Discouragement & Disillusionment

Posted on March 27, 2018 by .....

Psalm 34:17-19 “The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.”

Discouragement can come in many forms and can come at you from many different directions, including some directions you never thought it could come from. The Devil loves to use this tool, I believe it to be one of his favorite weapons of choice. Discouragement can be caused by being disillusioned about something you never expected to be disillusioned about, or you always assumed it would not be, or you just plain never thought about it much even though you knew this particular source of discouragement could come, you preferred not to think about it.

Once we start to dwell on this source of discouragement we start to give the Devil a foothold into our mind and spirit. He will then seek to deepen this feeling of discouragement, he will seek to deepen the hurt that may have led to it, he will seek to make you think about it over and over again so it will lead you to deeper discouragement and even to despair.

We need to be on the lookout for this trap of his. We need to be on guard against this area of attack. Your present source of discouragement is only one mishap or event in your life of many more to come that will cause you some discouragement. Disappointment is part of life. It does not mean dealing with it is not difficult, it is, but it does mean you need to look at the big picture or life and not dwell on this one event and make it bigger than it really is.

When you get discouraged, look to the Lord, look to His Word, look to His many promises He has given us in His Word. Nowhere does the Bible promise us a perfect carefree, worry-free, discouragement free life, but is does promise that we will never have to face these situations alone, we will always have the Comforter living within us, if we are saved, and the Lord will always be there with us, walking through that disillusionment with us.

One of my favorite passages of Scripture for such a situation, and one I turn to over and over again as I go through life is Psalm 46:1-3 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.” Keep everything in perspective and trust the Lord to know what is best, trust Him to work out everything according to His will in the situation, trust His Word and use His Word to guide you through the difficult situation one step, and one moment at a time. Seek His face in prayer and poor out your hearts concerns to Him. He will provide you with true comfort and true hope for the next second, the next moment, the next day and the rest of your life.

Turn to the Lord with your disillusionment and discouragement and don’t let the Devil entrap you with these weapons of his. It is easy to fall into his trap of discouragement and depression, all of us are susceptible to this. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you notice you have fallen for these. A man after God’s own heart, David, also fell into these traps of Satan, but he eventually turned back to the Lord and that is what we need to do too. Trust the Lord with your disappointments, give them over to Him, rest in His comfort that only He can provide. (Hebrews 4:9-11 – There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.)

The Lord will see you through this trial, through this situation, He will see you through to the other side of this disillusionment. Just trust in Him, remember the answer to your prayers could come in unexpected ways, and from unexpected sources. Just be true to the Lord, He will help you to get past this moment and this situation in your life. (Isaiah 55:8-9 – For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.) Encourage yourself in the Lord, just as David did in a great trial of discouragement and heartache, and the Lord will help you and encourage you, just as He did David. (I Samuel 30:6 – And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.)