary.

I’ve come to understand that the enemy wants to get God’s people into a place of discouragement. Because once you’re discouraged about one thing, you can become discouraged about everything. Have you experienced that before, too? And when you’re discouraged about everything in your life, you can get stuck, unable to move; unable to move ahead toward what God has next for you, beyond the discouragement. And THAT is exactly what the enemy wants; God’s people stuck, not moving forward, not accomplishing their God-given destinies, not impacting the world for God’s Kingdom. We see it over and over in the Bible…

Jonah got discouraged, angry, and stuck. He asked God to just take his life.

When Sarai got discouraged and stuck over being childless, she ended up sending her husband to another woman.

The Israelites were discouraged, stuck in their slavery, and refused to listen to Moses and The Lord.  They felt hopeless. 

And maybe, just maybe that’s you too. Alone, stuck, hopeless, feeling like you’re suffocating under a wet, weighted blanket.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO STAY DISCOURAGED

If that’s you sister, there is good news… you don’t have to stay there. I KNOW. I’VE BEEN THERE. I’m on the other side now, and you will be too. It will be a long fight, you’ll battle all day, every day, but with the help of the Overcomer Himself, you will overcome. You will come out victorious on the battlefield. And you will be able to move again.

WHAT IT TAKES TO NOT FEEL THE WEIGHT OF DISCOURAGEMENT

Recognize that you’re in a battle. 

Invite God in to move like only He can. 

Get into the Word often. 

Repeat as often as the day requires. 🙂

It’s simple but powerful. Because of Jesus, overwhelming victory is ours. You can and will have overwhelming victory, sis!

And if you need more about joy, check out this post!