VICTORY: Overcoming Discouragement

Stephen Phinney | I have had my share of discouragement. It's a joy killer. Learn to embrace victory over this deplorable darkness.

VICTORY OVER DISCOURAGEMENT

Discouragement is experienced as a justified act of revenge upon oneself or another, often involving physical and psychological responses that involve vicious, violent, and aggressive thoughts or actions.

Discouragement is an action or reaction to a perceived belief. It frequently comes from deep-seated anger.

Anger can be a normal and healthy expression of disappointment if managed constructively, such as through organized responses, addressing injustice and sin, or communicating doctrinal errors effectively. However, if anger is expressed in a destructive or harmful way, it can lead to negative consequences for both the individual experiencing it and those at the brunt end of it. It is important to release well-managed anger healthily to avoid harm to oneself and others.

Jesus displayed organized anger.

And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. (Matthew 21:12)

The evidence that His anger was well planned and organized was amid His wrath, He stopped and opened the cages of the doves and let them go free. Rage would not have included this compassionate response. Rage never includes compassion. Authentic compassion reveals authentic Grace.  

Wrath is mentioned in the Word 183 times. The word anger is used 268 times. Discouragement is mentioned 5 times. In fact, the word anger is commonly used to describe discouragement. God happens to make use of organized wrath repetitively throughout the Word. According to Revelation 19:15, He and Jesus use anger and wrath to put the final details of His prophecies in motion.

From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.

An irony – we are commanded to be angry. BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. (Ephesians 4:26-27)

Discouragement mixed with sin is a deadly demonic evil of the devil. Satan understands discouragement & anger better than most. He also understands that organized and well-planned anger is effective and can accomplish much. Furthermore, he knows that anger, mixed with sin, produces a fallen heart (discouragement) and becomes his tool to disappoint God through non-victorious Saints.

So, what is discouragement/anger mixed with sin?

The world is filled with angry & discouraged people. I get exhausted from seeing and hearing the masses exude their hate due to disappointment. Daily news feeds are labored with strife, jealousy, angry tempers, disputes, slanders, gossip, arrogance, disturbances, and opinions. All issues of anger mixed with sin.

Since the joy of the Lord is our strength, sin is anything that rises against the mandates and manners of God. Even Biblical principles can be mixed with self-life reactions and, thus, become sin. Yes. That is the worst kind of anger – dangerous flare-ups that are candy-coated with Biblical values. When anger is impulse versus organized and planned, it becomes sin mixed with anger, which produces discouragement.

We all know, or should, that anger is a protection mechanism to keep Truth from impacting the soul. This covertly confesses that the Lord Jesus is impotent in protecting His Bride – so they protect themselves by scaring off others through bursts of anger. After all, who likes dealing with a raging soul? Not me. People with short fuses are ticking bombs. The psychology world has determined that rage steps an individual to be bound by discouragement & disappointment. In other words, they get more out of control each time they blow a gasket or wallow in self-pity of discouragement. Before you know it, they strike out physically, or dive deep into depression – as in refusing to find strength in the joy of the Lord.

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The Bible assures us that victory over discouragement and anger is attainable through faith in Yeshua. As it is written in John 16:33, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” This promise serves as a reminder of our hope in Christ, reminding us that even in the face of discouragement and anger, we can find peace and victory in Yeshua. His love and grace empower us to rise above our human frailties, transforming our hearts and renewing our minds. As we walk in His ways, we become overcomers, embodying the victory that Yeshua has won for us. Therefore, let us cast aside discouragement and anger, and embrace the peace and victory that is ours in Yeshua. (Ephesians 4:31-32)

Learn more about anger. Watch the short film.

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