One of the lines in the movie “It’s A Wonderful Life,” presents a great truth.
Clarence, the 2nd class angel who’s trying to earn his wings, asks God what is wrong with George Bailey. “Is he sick?”
“Worse,” God says. “He’s discouraged.”
We can define discouragement as a black cloud that hovers over us, stealing our joy and distracting us from the abundant life. We feel melancholy and can easily slip into a gloomy pessimism that eliminates hope.
Sometimes, as in George Bailey’s case, discouragement settles in because of the circumstances of life. A financial setback, a health issue, a child who denies her faith.
Other times, discouragement is a result of how others treat us. Constant verbal abuse that tears at our self-esteem or someone who ignores us when we so desperately need to be cherished.
Sometimes discouragement creates a rut of gloominess. We feel we’ve struggled for so long, we can’t move forward and we don’t know how to climb out of that dark pit.
So what do we do when discouragement settles in? Can we pray for an angel, a Clarence, to come alongside us?
Yes, we can. We can ask God to send us encouragement through the presence of angels or through the kindness of other Christians.
We can ask Jesus to pray for us and help lift us out of our melancholy. His role at the right hand of God is to intercede, to remind God of what we need and ask for divine intervention.
We can talk to counselors and coaches who will help us find the root of the problem and formulate a plan to move forward.
And we can remind ourselves that discouragement doesn’t have to win.
The Apostle Paul wrote, “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16).
• One day at a time, present the discouragement to God.
• Journal out your thoughts.
• Check with us at GateWay for ways we can help you.
• Stay in hope – don’t lose heart.
• Discouragement doesn’t have to win.
©2015 GateWay of Hope – The Helping Place for Hurting Women