“Why are you in despair, O my soul,
and disturbed within me? Hope in God,
because I will again praise him, for the salvation of his presence.”—Psalm 42:5
Discouragement
is a powerful, destructive force that is something that we choose to feel. Nobody else can make us feel discouraged it is a choice that we
alone make when we face disappointments.
Disappointments and discouragement
is faced by most people, and it can reoccur.
You see, sometimes we think that we have settled an issue, but it later
comes up again because we have not dealt with the root problem and it is like
an old emotional wound being torn open.
Discouragement can
be temporary, as in King David’s case, or it can destroy our life. The choice is ours to make. If we refuse to deal with discouragement, we, then, are opening
the door for it to completely dominate our life. It is something that we can overcome with the
Lord’s help.
Psalm 61
is a picture of how King David dealt with discouragement. Most historians agree that this Psalm was
written during the time that King David was fleeing from his own son Absalom. He does not go into detail as to what he is
enduring. We can imagine the discouragement that he faced during
that period of his life. After years of separation and heartache David has been
put in a place where his life was in danger from his own son and has to flee
from his throne.
You may be in a place of discouragement
or know someone who is and we trust that this devotional will encourage you to
choose to deal with discouragement and
to persevere. Vincent van Gogh, a famous
Dutch painter, said, “In spite of everything I shall
rise again: I will take up my pencil, which I have forsaken in my great
discouragement, and I will go on with my drawing.”
The most important thing that I can say to you is not to quit
and give up there is hope. By following
David’s example we can see hope, strength and help in the difficult situations
of our lives.
David did three things:
1). He respected the Lord’s
position. 2). Rested in the Lord’s protection. 3).
Reflected on the Lord’s provision.
David says, “From the end of the earth I will
cry to You.” David feels that God is a million miles away. He says when my heart is overwhelmed. Here the word “overwhelmed” means to shroud, that is, clothed in darkness. David was in a difficult situation. He was
facing a time of loneliness and darkness in his life. But notice that he knew where to go. He took
his burdens to the Father. “Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto
thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. Although David was a very powerful man, a
king, he was humble enough to go to the Lord for help.
We learn from King David that we cannot overcome discouragement on our own. We must go
to THE ROCK! We must RESPECT THE LORD’S
POSITION!
In verse 3 and 4, David speaks of God as being a shelter and a strong tower from the enemy.
“For You have been a shelter for me, A strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings.” With all that David is confronted with, he can rest in the Lord’s protection. David uses the term “strong tower” to describe God. The strong towers were there to strengthen the city walls and serve as a lookout for enemy. We have the same protection and defense in our God today! HE IS OUR REFUGE!
When David said, “I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the shelter of Your winds,” one scholar said it like this, “David refers to himself as a everlasting guest in the tent of the Lord.” The word “wings” is most usually mentioned in connection with the protection of God. Just as a mother hen gathers her little ones under her wings to protect them God wraps His arms around us. There is no need to fear for God is our protector. “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15). To overcome discouragement, we rest in the Lord’s protection.
In David’s time of discouragement, he reflected on the Lord’s provision, by praising the Lord for His blessings on his life and the lives of the people of Israel. “For You, O God, have heard my vows; You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name. You will prolong the king’s life, His years as many generations. He shall abide before God forever. Oh, prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him!” Praising God in difficult times is not always easy but if we want to overcome discouragement it is a requirement. Most of the time, we fail to remember that God gave us life, our families, friends, health, and many other things in this life. Then on top of that He sent his only begotten Son to die for our sins. God did this so we could have eternal life. How do we thank Him for this? Well most of the time we wait until things get real bad and difficult and then blame Him for everything going wrong. If we are going to overcome discouragement we must reflect on the Lord’s Provision.
The key to overcoming discouragement is given in verse 8, “So I will sing praise to Your name forever, that I may daily perform my vows.” By daily choosing to Respect the Lord’s Position, Rest in the Lord’s Protection and Reflect on the Lord’s Provision, we can overcome discouragement.
Prayer—Father I thank
You that I by choosing to respect Your position and rest in Your protect and
reflect on Your provision for my life, I am choosing to live walk in faith and
be very courageous, in Jesus Name.
Amen,
