Defeating Discouragement With Fear

(1) Defeating Discouragement With Fear

2009-09-01T13:05:00.000-07:00

(Note: This is the first post in a series on defeating discouragement through fear)

Discouragement is like a nuclear weapon – it starts from something very small, but, left unrestrained, it has the power to bring a nation to ruin.

Discouragement is the absence of courage, hope, and confidence that results in a loss of enthusiasm and motivation to keep going. We can become discouraged with ourselves or others and due to opposition and obstacles in life. Surface causes of discouragement are fear, failure, fatigue, and frustration. Root causes of discouragement are a lack of fear, lack of faith, or a loss of focus.

Now who would think that a lack of fear would ever be called a cause of discouragement? Well, God would. This is exactly what we find when we look at scripture.

In the fear of the LORD one has strong confidence,

and it will be a refuge for his children.

(Proverbs 14:26 NET)

The Hebrew word translated “confidence” in this proverb speaks of hope, stability, trust, feeling safe, or, being confident. So, what this verse is telling us is that in the fear of the Lord, one has hope, stability, trust, security. To put it another way, when we have a healthy fear of the Lord, we will also have strong confidence, stability, hope for the future and courage to move forward and not give up. There will be a positive outlook and expectations for life and the future. In short, fear of the Lord brings victory over discouragement.

The fear of the Lord brings strong confidence, but how and why? Consider the words of Charles Spurgeon.

Why; because they that fear God know God to be infinitely loving to them, to be immutable and unchangeable, to be unsearchably wise, and omnipotently strong on their behalf. How can they help having confidence in such a God? They know next, that a full atonement has been made for their sins. Jesus has borne the wrath of God for them. How can they help being confident? They know that this same Jesus has risen from the dead and lives to plead for them, and in their ears they can hear the almighty plea of Jesus ever speaking in their favor. How can they help having confidence? They believe that this same Jesus is head over all things to his church, and ruler of providence. How can they help being confident in him? To him all power is given in heaven and in earth. They believe that everything is working together for their good. How can they help being confident, I say again? – Charles Spurgeon

(2) What does it mean to Fear the Lord?

2009-09-01T13:04:00.000-07:00

(Note: This is part of a series on defeating discouragement through fear)

To understand how fear of the Lord will bring victory over discouragement, we need to understand what the fear of the Lord is. Let me suggest five important components found in the fear of the Lord. As you read them, think carefully about how these would bring victory over discouragement if they were prevalent in your life.

First, the fear of the Lord is a profound respect and awe for God. For the believer, this “fear” is not terror. It is linked in scripture with love, protection and other fatherly acts of God (See Psalm 25:14; 31:19; 33:18; 34:7; 103:11,17,13;145:19). Because we are the children of a tender, compassionate and righteous Father, and because we are forgiven in Christ, this is not a fear of wrath and judgement. Instead, it is a deep respect and awe for His glory and authority.

Second, the fear of the Lord is grounded in a high view of God’s greatness and glory. I am not going to have a deep respect and awe of God’s glory if I don’t recognize it. The greater my view of God and His glory, the greater will be my respect and reverence for God. So, if I am going to fear the Lord, I need to know the Lord.

Third the fear of the Lord will include a deep desire to honor God and a fear of dishonoring God. If I have a high view of God’s glory, I will want to honor Him and I will hate the idea of dishonoring God in the way I think, feel, or act. In fact, I will think it horrific and hate the thought of dishonoring God’s glory by the way I think, feel, or act. My thoughts will be, “I can’t let this happen . . . I will not dishonor the glory of my Father before others.”

Fourth, the fear of the Lord will include a desire to please and obey God. Deep reverence for God and a determination to honor Him in my life will motivate me to want to please and obey Him. When I have a deep respect for anyone, I want to please them.

We have all seen this in our lives and in fact have been controlled in our actions because we wanted to please a family member or friend. This inevitably leads us to sin. But when we fear the Lord and desire to honor His glory, we will be driven to do what pleases Him. This will lead to righteousness.

Fifth, the fear of the Lord will include a desire to live according to God’s will and word. This naturally follows a desire to honor, please, and obey God. I will want to learn and live out God’s will for my life by following the principles of God’s Word.

I remember back in high school, I had a teacher every student had a healthy fear of. It wasn’t because he was a harsh disciplinarian. We respected him. He was respected due to his age, his accomplishments, his character, and his faithfulness to teaching. He cared about us and our being the best we could be. And he didn’t take any foolishness. We respected him and had a desire to do our best to honor him. We wanted to please him. If we broke his heart by our failures or unfaithfulness, it broke our hearts as well. This is what it looks like to fear the Lord.

When we have a high view of God’s greatness and glory and a deep respect and awe of God, we will desire to honor God and dread dishonoring God. We will live to please Him and obey Him, we will seek to live according to God’s will and by His Word. And so, when we face discouragement, we will choose to act in accordance with this fear of God, rather than by how we think or feel.

With the fear of the Lord, I will think & act based on His character, Word, & ways. With the fear of the Lord, I will see things differently, feel differently, and act differently because my life will be ordered around reverence for God, His ways, His honor, and His praise. I will respond differently to discouragement. I will fight it with vigor. I will be determined that I will not let discouragement lead me to dishonor God in the way I think, feel or act.

Do you fear the Lord and fear dishonoring Him and His glory by your discouragement? Make no mistake about it, discouragement does dishonor God.

(3) How Discouragement Dishonors God

2009-09-01T13:03:00.000-07:00

(Note: This is part of a series on defeating discouragement through fear)

When we have a deep appreciation and reverence for the goodness and greatness of God (“fear of the Lord”) we will be confident in the toughest of life’s challenges. But what happens if we waver. What happens if we loose sight of the goodness and greatness of God? Well, we will become discouraged when we face challenges. And, we will dishonor God. How? John Piper explains:

Part of the answer is that the "fear of the Lord" means fearing to dishonor the Lord. Which means fearing to distrust the Lord. Which means fearing to fear anything that the Lord has promised to help you overcome. In other words the fear of the Lord is the great fear destroyer.

If the Lord says, "Fear not, I am with you, be not dismayed, I will help you," (Isaiah 41:10), then it is a fearful thing to worry about the problem he says he will help you with. Fearing that problem when he says, "Fear not, I will help you, is a vote of no confidence against God's word, and that is a great dishonor to God. And the fear of the Lord trembles at such dishonoring God.

When we don’t have a healthy fear of the Lord we will dishonor Him by unbelief and discouragement. But it doesn’t end there. Discouragement is not just a personal feeling. It has a great impact on others. Notice that this proverb teaches us that the person who has a proper fear of the Lord will have “strong confidence.” But now, read on. Notice that this strong confidence that grows out of a fear of the Lord will “be a refuge for his children.”

If you have children, don’t you want them to be confident, free from fear and worry? Don’t you want them to feel like they have a mom and dad that are strong and stable and not shaken? Of course you do.

How is this kind of home environment produced? By your having a strong sense of reverence for God and passion to honor Him which leads you to victory over discouragement.

Think with me about this proverb in the reverse. I would put it this way: "Without the fear of the Lord, one will be fearful, worried, stressed, and easily discouraged. This will make for a home where his children will be fearful, worried, easily discouraged, quick to give up and emotionally unstable."

So, yes, the Proverb is true and a great help to us. Fear God, dads. Fear God. Fear dishonoring him. Fear distrusting him. Fear putting your assessment of the problem above his. He says he can help. He is smarter. He is stronger. He is more generous. Trust him. Fear not to trust him.

Then your children will have a refuge. They will have a Daddy who "has strong confidence" - not in himself, but in the promises of God, which he trembles not to trust. (John Piper)

Discouragement creates an atmosphere of instability, fear and demotivation for our children, influencing them to loose heart in obeying and serving God when they face challenges. We must win the battle over discouragement because the honor of God before our children is at stake . . . . . their discouragement is at stake . . . . their honoring of God is at stake!

(4) Discouragement: It’s Contageous!

2009-09-01T13:02:00.000-07:00

(Note: This is part of a series on defeating discouragement through fear)

You’ve experienced it. You get into a conversation with someone who is negative and discouraged and you walk away feeling a bit down and . . . discouraged. Discouragement breeds discouragement. It is dangerously and highly contagious. Discouragement dishonors the greatness and glory of God and, because it is contagious, it leads others to disobedience and dishonoring God. Consider this account of this truth in the history of Israel and God’s strong reaction.

The tribes of Reuben and Gad owned vast numbers of livestock. So when they saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were ideally suited for their flocks and herds, they came to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the other leaders of the community. They said, "Notice the towns of Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sibmah, Nebo, and Beon. The LORD has conquered this whole area for the community of Israel, and it is ideally suited for all our livestock. If we have found favor with you, please let us have this land as our property instead of giving us land across the Jordan River."

"Do you intend to stay here while your brothers go across and do all the fighting?" Moses asked the men of Gad and Reuben. "Why do you want to discourage the rest of the people of Israel from going across to the land the LORD has given them? Your ancestors did the same thing when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to explore the land. After they went up to the valley of Eshcol and explored the land, they discouraged the people of Israel from entering the land the LORD was giving them. Then the LORD was very angry with them, and he vowed, Of all those I rescued from Egypt, no one who is twenty years old or older will ever see the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for they have not obeyed me wholeheartedly. (Numbers 32:1-11 NLT)

Did you see that? God was very angry with those who discouraged others. Now perhaps, we can understand this when it comes to the ten spies who discouraged the people from entering the promised land when Israel was delivered from Egypt. After all, they had seen the giants in the land. They were discouraged themselves. They were scared. They had every rational reason for thinking Israel didn’t have a chance of victory. But they were wrong. Their rational thinking didn’t account for the greatness of God, the promises of God, or the command of God. They were discouraged. They discouraged the people. And God got angry . . . very angry!

But then realize that Moses tells this story to rebuke the tribes of Gad and Reuben for wanting to stay on the east side of the Jordan. He rebukes them and tells this story because he realized that the other ten tribes would be discouraged from going into the land.

And we might think, But come on Moses, why are you being so harsh? They only want to stay there because it’s good land for their flocks. Who can blame them for that? Moses . . . because this would discourage others. That’s how seriously God takes discouragement.

We must defeat discouragement because it is dangerously contagious. When we give in to discouragement, we will dishonor God before others, influence them toward discouragement and disobedience.

Next: (9) Questions I Need to Ask When I am Discouraged

(5) Questions I Need to Ask When I am Discouraged

2009-09-01T13:01:00.000-07:00

(Note: This is part of a series on defeating discouragement through fear)

Let me conclude this discussion of defeating discouragement with fear by suggesting a few questions to ask ourselves when be are tempted to become discouraged.

What am I believing or not believing about God right now?
What am I saying about God by my thoughts and discouragement?
What am I saying about God’s words and promises?
What am I saying about the circumstances under which one should quit and give up in serving God and doing what is right?
How will my discouragement impact others?

Don’t just brush over these questions. Think about them prayerfully. Be honest. Your thoughts, attitudes, and actions communicate something. They communicate what you really believe. And, when you are discouraged, you are believing the wrong thing about God and about His promises. And, don’t let yourself think for one minute that your discouragement won’t hurt anyone but yourself. Remember, discouragement is a lack of courage, motivation, and desire to keep going. When you are discouraged, you will not serve others whole-heartedly. You will not have a passion for God and His glory. You will settle for mediocrity. Your discouragement will bring others down. It never just effects you.

Conclusion

We must not give up in doing what God wants us to do because we have a reverence for Him, honoring Him, obeying Him. We must move forward with hope and enthusiasm because this is what God deserves and our reverence for Him compels us to give Him what He rightly deserves.

We are compelled to serve Him with enthusiasm in spite of failure, fatigue, fear or frustration because the honor of His name and the display of His glory before others is at stake. We dare not give up, we dare not let discouragement overwhelm us because we influence people around us and we want to influence them to honor God's glory, not dishonor Him. We want to influence them to have hope, not despair.

Prayer for Victory Through Fear

I encourage you to use the following prayer as a guide to help you get victory over discouragement through a healthy fear of the Lord.

Because discouragement is often linked to the past:

God, I don’t want to dishonor you by looking at the past as an accident that had no purpose, meaning or value in your plan for my life. I will believe your Word that you orchestrated these things for my good and your glory.

Because discouragement involves our view of the present:

I don’t want to dishonor you by viewing my present circumstances as something to be avoided or run from rather than opportunities you have placed in my life to demonstrate your character and glory in how I respond.

Because discouragement looks at the future:

I don’t want to dishonor you by having a negative, hopeless view of the future, rather than trusting in your promises and plan for my good and your glory in the future.

Teach me to fear you so that when I face discouragement and desire to give up, I will fear dishonoring your name, forsaking what you have given me to do for your glory, and leading others to discouragement and defeat.

Next: (10) The Role of Faith in Defeating Discouragement