3 Ways to Battle Discouragement While Enduring a Trial

The enemy is always trying to get you down.

I ended up sick and in bed most of the week.

At first, I thought I would make the best of it by catching up on some reading and writing.

That was just wishful thinking because my motivation and productivity sort of dropped off a cliff after the first 24 hours.

My pounding headache wrecked my plans for thinking clearly enough to get anything done.

Even watching television seemed too taxing.

It’s times like these when the enemy sneaks in and brings you a big heaping bowl of discouragement.

He makes sure we know the rest of the world is feeling good and moving ahead while our life has come to a screeching halt.

The Facebook feed is full of people who are meeting friends for lunch, finishing work assignments, and getting their kids to all of those end-of-school events.

Ugh.

Satan likes to whisper in your mind,

How unfair, this is the third time you’ve been sick in the last three months.

God knows you have deadlines, it sure seems like He doesn’t care about what’s going on with you.

The enemy always knows our weak spots and tries to exploit them.

Whether it’s an illness or any other challenging situation causing discouragement, here are some things we can do to avoid getting stuck there.

1) Put on your armor.

Ephesians 6 gives the uniform’s inventory.

Don’t underestimate spiritual battles, they are happening all around us. This world is evil, and Satan is always trying to get us to lose focus.

2) Fill your heart with gratitude.

Thankfulness chases away discouragement and shifts our perspective.

I made a list of how my illness could have been worse. It wasn’t too long before I began thinking this wasn’t so bad!

Remember, there is always someone in a more difficult situation and we can be thankful it’s not us!

3) Read truth.

The enemy is always trying to fill our heads with half-truths or lies.

Since the Christian’s source of truth is the Bible, we better be reading it.

The stories of courage and hope teach and inspire us for what we face in life.

You may not be facing a physical illness today, but there are many ways we can become disheartened.

If you are feeling that way today, look to God! He is our hope, our healer, and our provider!