3 Tips for Overcoming Discouragement
John 16:33 (NLT)
Writer’s block is one of my worst
nightmares as a writer. Unfortunately, last week I had a bad case of it because
of a stressful week. When a writer can’t think of anything to write, there must
be a problem. I started to feel discouraged.
However, through my difficult week, God taught me a lesson about overcoming
discouragement.
Find
the source
At first I thought my discouragement
steamed from my writer’s block. However,
after some praying I realized my writing difficulties were a symptom of too
much stress and worrying. A lot of little things in my personal life were
bothering me. I was keeping them all in, until they became a heavy weight tied to my ankle.
Look
to God's word
When I realized what the source of my
discouragement was, I started looking for scriptures about discouragement. God led me to several that helped me. One
verse is Philippians 4:6 which says, “Don't worry about anything; instead, pray
about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done” (NLT). This verse encouraged
me to pray and hand it over to God.
I will be the first to admit, I’m a
worry hoarder. I hold in little worries and stressors until they come exploding
out. Fortunately, I have a loving heavenly father who can take my worries from
me, if I only place them in his hands. I’m
not sure why I wait so long to place my worries in his hands sometimes. I guess it’s just human nature to want to fix
things on my own. However, when I pray
and place my worries in his hands, He takes them away and fills my heart with peace.
Do you have any tips or scriptures that
help you overcome discouragement? Please
feel free to share. God bless and keep
Shining for him!
*Photo Credit: (graur razvan ionut) www.freedigitalphotos.net
Rachel, so glad the Lord helped you work through your discouragement last week. Another thing that I think can help is a spirit of gratitude. Finding and focusing on things we can be thankful for can immediately change our outlook. Blessings to you this week!
ReplyDeleteThank you for mentioning having a spirit of gratitude, Cheryl. It is true, God has given me so many blessings to be thankful for. Thank you for always being such and encouragement. God bless. :)
ReplyDeleteHey Rach, this is very encouraging! Thank you for it. This is a great lesson to reminder to look for the source of our stress/worry and give it over to God. Love it. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jenny. I'm glad you were encouraged by it. God bless. :)
DeleteHi Rachel! I love that phrase, "worry hoarder." I don't think it's a good idea or anything, but I love the phrase! Very relatable. As you saw on my post, I always like to chat out my worries with friends, but praying is also my ready weapon.
ReplyDeleteWhen I get blocked, which is so frustrating, it usually means I am trying too hard. I remember reading something like, 'don't write without living, don't live without writing.' So I figure I am missing out on the 'living' part. Feeling compelled to write, as I'm sure you do too, creates pressure. It's up to me to make that pressure a creative joy. Well, that's what I think...I'm not saying I do it successfully all the time :)
I am so excited to have 'met' you. What an encourager you have been for me today! I am going to head right out to your FB page after commenting, and 'like' you too. If I can figure it out. I am kind of new to all this stuff.
You have a degree in writing? That is so great! I came late to the writing party, so I'm just sort of feeling my way.
I look forward to getting to know you better. Thank you so much for making me smile!
Ceil
Thank you, Ceil. I think it's neat that we blogged on similar subjects last week. Thank you for being such an encouragement to me. It means so much when someone takes the time to comment and connect with me. I appreciate the friendship. I'm going to add a link to your blog on the sidebar so others can check out your encouraging blog. I hope you have a blessed day.
Delete~ Rachel