5 Ways to Stay Encouraged When Trouble Comes

Troubles in Life

Life comes with highs and lows, good times and bad times, smooth transitions and rocky ones, and dangers seen and unseen. When life is great, it’s easy to embrace it. Right?

However, when the enemy starts throwing punches and shooting fiery arrows your way, you may find yourself staggering from discouragement and disappointment. You may also find yourself down for what seems like the final count. This is not God’s plan for you, as you are commanded to “...endure hardship like a good soldier of Jesus Christ,” according to 2 Timothy 2:3 (NKJV).

When these challenging times come (which they will for as long as you live, according to John 16:33 NIV), you may directly or indirectly respond negatively, or in a way that is not pleasing to God. You might allow your joy to be stolen. Your tongue may utter complaints. You may attack other people verbally or physically (God forbid). You may even “check out” of life temporarily or for an extended amount of time.

Prayer To Endure Hardship Like a Good Soldier Of Jesus Christ

 

Are Your Mind and Emotions Stable?

Your mood may become “smood” (my own term, which is a combination of swinging and mood). When you are smood, your mood or emotions are constantly up and down. One minute, you are going to make it; then the following minute, you want to give up. In other words, you are easily swinging back and forth between opposing emotions.

God wants you to be stable-minded and emotionally grounded. You cannot be a winning witness for Christ if you are whining and all over the place in your mind, your emotions, your attitudes, and your actions. He wants your mind focused on Him at all times and for you to meditate in His word all throughout the day and night. This is surely not easy, as it takes practice and work. However, it is necessary for the Christian believer.

Isaiah 26:3 ESV 

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

James 1:8 

…a double-minded man [is] unstable in all his ways.

Joshua 1:8a NKJV

This Book of the Law [the Bible, the word of God] shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.

For more words of keeping your mind on Christ, click here:  https://www.openbible.info/topics/keeping_our_mind_on_him.

5 Ways to Stay Encouraged When Trouble Comes

When troubles come in your life, you don’t have to let it get the best of you. Here are some things to practice and work at to become a soldier who is rooted and grounded in the word of God. Understand that all of the following are interconnected.

1. Hand your troubles over to the Lord.

Too often you may allow the weight of your problems and the troubles of this world to attach themselves to you mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. The pressure of these disturbances cause you to be anxious which can lead to physical problems, such as sleep deprivation, ulcers, strokes, and heart attacks.

I Peter 5:7 encourages you to [cast] all of your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

God is a loving Father and never intended for you to have to deal with the challenges of life by yourself. He wants to help you, so let Him. All you have to do is follow the advice that He gives in His word.

To hand over your problems and troubles to the Lord means that you transfer the responsibility of your situations to God. It means that it is His business to take your problems and work them out for the good as He promised in Romans 8:28.

Going a little bit deeper in the word, the scripture I Peter 5:7 uses the word “cast” in reference to you giving God your care (i.e. worries, stresses, desperations, doubts, panics, fears…). The Hebrew word for cast in this context is epirrhipto [ep-ir-hrip’-to], which means to throw upon.

If you throw something upon someone, then you are releasing it, or getting rid of it, because you don’t want it or need it. In humility, you let go of it, because you recognize that God can take care of it better than you.

Now, understand that you still have responsibilities, too, after relinquishing the weight of your problems to the Lord. You should still be praying, praising,  worshiping, and obeying any instruction God gives you concerning your situations.

Philippians 4:6-7 tells you to

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with   thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  

2. Don’t try to be strong in your own strength.

So, what does it look like to “be strong in your own strength.” It looks something like this…

Trouble enters the stage of your life. Bam! You immediately start trying to figure out what you are going to do about it. Your mind starts reaching in a million and one directions. Then, you start thinking about what you already have going on. However,  you promptly spring into action and start doing what you think is best concerning your situation. Mind you, you have not even stopped to pray, to seek God’s counsel and direction.

After you realize that your efforts are not working, the crushing weight of overwhelm rests on you, because now, what do you do? You cry, then still try to…

STOP!

Proverbs 3:5-7a says,

Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and lean not to your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes…

Furthermore, Ephesians 6:10 (AMP) commands you to

Be strong in the Lord [draw your strength from Him and be empowered through union with Him] and in the power of His [boundless] might.

Trying to be strong in your own strength, which is limited, will crush you. Pray and seek God first. He should be your first resort, not your last resort (after you have tried everything and everyone else). Learn to lean on God even more during these times, allowing Him to be your strength.

3. Focus on the good.

Naturally, the human mind wants to focus on the negative. It can be quite easy to have a running list of all the things that are going wrong in your life. These plaguing thoughts can prevent you from or hinder you in living a life of true hope, peace, joy, and love that Jesus paid the price for us to have.

It is important that you place your thoughts on what’s right according to God’s word.  Place means to put into position or arrange for the purpose of implementation. For example, if you are thinking about the wrongs, mishaps, and injustices that you are experiencing, one of the scriptures that you should have committed to your memory is the following.

Philippians 4:8 (CEV) says, “Finally, my friends, keep your minds on whatever is true, pure, right, holy, friendly, and proper. Don’t ever stop thinking about what is truly worthwhile and worthy of praise.“

As soon as those thoughts enter your mind, you should meditate on Philippians 4:8 and other scriptures regarding your situation. You bring these words of life to the forefront of your thoughts, which pushes back the negative thoughts and the lies of the enemy. Then, start focusing on what things are going well in your life, which brings us to the next way to stay encouraged when troubles come.

4. Give thanks in everything.

I Thessalonians 5:18 (NKJV) instructs you to in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

In all honesty, it can be hard to give thanks when you are suffering from a debilitating disease, lose someone you love whom you prayed to God for their healing, get your lights turned off and your vehicle repossessed, or get laid off of a job in which you were a great worker and had great benefits. This list of seemingly unfair things can go on and on.

Why ME? You may ask.

To truly be able to give thanks in everything, your mind must shift concerning the sovereignty and the faithfulness of God. You must not simply know, but you must also understand that God is in control no matter what happens to you and that in His faithfulness, He has promised the following.

Hebrews 13:5 … “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

This means that as you are going through everything in life, God is there through all of the highs, lows, and in-betweens. He is with You. You are never alone.

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. You must understand that God is working everything together for good. And it’s not  just for your good, but it is also for the greater good of His purpose and plan that does not simply just include you and your family but all of humanity.

God is on the scene and behind the scene. He sees everyone and everything and is working all of it together for eternal good. You cannot limit God to the here and now, working all of it together for eternal good. You cannot limit God to the here and now, for He is a timeless God. He existed before time, stepped voluntarily into time (in human form as Jesus), and will exist after the end of time comes.

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. 

Whatever you go through in life, you are more than able to endure or overcome it  because the Holy Spirit through Christ Jesus enables us to take it (whatever it is we face) and make it through (keep going in life with joy, hope, peace, and love). However, we must choose to draw from His strength.

When we truly understand and receive the word of God pertaining to God’s sovereignty and His genuine and unfailing love towards us, then we freely give sovereignty and His genuine and unfailing love towards us, then we freely give thanks in everything (the good, bad, and ugly) concerning our lives.

Again, naturally, this is difficult. You have to learn how to give thanks in everything.  You can start by first simply putting your mind on what is right in your trouble. Vocalize this. Keep doing it every time trouble comes. Before you know it, it will become second nature.

5. Bless the Lord at all times.

The fifth way to stay encouraged when trouble comes is to do Psalms 34:1 (NKJV).

I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Blessing the Lord should not be a conditional act. It should be done in sincere reverence to God, unconditionally, without restrictions.

If you only bless the Lord when things are going well for you, then you are saying to God, “You are only good because good things are happening to me.” So when troubles come, you demote God, removing Him from the place of honor that is rightfully His no matter what.

The inherent nature of God is that He is good, and His goodness is not limited to your temporary or permanent condition. He is good because He is sovereign. His thoughts towards us, according to Jeremiah 29:11, are only good. There is no sin in God.  God is faithful and just. He is worthy of our praise no matter what!

I encourage you to bless the Lord during your troubles. Open your mouth and bless Him. Send up your, “Hallelujah!,” “Thank you, Jesus!”, “You’re worthy!” “I honor you!” If you do this, even when you don’t feel like it (pressing beyond your feelings); you will experience the Holy Spirit “kicking in” to help you, to help your praise become real. Glory be to God!

When you DO these five things, they will definitely help to shift your mood and negative thought patterns, and you will look at life from the bright-side, which is the Christ-side of things.

~Tierashia, Your Encourager

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