Despite how far I’ve come and how bright I know my future in Christ is, I still find myself discouraged from time-to-time.  Life has a way of beating and wearing us down and regardless of past successes, there will come a time that our happiness and joy will be tested.  Often, when I feel discouraged, it is accompanied by a sense of feeling lost and sometimes hopeless.  Little by little, I feel myself being worn down, and then spread too thin, ultimately being pulled in too many directions, and then burned out. 

It is during these times I must remind myself: there are greater victories in my future than I have experienced in my past and when I can’t see past my setbacks, I end up settling for less than God’s best. In trying times, we must remember that where we are is not where God intends us to stay.  Discouragements are just part of seasons we walk through and when we rise above our despair, we will pass the test, even when it feels like God is a million miles away.  I’ve learned that even when God seems to be silent in my trials, He has never left my side and His arm is outstretched waiting for me to grab hold of Him.  You see, when we don’t allow the enemy to discourage us, one of his greatest weapons has been lost.  He wants us to feel hopeless and not worth saving, but God created us to have life and to have it abundantly.  God’s presence with us is one of His greatest presents to us.

Believe in your heart that today is a new day and regardless what life throws at you, that you are believing God to birth hope, comfort, and peace in you to combat any despair or discouragement.  When we trust Him to be our rock and refuge, He will put a new song in our heart and He will lift us out of any pit of despair we are trapped in.  One of my favorite scriptures in Isaiah 40:31: “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”  One of the coolest things about eagles is their ability to fly higher than any adversary.  God gives us this same ability when we put our faith and trust in Him to soar above any attack from the enemy.  When we put our faith and trust in the Lord, we will fly higher than anything meant to harm or destroy us, so trust Him to turn even your discouragement and despair into hope and happiness; His Word promises it!  To Him be the glory, now and forever.