DISOURAGEMENT

   Discouragement- The feeling of desperation, demoralizing, disheartened, less hopeful- (Webster).

MAKES THE WAY HARD

   Numbers 13:30-33; 14:1-2 When they reached the Promised Land a negative report by a majority of their leaders turns the hearts of the people into great discouragement and rage against Moses.

   Numbers 21:4-5 After thirty nine years of wondering through the desert Israel finally readies themselves to cross into the Promised Land when the door is shut by Edom. Forced to go around Edom through the desert of Arabah they become discouraged and downhearted because the way was hard.

   Luke 10:38-42 Martha got herself all stressed out and discouraged while working very hard to prepare a meal for her Lord and friends making her service to Jesus count for nothing.

MAKES THE TASK HARD

   Nehemiah 4:10-12 When the people looked at how much work needed to be done and the things and enemies they were facing they became discouraged and thought they might as well give up.

   Nehemiah 5:1-5 Here we have a lesson in class warfare within the nation itself. When a group of people are oppressed and deprived of the very substance of making a living discouragement comes.

   Exodus 5:1-23 The bible is clear that sometimes while following the Word of God the immediate outcome will sometime lead to a rough road and God's people will get discouraged.

MAKES OUR FAITH WEAK

   Joshua 7:6-9 When great victory turns into greater defeat even great leaders can be turned into crying, whimpering, discouraged people, losing faith and trust in God.

   I Kings 19:1-4 Often after a great spiritual victory the Lord will allow Satan to launch a frontal attack that will sometimes shake us into a real basket case and the great faith we thought we had will crumble as we get all discouraged into thinking that God has left us all alone.

   Luke 22:54-62 The bible shows us that no matter how spiritual we think we are there can come a time when Satan can use fear and a cold heart in order to attack the very core of our faith in God and bring us to a state of regret and great discouragement.

ENCOURAGEMENT

   Encouragement- to be inspired with courage, to foster hope – (Webster).

   The middle ground between discouragement and encouragement is the way we handle disappointment. Disappointment – a failure to fulfill expectations- (Webster).

   Disappointment is inevitable; it is the fact that the world is not fair but realizing God always is.

   Discouragement is recognizing the world is not fair to us but leaving out the fact that God always is.

   Acts 14:22 Paul had made it clear to his sending church that trials and testing will be in our lives.

   II Timothy 4:16-18 There were many times in Paul's life that he was disappointed with others but he never got discouraged, he leaned on the One that called him into the work and trusted totally in Him.

   Acts 16:22-25 Certainly Paul and Silas were disappointed that their preaching was rejected and caused them to be treated badly but their attitude was not of discouragement but of victory in Christ.

   II Corinthians 4:8-9 If anyone had an option of being discouraged it had to be Paul but never was.