Dispelling Discouragement

I wrote a similar article for my blog at http://petulawright.blogspot.com(check it out when you get a chance) and altered it a little to fit a broader audience.

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9 (NIV)

You're going along minding your own business when someone says something that bothers you about something you're doing. Did that sentence make sense? Okay, let me try this: You're sitting at your favorite coffee house, sipping some joe and flipping through a magazine. You notice an acquaintance and decide to invite them to join you. During your conversation you share that you've begun working out and eating a balanced diet in an effort to be healthier and lose weight.

The response to your revelation is less than supportive and encouraging. In fact, the person negatively commented on everything from the way you're working out to their view of how unlikely you would be to succeed. So, how does that make you feel? And how will it affect your commitment to yourself, your exercise routine and your healthy eating lifestyle?

Some diehards may say that it shouldn't affect you in any way, but as emotional beings it's hard to determine how things will affect one person or another. What's important is – ultimately – how you deal with the discouragement and move past it.

It's very seldom that you will hear (or see) me give any credit to the devil, but God teaches us that He allows the devil to do certain things. Therefore sometimes we must identify why something has occurred before we can move past it. Let's consider our current example of the coffee shop friend: If you were to allow that experience and discouragement to prevent you from exercising you could be compromising your own health; miss the opportunity to encourage someone else who has begun a lifestyle change; or miss meeting someone who could change your life. For instance, you may be exercising at your local gym when you meet the person who you're going to marry or a new business person who'll invest millions into the company… These examples may seem silly, or simple, but they're highly likely.

Say, for instance, the discouragement was a test and God wanted to see how you would react to the discouragement. If you're really committed to changing your lifestyle then the discouragement may cause you to pause for a second, but not stop. If it causes you to stop then you may miss the blessing (maybe someone was going to give you a treadmill as a gift… it's possible!) God had for you.

Often how we handle a current situation determines whether we are given much more to handle. The same is true in other situations. For instance, if you aren't a good steward over the money and material possessions you currently have, it is highly unlikely that you will be blessed with more.

So, what should you do? The answer to that leads me back to Galatians 6:9, which I quoted at the beginning of this article. Keep in mind that you have a goal for committing to a lifestyle change. To assist you in remembering your goal (which could be to lose weight or increase stamina), write it down and keep it in a location where you can see it on a regular, preferably daily, basis. Secondly, after remembering your goal, keep your purpose in mind and think about why something may happen to thwart that purpose. When you are operating in the will of God (He wants us to honor our temples) circumstances will occur to discourage you and prevent you from continuing on the correct path.

Keep these things in mind to dissipate any discouragement you may encounter; whether it's in response to something as small as improving your health or as big as committing to a celibacy covenant (Read Single and Celibate at http://petulawright.blogspot.com).