Pastor's Blog

When Discouragement Wins

Kris Bryant has made a stellar career in the Big Leagues. Winning a MVP title and helping lead the Chicago Cubs to the Promised Land will do that. What a lot of people don’t know is that my baseball career began just like his. In fact you might say that we were on the same trajectory and destined for greatness. After my second or third at bat, I was even compared to Babe Ruth. My mom reminded me again and again that The Great Bambino also struck out. A lot. (Looking back on it, maybe the comparison isn’t as flattering as I remember it.) Back to my short lived baseball career. I was assigned to the “minor league” team known as the Prescott Valley Little League Reds. We had a fireballer for a pitcher named Tommy. And we lost every game that season. My batting average was probably south of .100 and I knew my dreams had come to a screeching halt. When next years sign up forms came out, it took a lot of convincing for me to play. I was discouraged.

A lot of us deal with discouragement from many different angles. A project at work that we were sure was going to increase efficiency fails miserably. The investment you’ve made in a child’s life seems pointless as they go off and do their own thing. There are many things that cause this feeling of dread, but we all know what it feels like. An article I read recently had a list of how to handle discouragement. The one thought I found timely and relevant was the exhortation to “let God’s Word overwhelm us.” This is letting God’s Magnificence, Beauty, and Love so overwhelm us that our focus is on Him and not our fears or failures. Philippians 2:12-13 declares that He desires to work in us to accomplish “… His good pleasure”(NKJV). Will you allow God’s Word to overwhelm your discouragement? When you do, you’ll never regret it.

Pastor Dave

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