Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
Psalm 43 verse 5 says, "Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God and I will praise Him again, my Savior and my God." And I remember a time when I was experiencing rejection after rejection. Apply for a job—rejected, then relational rejection. And then my health started acting up. It was just like, "Lord, what in the world is going on? Doors are closing in on me."
And when I read this Psalm, I was reminded of what to do when we feel discouraged. This is what David does. He says, Psalm 43, verse 5, "Why am I discouraged?" First thing he does is he talks to himself. "Why am I discouraged?" Sometimes we try to look for encouragement from other people and we just can't find it. And we have to encourage ourselves.
Pay Attention to Your Internal Dialog
And I want to remind us, pay attention to your internal dialog. Like what are you saying to yourself when you're discouraged? Are you preaching truth to yourself? You know, when I'm discouraged, I try to remind myself of the promises of God that, for example, Isaiah 43:2 that when I go through deep waters, God is with me. When I feel like the enemy's attacking my identity, I remind myself that I am a chosen people. I am a prized possession. 1 Peter 2:9. So I'm paying attention to the internal dialog and what I'm telling myself.
But notice the psalmist says, "I will put my hope in God." So the answer is not to look around. You know, when we're discouraged, it's easier to look around and say, "Well, why is God blessing that person? I mean, look at my life. God is closing doors on me," and we start to compare ourselves. "How could God do that and not do that to me?" The answer is never a comparison because that will rob us of our joy.
Look Up, Not Around or Within
The answer is also not to look within. Some people look within for happiness and for joy. But if you start to look within, you're going to recognize there's a lot of stuff that's wrong with you, a lot of stuff that's wrong with me. So the answer is not to look around. It's not to look within. But notice, he says, "I will put my hope in God." In God. So the call is to look up. It's not to look within. It's not to look around—it's to look to the Lord. Because our help comes from the Lord.
Apply What You Know
And another thing that I learned when I'm discouraged is to go back to what I've learned. There's so many lessons that I've learned, you know, sermons that I've listened to. But I think we live in a time where we have so much information, yet we have so little application. See, we know so much. It's time to apply what we know. In fact, I think we know too much to stay stuck. I remember telling myself, "Wow, you know way too much to stay stuck. Apply what you know."
One of my favorite things to do is to journal. And when I journal, I write the things that God has done in my life. And sometimes it's so important just to remember the faithfulness of God when you're discouraged. So my encouragement to each and every listener is put your hope in God. Put your hope in the Lord.
