So many Christian leaders, pastors, and musicians have turned out to be leading double lives. If you’re like me, you’re battling a big dose of discouragement as the sins, lies, and coverups continue to pile up. If we don’t talk about these things, and allow them to continue to pile up without removing anything from the stack, they have the potential to break us as well.
So, right now we’re in the middle of a new blog series whose goal is to look some of those hard questions in the face, talk about them, and hopefully gain a sense of relief.
Here's a map of where we've been and where we're going:
1. Is Christian faithfulness impossible?
2. I'm so discouraged. What can I do?
3. I'm so heartbroken. How do I deal with this?
4. I'm so furious I can't think straight. How do I tackle this?
5. I can't stop thinking about this epidemic of faithlessness. My thoughts feel obsessive. What can I do?
6. How do I protect myself from sinning like them?
7. How can I help myself heal?
8. How can I deal with my other questions?
Let’s carry on…
2. I'm so discouraged. What can I do?
Sometimes it’s hard to put one foot in front of the other and keep going, isn’t it? The centrifugal forces of this world hurl sin in all directions, spattering it in places it has no right to be. It’s not our sin, but it still sticks to our hearts, gross and overwhelming.
The ground feels shaky because we used to think we were standing on the shoulders of the people who had gone before us. Now that some of those people have turned out to be unfaithful, those foundations are crumbling away. How many people have walked away from their faith because of the conduct of other Christians?
This is a scary place to be. In times like these, it’s even more important to anchor ourselves in the truth. To remember the old principles that underpin everything:
We were never supposed to build our spiritual foundations on such shaky ground.
The prophet Isaiah once said:
All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the Lord blows on it;
surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.
(Isaiah 40:6–8)
Human beings are remarkably fragile; if we build on feeble foundations, we will become unstable ourselves. Deep inside, we know our faith cannot depend on the trustworthiness of people. It can only be founded on the trustworthiness of God.
The Bible tells us “the word of our God will stand forever.” God’s word is more than just a spoken phrase, more than even our Bibles:
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
(John 1:14)
The Word of God is Jesus. He is the only Person who is entirely faithful and true, completely unshakeable, fully forever, and never capricious.
From the Bible’s accounts of Jesus, we can learn how to deal with situations that threaten to capsize our faith and sink us beneath the thrashing wind and waves of sin and isolation, doubt and panic. Do you remember when Jesus walked on water?
When the disciples saw Him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
“Lord, if it’s You,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to You on the water.”
“Come,” He said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” He said, “why did you doubt?”
(Matthew 14:25–31, NIV)
When Peter focussed on Jesus, everything was fine. His situation only became perilous when he took his eyes off Jesus and looked at the storm.
This principle holds for us, as well. Jesus alone is our “Solid Rock”, as the old hymn says.
My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand:
all other ground is sinking sand. [2]
So the question is: do we trust Him?
- Do we trust Him enough not to run and hide ourselves the way Adam and Eve did?
- Do we trust Him enough to take out these shaky feelings and show them to Him?
- Do we trust that He loves us, and wants the best for us?
King David once wrote:
You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
(Psalm 139:1–4)
We cannot hide our thoughts and feelings from God, but He usually waits for us to share these things with Him before responding. He won’t barge in and force us to accept His help. But if we ask Him? If we come to Him? He delights to soothe our spirits.
Jesus won’t condemn us for experiencing disheartenment—after all, He experienced it, too! At one point, the people of Israel began to turn away from Him because they were offended. In a funk of discouragement, Jesus turned to His disciples. “Do you want to leave too?” He asked. [3] Getting discouraged doesn’t mean we’re weak. It means we’re human.
God loves to encourage the downhearted. He did this when His servant, Elijah, felt abandoned through the faithlessness of the Israelites. [4] But God led Elijah to back to the place where it all began—to Mount Horeb, where Moses had received the Ten Commandments. There, God told Elijah that although so many people had abandoned Him and turned to idolatry, there were still 7000 Israelites who had remained faithful. [5]
God will encourage us, too, if we let Him.
How can we start?
- Come to Him.
When we tell Him about our discouragement, we should go slow and take our time. Our hearts are battered; they may not be ready to hear His answer right away.
- Anchor in God’s promises.
Here are two that I’ve found useful:
(Isaiah 40:30)
Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,
Yet those who wait for the Lord
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.
(Jeremiah 29:11)
“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
- Give thanks.
This is one thing that I’ve found can beat down discouragement like almost nothing else. When we choose to give thanks in the midst of discouragement, we are not denying our feelings. We have already shared them with God. We are not turning an “off” switch for our disheartenment. But we are making a conscious decision not to let discouragement have the last say. We are fighting back—resisting—the downward pull of sin. (Remember, resistance is NEVER futile!)
Instead of fixating on the stormy seas, we instead choose to fix our eyes on Jesus, “the author and perfecter of our faith” [6]. In response, God promises:
He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me;
And to him who sets his way properly
I will show the salvation of God.”
(Psalm 50:18–23, emphasis mine)
God knows that sometimes giving thanks is a sacrifice. Sometimes stepping out of our discouragement long enough to start praising Him is an act of sheer grit and determination. But doing so honours Him. And in return, He unleashes the full power of His salvation to those who take these active steps of belief.
Next time, we’ll talk about heartbreak we experience in the midst of these awful revelations. You are not alone, Precious One!
NOTES
[1] 1 John 1:7, NIV.
[2] Edward Mote, ‘The Solid Rock’, Public Domain.
[3] John 6:67, BSB.
[4] When confronted with hundreds of false prophets opposing him, he said, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left.” (1 Kings 18:22, NIV)
[5] See 1 Kings 19:18.
[6] Hebrews 12:2, ASV.
