How to Defeat Discouragement

[How to Defeat Discouragement]( Current Teaching Series [Re-Thinking Your Life]( [Listen to Today's Broadcast]( [How to Defeat Discouragement]( By Rick Warren — 11/11/2020 [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email]( “It is God himself, in his mercy, who has given us this wonderful work of telling his Good News to others, and so we never give up.” 2 Corinthians 4:1 (TLB) Do you know that God loves you? Maybe you’ve heard that truth all your life! But if you know God loves you, do you sense and recognize God’s love? When you stop believing you are loved by God, you can start to get discouraged. Why? Because if you don’t believe God loves you, then you can’t experience his grace and mercy. The best way to defeat discouragement is to remember how much God loves you and to stay focused on that truth. “It is God himself, in his mercy, who has given us this wonderful work of telling his Good News to others, and so we never give up” (2 Corinthians 4:1 TLB). What is mercy? Mercy is when God gives you what you need, not what you deserve. Mercy is when God knows every mistake you’ve made and will ever make, and he still gives you every good thing in your life. God’s mercy is what keeps you going when you feel hopeless or worn down or discouraged. A lot of people who have been Christians for a long time don’t sense God’s love because they only think God speaks to them in a critical voice. But if the voice you’re listening to is always negative, it’s not God. God made you to love you. The number one purpose of your life is not for you to do good. The number one purpose of your life is not even for you to love God back. The number one purpose of your life is to let God love you. When you do that and experience his mercy and grace, you’ll be free to pursue all that he has planned for your life. [PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>]( Talk It Over - What circumstances most often affect how you think God views you? - Do you feel like God more often speaks to you in a negative voice or in love? Why? - How do you let God love you? What do you want to change about the way you think in that area? The post [How to Defeat Discouragement]( appeared first on [Pastor Rick's Daily Hope](. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email]( [Get The Purpose Driven Life when you give a gift to support Daily Hope]( This year’s been full of challenges and trials. And if you’re like most people, you’re just glad to be at the end of it!. But we want to help you move out of ‘survival mode’ and step into 2021 ready to live a life of greater significance and purpose by sending you a hardcover copy of Pastor Rick Warren’s classic book, The Purpose Driven Life. One of the best-selling nonfiction books in history, this 42-day spiritual journey makes the perfect Christmas gift for anyone searching for purpose—and will help you or someone you know answer three of life’s most important questions: • Why am I alive? • Does my life matter? • What on Earth am I here for? One reader shared, "Your book has taught me who Jesus really is and what my purpose in this world is. To say it was a game changer is an understatement!". [LEARN MORE]( [Complete Audio Series (Purchase)]( Includes 8 full-length messages from Pastor Rick's series Re-Thinking Your Life. [LEARN MORE]( [Series Summary]( Message 1: Why You Need to Think About What You Think About Message 2: Learning to Think Like JesusMessage 3: Choosing to Manage My Mind Message 4: Rethinking the Problem of Sin Message 5: How to Win Over Persistent Temptations Message 6: Defeating Discouragement Message 7: Changing How I Think About Pain Message 8: Recovering from Traumatic Experiences [PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST]( Pastor Rick Warren [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Linkedin]( Enjoy today's devotional? Listen to Pastor Rick’s daily audio teaching at [PastorRick.com]( Did someone forward this devotional to you? [Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional.]( As the founding pastor of Saddleback Church with his wife Kay, Dr. Rick Warren leads a 30,000-member congregation in California with campuses in major cities around the world. As an author, his book [The Purpose Driven Life]( is one of the best-selling nonfiction books in publishing history. It has been translated into 74 languages and sold more than 50 million copies in all formats. His book [The Purpose Driven Church]( was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the century. Rick also founded [The PEACE Plan]( to address five global issues—spiritual emptiness, self-serving leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy—through the power of ordinary people in the local church. You can listen to Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope, his daily 25-minute audio teaching, and sign up for his free daily devotionals at [PastorRick.com](. © 2020 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission. You can unsubscribe by clicking the link below. Sent to: {EMAIL} [Unsubscribe]( Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, 23182 Arroyo Vista, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688, United States