“Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God for I shall yet praise Him.
The help of my countenance and my God.”—Psalm 42:11
Discouragement can rob peace, joy,
and contentment. I have known people who
appeared to be in an impossible situation.
Some time later, however, they were in a much better place, either in
terms of their circumstances or their emotions.
The reason? They never gave
up. Instead of sulking in self-pity,
they chose to believe God, step out in faith, and climb out of the emotional
pit.
Nehemiah is a good example. He had every reason to feel defeated, because
his people were in trouble. After
receiving news that the city wall had been destroyed, this man of God
acknowledged profound disappointment and grieved. Though pain flooded his soul, he did not
allow himself to stay in that low place.
Instead, Nehemiah cried out to God seeking direction.
Sadness in the presence of royalty
was a punishable death. But the Lord
answered Nehemiah’s prayer with amazing power, prompting the king to notice his
servant’s sad countenance and then to ask what he could do to help. This miracle led to the rebuilding of the wall
and the redemption of God’s people.
“And
it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxexes,
when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I
had never been sad in his presence before. Therefore the kings said to me, ‘Why
is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart.’
So I became dreadfully afraid, and said to the king, ‘May the king live
forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’
tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?’ Then the king said to
me, ‘What do you request?’ So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the
king, ‘If it pleases the king, and if you servant has found favor in your
sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that
I may rebuild it.’ Then the king said to me (the queen also sitting beside
him). ‘How long will your journey be? And when will you return?’ So it pleased
the king to send me; and I set him a time. Furthermore I said to the king, ‘If
it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of the region
beyond the River that they must permit me to pass through till I come to Judah,
and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he must give me
timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel which pertains to the temple,
for the city wall, and for the house that I will occupy.’ And the king granted
them to me according to the good hand of my God upon me” (Nehemiah 2:1-8).
The Lord can take impossible
situation—no matter what it is—and move in ways mightier than you can imagine.
Do you live in eager expectation of
what the Lord will do? Or have you
chosen to linger in the depths of despair?
Like Nehemiah, turn your disappointment into a petition for God’s help. He can restore
your hope and prevent negative emotions from gaining a stranglehold on your
life.
