Team GotQuestions Blog

a Blog for Sharing Stories, Tips & Encouragement

Discouragement and Encouragement – Building Each other Up

December 26th, 2014

Living in the tension between joy and happiness. Blessed in family and life, but crushed and discouraged by the weight of a ministry calling that seems almost pointless right now. If God really wants me to fight a forest fire with a squirt gun, I’m game. But feeling called to defend the truth of the Gospel to a world that’s veering so quickly towards hate, irrationality, and ignorance of that Gospel has me burnt to a crisp. Prayerfully looking at how to balance the need to breathe with a command to keep diving into this ocean of abuse. Secure in my future (joy), but fighting the urge to tell the unbelieving world to go pound salt. Not something I express anywhere but here, and only because I know others have felt the same.

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  • Timothy Craig Munger Truth has become a casualtyin our generation.All we can do is hold it out, and allow God to use our effort, and that He’d make that squirt gun of truth, a waterfall of truth.
    December 25 at 6:20pm · Like · 7
  • Tim White When my son was the school photographer in his high school, I often served as his assistant (and mentor). At the track meets, we could get very good pictures at the final turn, especially for the longer runs. We were there to do more than snap a shot that showed the anticipation of the approaching finish, the pain of present struggle, and the effects of a grueling course. We would also shout out encouragement to the weary competitors.

    My encouragement was usually, “Lean into the run! It’s almost over! Push for the finish!”

    Many would hear those words and lean into their running, lengthen their steps and increase their pace. A few, the defiant ones, would glare at us. Some even ran straighter up (not leaning into the run), just to show us our encouragement wasn’t effective.

    Dear brother, this race is really a short one, though it is very tough. Time for labor of the Kingdom is almost up, and the end is around this last bend.

    I encourage you to lean into this frustrating, painful, seemingly futile race. The vapor of your life will be ended soon enough. It is important that we fight a good fight the little while we are here. It is just as important that we finish the course set before us. Finish strong.

    One last poor analogy. As a child, sometimes I had nightmares. If something could go wrong, it would in my dreams. Those I typically counted upon were not there. When things seemed the worst, I would sense someone raising me up in an embrace. As the cob webs cleared from my head, I realized that my mom had sensed my distressed dream and was gently holding me close to her heart. To realize that all was well, I would have to awake. As alertness spread through my mind, the feelings of fear and futility quickly faded.

    That is what our death/rapture will be like. As the fog clears, we will realize that God was with us all the time. We were never in danger and alone. The clarity of eternity and glory will reveal to us that even the weak, small efforts we attempted against what seemed like a monstrous evil were used by a sovereign, powerful God. We were always in His big, strong, loving arms.
    December 25 at 6:24pm · Edited · Unlike · 7
  • Elizabeth DeVore Strangely enough, the people who are listening hardest are often the ones who don’t let on they heard.
    December 25 at 6:24pm · Like · 8
  • Gina Cook All I can really respond with or add is ” I hear ya”.
    December 25 at 6:34pm · Like · 7
  • Corpuz Valdemor Avellaneda Ramil we are on the same boat… keep fighting for the faith.
    December 25 at 7:20pm · Like · 5
  • Stuart Mattfield Jeff…I don’t know if it helps, but here are some things that help me (in no particular order)…1) The gospel is frequently compared to seed, but God is always the one who is referred to as the reaper of the harvest, 2) Paul, arguably the one who went to the greatest lengths to share the Gospel, ended up martyred for the faith…in fact, only John is acknowledge in church history of dying of a natural death (if dying in exhile can be considered “natural”), 3) After a couple centuries of persecution, seeminly out of nowhere, the church went from being hunted to the declared religion of the Roman empire…and then spread throughout the world, 4) at the risk of being accused of doing my best Jack van Impe impersonation (and I’m really not declaring signs here…), Scripture promises that it will get worse in the end. Hearts are being hardened…people are being given over to their own lustful depravities, they are exchanging the truth for the corruptible… All that being said, prayers to you…you are on the front lines, I spend more time “in the rear with the gear” to coin a phrase. Blessings to you.
    December 25 at 7:50pm · Like · 6
  • Joe Maxey Should we be surprised? No, God’s Word tells us that it is going to get worse! We must continue to fight for His truth and to be salt and light to the world. Consider it joy my brothers and sisters! Paul said as much didn’t he? Rest in knowing you are not alone in this battle.
    December 25 at 7:55pm · Like · 6
  • Corpuz Valdemor Avellaneda Ramil 2 Timothy 4:2-4, “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.…”
    December 25 at 9:53pm · Like · 4
  • Bruce Fox Another GQ writer here…knows how you feel….have MDIV but never have been a pastor….a layman’s layman I am. I think a lot of our ministry in writing is counseling as well as apologetics and also evangelism and expository exegesis. Here is something I tell others (and myself) a lot. “Stop telling your God how big your problems are and start telling your problems how big your God is.” Of course we want to do a lot and do big things for God (and with God), but He often wants to do big things thru us that only look to us like little things. Hope this helps a bit. If you want to visit some…I am foxinsox1@cox.net
    December 25 at 10:14pm · Like · 4
  • William Brenner What if every one of us were able to reach only one lost person each month this year? Would that be worthwhile or would we feel hopeless? If we don’t even try, would we feel responsible for those twelve who might have received the gospel if we had? The world is getting darker, and our effort is needed all the more. We must fight the good fight, even when it’s an uphill battle.
    December 25 at 10:16pm · Like · 6
  • Laurel J. Davis Thank you for sharing your candid thoughts on this. l will share them with my husband who has the same struggle.
    December 26 at 12:02am · Like · 6
  • Gwen Sellers Wow, this is awesome. I love being part of community. Thank you all for encouraging my heart today through your authenticity and your exhortations.
    December 26 at 12:55pm · Like · 7
  • Ed Chait I agree so much with you Gwen. All I can add is that as God refines and purifies His bride, we are going to need to be honest in sharing our struggles and burdens so that we can lift each other up and stay in the race.
    December 26 at 1:38pm · Unlike · 7
  • William Brenner Almost wish I lived in a different time, but they all have had problems. Might as well get used to the challenges.
    December 26 at 1:40pm · Unlike · 6
  • Ed Chait Oh man William, we are completely blessed to be a part of this generation! God has ordained for us to be a part of this generation for His purpose.
    December 26 at 1:44pm · Edited · Like · 6
  • Mary Bennett Reetz I was just reading 2 Corinthians 4:8-18 and you came to my mind immediately. “Yet this short time of distress will result in God’s richest blessing upon us forever and ever!”

Team GotQuestions Blog

a Blog for Sharing Stories, Tips & Encouragement