The Outcome of Discouragement
Discouragement is a common problem. As we saw yesterday, it may start with a divided mind but can easily turn into blaming others and wallowing in anger. Sadly, its effects don’t stop there.
For one thing, if you regard the one who disappointed you as the cause of all your troubles, you might distance yourself or even end the relationship. On top of that, when disappointments are allowed to build up without resolution, your sense of self-worth could be damaged. This could deliver a blow to your ministry and interactions with others, since no one likes being around critical, negative individuals.
A dangerous drift in your spiritual walk is the ultimate consequence of discouragement. God will seem distant, uncaring, or perhaps even absent because you’ve built such high walls around yourself. Things that were once cornerstones in your life—like worship, Bible study, and prayer—easily fall by the wayside. Before long, you will be surrounded only by your disappointments and negativity, unable to see anything of positive value at all.
Discouragement can eat away at a believer’s relationships and productivity. Don’t allow disappointments to build up and take such a toll on your life. Psalm 40:2 is a wonderful reminder that the heavenly Father can lift you out of the “miry clay” and “set [your] feet upon a rock making [your] footsteps firm.” Let your discouragement motivate you to turn to the Lord, the one who can “put a new song in [your] mouth”—a song of praise to Him (v. 3).