How Does God Speak to My Discouragement?

January 23, 2026 • Listen on Spotify

TRANSCRIPT

Mark Twain famously said that “Most men die at 27—we just bury them at 73.”

Have you ever been so discouraged that you’ve become a shell of yourself? Maybe at one time you were full of promise and hope and ambition and dreams and life, and then somewhere along the way, your spirit began to fade and discouragement settled in your heart.

You know, discouragement is an expression of fear. In fact, fear has many expressions, anxiety, confusion, insecurity, pressure. And the reason why fear is so dangerous is because it can be paralyzing. When we become afraid, the temptation is to isolate ourselves, whether physically or mentally, until the fear dissolves.

Let me caution you—that’s exactly what the enemy wants.

In Scripture, Jesus gives us three life-giving words that we see over and over again: “Do not fear” (e.g., Isaiah 41:10). In fact, you may remember that these three words, this imperative, is found 365 times in the Bible, one for every day of the year. Unfortunately, most people misunderstand those words. They take them as a command, or even worse, a rebuke, as if God is angry at you for being afraid.

But Ed Welch is a Christian counselor who has training in neuropsychology. And he has surveyed all of the accounts where we see these three words, do not fear. And he concludes that “Fear isn’t a sin—it’s a call to action.”

If my daughter has anxiety about an upcoming performance at school, I’m not going to rebuke her and say, hey, don’t be scared. Just get over it. No, I’m going to try to encourage her by saying, hey, don’t be afraid. It’s going to be okay. I’m here for you.

And you see, the human experience includes fear, but it also includes God. And that reality enables us to keep moving. It reminds me of a poem that I keep in my Bible. It says,

Many a questioning, many a fear,
Many a doubt, hath its quieting here.
Moment by moment, let down from Heaven,
Time, opportunity, and guidance are given.
Fear not tomorrows, child of the King,
Trust them with Jesus, do the next thing

Do it immediately, do it with prayer;
Do it reliantly, casting all care;
Do it with reverence, tracing His hand
Who placed it before thee with earnest command.
Stayed on Omnipotence, safe ‘neath His wing,
Leave all results, do the next thing.

You know, sometimes life gets hard, and the encouragement that God gives us is to get out of bed and do the next thing.