Despair. Discouragement. Hopelessness.


Have the enemies of Despair, Discouragement, and Hopelessness been on your trail? At times it seems they sniff you out and hunt you down no matter how hard you try to stay away from them. No matter what you do they are right behind you threatening to steal all joy and purpose out of your life.

I remember a time recently when these foes were on my trail for weeks, months even, if I'm honest with myself. I thought I could outrun them, or at the very least pave my own way to a peaceful corner so that I could smile contentedly as I watched them pass me by; their pursuit in vain.

Now I realize that I can't outrun them. I am not strong enough - I never was and I never will be. They will seek me and claim my future as their prize, and I will be stuck in the moment of now without hope. I will be stuck in today and have no good thoughts or feelings for tomorrow.

But my failure and lack of strength are not what break me, and that's not what breaks you!

In fact, my weakness and lack of strength is my rescue! My failure is the turning point and indicates the end of myself so God can finally have freedom to pick up the broken pieces of my life and fuse them together with His love and by His strength. Then He will carry me off the path I forged for myself where I was hounded by Despair, Discouragement, and Hopelessness and bring me to safety. He will wipe away my tears and clean my wounds as He lovingly speaks to me, telling of His deep love and care for me.

2 Corinthians 12:9a "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness." God's strength is perfected in our weakness. The longer we try to hold things together in our own strength, the longer it will be before we can allow God to preform His strengthening in our lives and situations.

We all have weak areas and places where downfall seems just one tiny step away. Lean on God's everlasting arms in your areas of weakness, and He will give you strength.

It's never God's intent that we be overtaken by the Enemy. It's His intent that we follow His path so we can remain protected and sheltered from wrong thinking and hurtful places. Through times of fear and worry it's easy to feel lonely and lost, but we have the truth from God's Word that can shed light on the foggy places of our hearts as we let it be a lamp to our feet and a light to our paths!

Sometimes Despair, Discouragement, and Hopelessness haunt us from our past and try to tell us that the pit we came from will claim us again. They will whisper that we are doomed to go through past experiences over and over again. The past hurts and failures will try to show up in our present and will want to steal any hope of a joyful future. But Despair, Discouragement, and Hopelessness will only have power in our lives if we allow them to and choose to feed into their lies.

Isaiah 43:18-19 "Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert."

 God doesn't want our lives to be lived with fear of the past, but instead He wants us to look in faith to the future He has for us. He can pave the way for us in the wilderness of our lives and bring fountains of water to a dry and thirsty soul.

God is faithful to the end of whatever you are facing right now, whether it be waiting for a diagnosis, grieving the death of a loved one, or waiting for an open door of some kind. He is wise enough to guide your path. Will you trust today that His way and timing is best? Always best? Will you leave all your cares in His hands and forsake your own path - the path that comes with Despair, Discouragement, and Hopelessness as built in obstacles?

The end of our strength is the beginning of eternal arms holding us up in love and sheltering us from the storm.

Psalm 27:1-3 "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an host encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident." 

~Tiffany~

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