Man... when discouragement hits, it hits pretty hard.
I've always wondered about that. I mean, for the most part I am an optimistic person name yet when difficulty sweeps in, it's so rough to just push it off or place it to the side.
It's made me think long and hard about the way that I treat others, when I think about the way that I've been treated. I think about the Golden Rule. How do I talk to others? What is the tone that I use? Am I an encouragement to those who come into my life or am I someone who brings others down?
No matter how deep and how intense we focus in on these questions, it's imperative to recognize that no one is 100% perfect, 100% of the time. There is not one of us that is perfect. We all fall short.
We all have regrets and yet even realizing this concept of forgiveness and faith in Jesus Christ, it still hurts terribly when we fall short. For me many times, it's that old "I should have waited ten more seconds and I wouldn't have done it." Other times, I find myself just being careless. No matter what the issue is, discouragement many times almost acts as a motivator to continue in doing wrong. It's like, "Well I messed up, so I might as well keep messing up."
No. The frustration when you mess up needs to be kept in line with the realization that Christ forgives and His forgiveness is bigger than the mistake. Check out this passage from Romans 5:
Romans 5:2-5The Message (MSG)
5 1-2 By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that’s not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.
3-5 There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!
Great passage, but where does that leave us? I mean, frustration doesn't necessarily come from the actions of ourselves. Many, many times the frustration we experience is based on the actions of others. I had the privilege of attending the Vans Warped Tour this year and saw a number of fantastic performances. The frustration for me the other day wasn't based on my performance or actions, but was based on the performance of others.
Lack of professionalism. Lack of showmanship. Lack of integrity.
Like I just said, I was really frustrated. I think my main frustration stemmed from the fact that my expectations were so high, and yet with all of those frustrations, I have to make sure that lean on what verse 3 stated, that troubles develop patience in us and that patience forges virtue in us for what God has in store next. I can't let that performance drive me crazy and turn me off to music all together. I need to look at that performance and understand that sometimes people have bad days and if it's honestly that annoying, I need to look into new artists that take their craft more seriously. Will people disappoint me? Absolutely. Will people annoy me? Absolutely. Will Christ fail me? NEVER.
Discouragement is common for sure and yet we serve a God that desires to help us through whatever conflicts and issues we have faced, currently face, and will face in the future. God has so much for us, period. Like that passage concluded with, "we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into (us)."
I've always wondered about that. I mean, for the most part I am an optimistic person name yet when difficulty sweeps in, it's so rough to just push it off or place it to the side.
It's made me think long and hard about the way that I treat others, when I think about the way that I've been treated. I think about the Golden Rule. How do I talk to others? What is the tone that I use? Am I an encouragement to those who come into my life or am I someone who brings others down?
No matter how deep and how intense we focus in on these questions, it's imperative to recognize that no one is 100% perfect, 100% of the time. There is not one of us that is perfect. We all fall short.
We all have regrets and yet even realizing this concept of forgiveness and faith in Jesus Christ, it still hurts terribly when we fall short. For me many times, it's that old "I should have waited ten more seconds and I wouldn't have done it." Other times, I find myself just being careless. No matter what the issue is, discouragement many times almost acts as a motivator to continue in doing wrong. It's like, "Well I messed up, so I might as well keep messing up."
No. The frustration when you mess up needs to be kept in line with the realization that Christ forgives and His forgiveness is bigger than the mistake. Check out this passage from Romans 5:
Romans 5:2-5The Message (MSG)
5 1-2 By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that’s not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.
3-5 There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!
Great passage, but where does that leave us? I mean, frustration doesn't necessarily come from the actions of ourselves. Many, many times the frustration we experience is based on the actions of others. I had the privilege of attending the Vans Warped Tour this year and saw a number of fantastic performances. The frustration for me the other day wasn't based on my performance or actions, but was based on the performance of others.
Lack of professionalism. Lack of showmanship. Lack of integrity.
Like I just said, I was really frustrated. I think my main frustration stemmed from the fact that my expectations were so high, and yet with all of those frustrations, I have to make sure that lean on what verse 3 stated, that troubles develop patience in us and that patience forges virtue in us for what God has in store next. I can't let that performance drive me crazy and turn me off to music all together. I need to look at that performance and understand that sometimes people have bad days and if it's honestly that annoying, I need to look into new artists that take their craft more seriously. Will people disappoint me? Absolutely. Will people annoy me? Absolutely. Will Christ fail me? NEVER.
Discouragement is common for sure and yet we serve a God that desires to help us through whatever conflicts and issues we have faced, currently face, and will face in the future. God has so much for us, period. Like that passage concluded with, "we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into (us)."
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