Have you ever felt discouraged? So discouraged that you felt like you couldn’t go on? Discouragement happens when we experience one disappointment after another, and we begin to lose our hope.

Everyone feels discouraged at one time or another. The hope for a Christian, however, is that we don’t have to stay that way. We can look to Jesus to find renewed encouragement. We can rely on God’s truths to find courage and hope. We can overcome.

In today’s post, learn how King David learned to encourage himself by remembering that God is always in charge.

"Overcoming Discouragement" by Dr. Charles Stanley

Pray
God, I am weighed down with discouragement. Help me to let it go. Show me how to encourage myself. Empower me to choose to change.

Reflect
What can I do to start encouraging myself?

Respond
Spend some time reading the Psalms. Notice how many of them begin with discouragement but end in praise. Fashion a psalm about your situation to help you end it in praise and find your encouragement.

Discouragement is an emotion that will come and go, but if you remember that God is in charge, and if you focus on His truth with prayer and Scripture, then you will learn how to break free from it. Discouragement and anger are not the only emotions that can get out of control. Fear, nervousness, worry, bitterness, scorn, shame, irritation, apathy, confusion and frustration are other emotions that can have a negative effect on your personality. What can you do when you are overcome by these emotions, and they spill out of you—for all of your friends, neighbors, and family members to see? In the next post, discover six steps you can take to regain control.