Don't Get Discouraged

From: The Word For Today - Bob Gass Ministries

Hebrews 12:3 "Keep your mind on Jesus [and]… you won't get discouraged and give up."

It's difficult to endure hardship at the best of times, but when you don't know why, it can be frustrating. God doesn't give us lengthy explanations on how He works; He's used to creating worlds with a single sentence. So when you don't find an immediate answer in His Word or through prayer or the counsel of others, you're left wondering. And you wouldn't be the first. David repeatedly asks why in the Psalms, and God still called him "a man after My own heart, who will do all My will." So don't get discouraged.

When the answers aren't forthcoming the question then becomes, "How do I get through this?" The Bible addresses it by telling us, "Keep your mind on Jesus [and]… you won't get discouraged and give up." The reason Jesus endured was because He was able to look ahead and envision the joy of pleasing His Father, building the church and saving a lost world.

The Psalmist said, "I have set the Lord always before me… he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved [discouraged, or thrown by the situation]." Staying-power is not denying reality, or 'white-knuckling' it. It's keeping your eyes on Jesus and drawing from Him the strength you need to fight your way through to victory!