[Three Ways to Overcome Discouragement]( Current Teaching Series [Building a Better Future]( [Listen to Today's Broadcast]( [Three Ways to Overcome Discouragement](
By Rick Warren â 11/26/2022 [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email](mailto:?subject=I'd like to share a Daily Devotional from Pastor Rick with you&body= âDonât be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious.â Nehemiah 4:14 (NLT) How do you defeat discouragement in your life? By following Nehemiahâs example. In Nehemiah 4, youâll find three things you can do to resist discouragement. Reinforce weak areas. Make an honest assessment of where you are most spiritually vulnerable. Are you most vulnerable to anger, lust, pride, or something else? What are your weak areas? When Nehemiah heard that his enemies wanted to attack the Jews who were helping to rebuild the wall in Jerusalem, he âstationed people behind the lowest sections of the wall, at the vulnerable areas. [He] stationed them by families with their swords, spears, and bowsâ (Nehemiah 4:13 CSB). Nehemiah did his homework. He knew where the cityâs most vulnerable spots were, and he developed a plan. Maybe an area in your life needs some reinforcement. To resist discouragement, youâll need to reorganize and reorder a few things. Are you in debt? Reorganize your budget. Are you out of shape? Reorder your lifestyle. Donât give up in your weak areas. Instead, reinforce them. Refocus on God. You can overcome discouragement when you stop focusing on what you don’t want to happen and start focusing on Godâs promises. Sometimes you are as discouraged as you want to be or as happy as you want to be. Nobody is forcing you to be discouraged. When Nehemiah became aware of the peopleâs anxiety, he stood up and said, âDonât be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and gloriousâ (Nehemiah 4:14 NLT). He reminded them of Godâs goodness and power. Donât replay discouraging images in your mind. Instead, choose to think about God. Jonah 2:7 says, âWhen I had lost all hope, I turned my thoughts once more to the Lordâ (TLB). Fight back. Did you know you are engaged in a spiritual battle? The Bible says, âThe devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist himâ (1 Peter 5:8-9 ESV). You canât resist the enemy with passivity. You have to fight for what you know God wants you to do with your life. Nehemiah 4:14 continues, âFight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!â (NLT) And do you know what happened next? âWhen our enemies heard that we knew of their plans and that God had frustrated them, we all returned to our work on the wallâ (Nehemiah 4:15 NLT). God strengthened them to continue the work. When you reinforce weak areas, refocus on God, and learn to fight back, youâll be better equipped to resist discouragement. [PLAY todayâs audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>]( Talk It Over - Where do you feel the most vulnerable today? Whatâs the first step you can take to reinforce that area in your life?
- What things do you focus on that often lead to discouragement? What attribute of God can you focus on instead?
- How does knowing you have an enemy out there âseeking someone to devourâ motivate you to make every effort to resist discouragement? The post [Three Ways to Overcome Discouragement]( appeared first on [Pastor Rick's Daily Hope](. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email](mailto:?subject=I'd like to share a Daily Devotional from Pastor Rick with you&body= [Get The Power of Gratitude Bible Study when you give a gift to support Daily Hope!]( If youâve ever noticed that the more grateful someone is, the happier they are, itâs not a coincidence. Experts have discovered that gratitude reduces stress and leads to greater life satisfaction and overall happiness. It makes you healthier than any other emotion! The Bible agreesâand God has a lot to say about developing an attitude of gratitude in your life. Thatâs why Pastor Rick developed a brand-new Bible study called The Power of Gratitude. Through this innovative new study, youâll discover how to defeat discouragement, conquer complaining, stay in Godâs will, and experience his blessingsâas you develop a lifelong habit of expressing your gratitude to God. [LEARN MORE]( [Complete Audio Series (Purchase)]( Includes 6 full-length messages from Pastor Rick's series Building a Better Future. [LEARN MORE]( [Series Summary]( Message 1: Making a Plan to Improve Your Life
Message 2: Enlisting Support for Your Dream
Message 3: Getting People to Work Together
Message 4: How to Handle Insults and Ridicule
Message 5: When You Feel Like Giving Up
Message 6: How to Earn the Respect of Others [PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST]( Pastor Rick Warren [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Linkedin]( Enjoy today's devotional? Listen to Pastor Rickâs 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 issuesâspiritual emptiness, self-serving leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracyâthrough the power of ordinary people in the local church. You can listen to Pastor Rickâs Daily Hope, his daily 25-minute audio teaching, and sign up for his free daily devotionals at [PastorRick.com](. © 2022 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission. You can unsubscribe by clicking the link below.
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