Why Do You Get Discouraged? - Daily Hope with Rick Warren - November 24, 2022

Why Do You Get Discouraged? 
By Rick Warren

“Come, Lord, and show me your mercy, for I am helpless, overwhelmed, in deep distress.” Psalm 25:16 (TLB) 

Have you noticed how discouragement sets in at the midpoint of almost anything you do? It’s true in parenting, marriage, school, and in your career. But God has called you to finish the race he has prepared for you—and to finish it well.

When God put it on Nehemiah’s heart to rebuild Jerusalem after the Israelites’ returned from captivity, they began the work of rebuilding the city’s walls. But when “the wall was completed to half its height around the entire city” (Nehemiah 4:6 NLT), the people became discouraged. 

The story of Nehemiah describes four common reasons people get discouraged. Today we’ll look at the first two.

The first cause of discouragement is fatigue. Nehemiah 4:10 says, “Then the people of Judah began to complain, ‘The workers are getting tired’” (NLT). Rebuilding anything, of course, is exhausting. They had worked hard on the first half of the project, but they soon grew weary and worn down. They were more vulnerable to attacks from their enemies, physically and spiritually.

Nehemiah’s workers offer an important lesson for you today: Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is go to bed. Why? Because discouragement is often the result of being tired. Circumstances always look better after you've had a good night's sleep. When you’ve had plenty of rest, you’re less vulnerable to self-pity, temptation, and attack from others.

The second cause of discouragement is frustration. Not only were the Israelites fatigued; they were frustrated: “There is so much rubble to be moved. We will never be able to build the wall by ourselves” (Nehemiah 4:10 NLT). The project was more complex than they thought it was going to be. The ruin and rubble of their destroyed city was almost too much to handle.

What's the rubble in your life? It’s whatever you keep tripping over. It’s not just physical rubble. It could be emotional, relational, or financial rubble. Or maybe it’s rubble from making bad decisions.

The thing about rubble is you will always have it in your life. You live on a broken planet, so there’s no way avoid it. But you can learn how to manage rubble to minimize frustration. How do you do that? By continually cleaning it out of your life. You can start by praying Psalm 25:16: "Come, Lord, and show me your mercy, for I am helpless, overwhelmed, in deep distress” (TLB).

Do you feel discouraged in your plans? Don’t give up! Tomorrow we’ll look at two more ways you can overcome discouragement.

PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick

For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!

Discover God’s plan and purpose for you in this special-edition resource!

Everyone wonders at some point in life, “What on earth am I here for?” And the good news is that God has an answer!

God has a good plan for your life. And Pastor Rick Warren’s bestselling book, The Purpose Driven Life, lays out an easy-to-follow road map for your spiritual journey to discover all God has in store for you.

And today, we want to send you a special-edition, leather bound copy of this timeless resource.

Whether you’ve read The Purpose Driven Life before, or this is your first time, you’ll discover that real meaning and significance come from understanding and fulfilling God’s purpose for you here on earth.

This special leather-bound edition is our thanks for your gift below to help take the hope of Jesus to people around the world through Daily Hope. Quantities are very limited, so request your copy now.

Thank you for your support!

*The USA IRS code permits you to deduct the amount of your financial gift to Daily Hope that exceeds the fair market value of materials you received from Daily Hope.

This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

You can listen to Rick Warren on OnePlace.com.