Gwen From Wichita, Kansas ----- Original Message ----- From: "TruthMedia Mens Devotional" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Gwen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, November 06, 2008 6:40 AM Subject: Mens Email Devotional - Thursday November 06, 2008
: : : HOW TO OVERCOME DISCOURAGEMENT : : : ** Overcome discouragement by living with contentment. Learn how in our free interactive online Bible study, "Living with Contentment (http://mag.thelife.com/study/strugglecontent.html?section=struggle_contentment)" : : : : Then the people of Judah said, "The work crews are worn out, and there is too much rubble. We can't continue to rebuild the wall." Nehemiah 4:10 (GWT) : : Discouragement is curable. Whenever I get discouraged, I head straight to Nehemiah. This great leader of ancient Israel understood there were four reasons for discouragement. : : First, you get fatigued. You simply get tired as the laborers did in Nehemiah 4:10. We're human beings and we wear out. You cannot burn the candle at both ends. So if you're discouraged, it may be you don't have to change anything. You just need a vacation! Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is go to bed. : : Second, you get frustrated. Nehemiah says there was rubble all around, so much that it was getting in the way of rebuilding the wall. Do you have rubble in your life? Have you noticed that anytime you start doing something new, the trash starts piling up? : : If you don't clean it out periodically, it's going to stop your progress. You can't avoid it, so you need to learn to recognize it and dispose of it quickly so you don't lose focus on your original intention. : : What is the rubble in your life? I think rubble is the trivial things that waste your time and energy and prevent you from accomplishing what God has called you to do. : : Third, you think you've failed. Nehemiah's people were unable to finish their task as quickly as originally planned and, as a result, their confidence collapsed. They were thinking, "We were stupid to think we could ever rebuild this wall." : : But you know what I do when I don't reach a goal on time? I just set a new goal. I don't give up. Everybody fails. Everybody does dumb things. So the issue is not that you failed -- it's how you respond to your failure. : : Do you give in to self-pity? Do you start blaming other people? Do you start complaining that it's impossible? Or, do you refocus on God's intentions and start moving again? : : Finally, when you give in to fear, you get discouraged. Nehemiah 4 suggests the people most affected by fear are those who hang around negative people. If you're going to control the negative thoughts in your life, you've got to get away from negative people as much as you can. : : Maybe you're discouraged because of fear. You're dealing with fears like, "I can't handle this. It's too much responsibility." Maybe it's the fear that you don't deserve it. It's the fear of criticism. Fear will destroy your life if you let it. But you can choose to resist the discouragement. Say, "God help me get my eyes off the problem -- off the circumstance -- and keep my eyes on you." : : Question: What has been discouraging you lately, and how do you see Jesus responding to similar discouragements He faced during His time on Earth? : : About this Author: Rick Warren (http://thelife.com/experience/devotionalformen/authors/rick-warren/) : : : Comment on the devotional blog. Interact with others who are reading today's devotional. Visit http://thelife.com/blogs/experience/devotionalformen/2008/11/06/how-to-overcome-discouragement/#comments : : Copyright : This devotional is protected by copyright laws and may not be reprinted or posted to a site without permission from TruthMedia Internet Group. All readers are welcome to forward the devotional to a friend or link to it. If you would like to seek permission to reprint the devotional in full, please see our guidelines: http://tmdevotionals.com/men/reprint-permission/ : : : : ----------End of Newsletter Text---------- : You are currently subscribed to the TruthMedia Daily Men's Devotional as [EMAIL PROTECTED] : To unsubscribe send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://www.tmdevotionals.com/unsubscribe and fill in the required information. : : Feel free to forward this devotional to a friend. If you received it from a friend and would like to subscribe, visit http://www.tmdevotionals.com/subscribe and fill in the required information. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com Version: 8.0.175 / Virus Database: 270.9.0/1770 - Release Date: 11/5/2008 5:36 PM --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Deaf-Blind Inspirational Life Group" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/DBILG?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
