Overcoming Discouragement

“Are you the Coming One, or do we look for another? ” Matthew 11:2

Frank Boreham in his collection of essays entitled, “Mountains in the Mist”, writes of the Australian explorer, Hamilton Hume. Boreham describes the time when Hume and his party were famished and exhausted, and wanted to return home. Hamilton saw the mountain range in front of them and urged his team to go on. He was sure that the answer lay immediately past the mountain. The team climbed the mountain with much enthusiasm but to their dismay found that all they could see was miles and miles of bush country ahead of them. They named the mountain, Mount Disappointment. John the Baptist was standing on such a mountain when he sent his disciples to ask Jesus if He was really the promised One or was there another. One can so vividly sense his heart, tender yet utterly discouraged, as he asks this question. John was born miraculously heralded by the prophetic voice of the angel. He had a singleness of a privileged purpose that was proscribed for him. He was to be the one to make way for the Lord’s coming. This singleness of purpose drove him to the wilderness, it sustained him on a diet of locusts and honey, it burned in him a zeal to call the people to repentance. He had then seen Jesus, baptized Him, witnessed the testimony of the Dove descending and the voice of God resounding. He had climbed the mountain! But at the end of it he found himself in Herod’s prison awaiting execution. He had climbed mount disappointment. And in this he sends a message to Jesus, “Are you the Coming One, or is there another?”

There are many reasons for becoming discouraged. Sometimes it is simply “despair of wounded self-love” in the words of Francois de Fenelon. Sometimes it is because others we depended on have let us down. Sometimes our expectations were unrealistic. But there is a discouragement that is the worst of the lot. It is the discouragement that sets in at the sight of the greatest and the surest hopes being dashed. It is the discouragement of hopelessness and despair that creeps in when one has done all one can, worked as hard as possible, and come to the mountain top only to find a silent harshness staring back.

It is interesting to read Jesus’ answer to John in his disappointment. He answers “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: “The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.” Why was this an appropriate answer? Jesus was pointing him back to the very foundation of his calling. He was to prepare the way for the Lord. He had done so very well. He had prepared the way and now the Messiah’s works were being done. He was to decrease so Jesus could increase. That’s exactly what had happened. “Go and tell .. what you hear and see..” Personal discouragement was to be overcome by looking at divine accomplishment! His encouragement was to lift his eyes from his perspective and look at what God was doing on the foundation he was called to lay.

Often, our most severe discouragement comes when we feel we have been doing the right thing, we have zealously done God’s will, fulfilled our calling, and we find ourselves discouraged because all we have done seems to have resulted in nothing. There seems to have been no sense of personal fulfillment like we expected. The circumstances seem to be almost unfair. In those times our answer is the same – meditate on what God has done and is doing. Look at the divine accomplishments and persevere. God will not leave us, for he recognizes and honors the life that was used for His work to be accomplished. I don’t know about you, but I face discouragement from time to time. In the recent past I developed a habit that has helped my perspective. I created what I call “The Barnabas File”. Barnabas as you know was the nickname given to a disciple named Joseph in the book of Acts because he was the “son of encouragement”. This file is a collection of notes of encouragement from people who have been ministered to by the Lord, of journaling of events in which I have seen God so clearly move, miracles that I have witnessed that He has accomplished in my life and in many others, and many other blessings that God has so freely given. And every time I have a personal discouragement, I open that file and look at the divine accomplishments, and I see beyond mount disappointment. By the way, Hume and his team persevered and crossed mount disappointment, and were successful in their journey.

I pray if you are discouraged, would you look at the divine accomplishments. There is a mountain that does not disappoint. The name of it is Calvary. Will you see the miracle of Calvary that makes you whole? Will you hear of the great things God has done, and take courage.

Danesh Manik
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