When You Feel Discouraged

“If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.” 
[(Contemporary Bible Version): “If you become discouraged when trouble comes, you are really weak.”]
(Proverbs 24:10)

As we live in this world, we can become discouraged when we face hardships. Especially when those hardships are too overwhelming to bear alone, we may seek help from those around us but receive none, and that can easily lead us to despair. In such moments, we realize that we have no one else to rely on but the Lord, so we come to Him and plead. However, even after much prayer, if it seems like there is no answer from the Lord, we may fall into even deeper discouragement (Luke 18:1). As we become discouraged again and again, our strength diminishes, and we may grow weary in body and spirit, reaching the point of giving up completely.

In 1 Samuel 17:32, we see the young shepherd David saying the following to King Saul:
“… Let no man's heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”
Here, “him” refers to Goliath, the man from Gath who stirred up the battle among the Philistines (v. 23). David saw that all the Israelites were terrified and fled from Goliath (v. 24), so he told them not to be discouraged because of him and declared that he would go and fight Goliath himself (v. 32). What do you think about David’s words? If you and I had been there, would we have been able to stop being discouraged at David’s words? Everyone around was terrified and fled from Goliath—could you and I have avoided fear and discouragement in such a situation?

In life, we can face hardships as overwhelming as Goliath, and it's very easy to become discouraged and exhausted. Especially if the hardship involves someone we love deeply, like our family, the level of discouragement and despair can be even greater. So, what should we do then?

First, through deep discouragement, we need to realize how weak and helpless we truly are (Proverbs 24:10). It’s only when we fully understand how fragile we are as humans that we can completely depend on the Lord, who is our true hope. In the new Korean hymnal #543, the first verse and the refrain go like this:
“When I face difficult times, though my faith is weak, I trust my Lord more. As the years go by, He is the only one I can depend on. Whatever comes, I trust in Jesus.”
As the years go by, our bodies and hearts grow weaker, and sometimes we face even greater hardships than before. In those moments, we come to see how little faith we actually have. Though our bodies and hearts grow weak with time, our faith must grow stronger. However, when we see ourselves anxious, worried, and discouraged amid bigger trials, we realize just how small our faith still is. Then we understand that, as time passes, the only One we can rely on is the Lord. And so, we plead with Him for help.

Trusting in the Lord, we proclaim to our own souls, like the psalmist did in Psalm 42:5, 11 and 43:5:
“Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.”
So when I feel discouraged, I often proclaim to myself and pray to God like this:
“Jiwon, why are you discouraged? Why are you anxious? Put your hope in God.”
In those times, I experience God's help as He revives my weary soul through His promised Word (Psalm 19:7). Like a tumbler doll that always stands back up, the Lord raises up my discouraged soul through His promises (John 6:1–15), fills me again with hope, and leads me forward in faith and perseverance.

All of Israel trembled and fled before Goliath, but young David, seeing this mighty warrior, was not discouraged. Instead, he told King Saul that he would go fight him. Now look at Saul’s response:
“… You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.” (1 Samuel 17:33)
From a logical standpoint, it was an impossible fight—David was just a boy, while Goliath had been a warrior from his youth. And when faced with such an obviously one-sided battle, human instinct is not even to try, because we know we will lose. That is more than enough reason to feel discouraged.

So how was David able to resist discouragement, fear, and boldly step forward to face Goliath?
I found the answer in 1 Samuel 17:37a:
“The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”
David believed in the God of salvation. He trusted that God would deliver him from the hand of Goliath. It was this assurance of God’s salvation that allowed David to be free from fear and discouragement.

In Galatians 6:9, the Apostle Paul says:
“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”
When we do good, we may grow tired and discouraged from the hardships that come our way. Even so, we must not lose heart or give up. Instead, like David who defeated Goliath, we should rely completely on the Lord and trust Him. Therefore, we must not be discouraged but courageously overcome even Goliath-sized challenges through faith.

I pray that all of us may boldly press on in the Lord, filled with confidence and assurance through faith in Him, as Ephesians 3:12 says:
“In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”