An Antidote for Discouragement



Hello there!  I'm smiling thinking of you reading this and my heart is joyful at the thought of these simply typed words blessing your day!

Discouragement happens. I think all of us can agree with that sentence right?  Well, today I wanted to share with you an antidote that God has given me for such times.

First - let's look at these definitions...


dis•cour•age•ment
noun:

: a feeling of having lost hope or confidence

: something (such as a failure or difficulty) that discourages someone


an•ti•dote
noun:   a medicine taken or given to counteract a particular poison
   
something that counteracts or neutralizes
an unpleasant feeling or situation. "laughter is a good antidote to stress"


Ok, so having that in mind...

1. When you're feeling discouraged over any situation or stage of life and longing for some sort of specific encouragement - use it as a springboard to encourage others!  Yeah, you may not feel like it and yes, sometimes you just feel like wallowing in the "whoa is me" pond, but force yourself to take the "DIS" out of "dis-couragement" and grab hold of the "COURAGE" in that word and do this next step! You WILL experience the great effects of God's antidote - blessing and joy!

2. There's several ways to go about this, but a way that God has laid on my heart in times like this, is to ask Him to bring to mind specific people who need some encouragement and maybe even the same kind of encouragement that I'm longing for. I pull up my contacts in my phone and scroll down choosing God directed ones (friends) and text them words of encouragement. (I do this when I'm not discouraged too just fyi - in case you're a friend I've texted encouragement too! lol!!)  But EVERY SINGLE TIME - when I'm feeling down - sending out words of God's truth to others stirs my heart with joy and EVERY SINGLE TIME I get texts back saying that they really needed those words.  And EVERY SINGLE TIME - I realize how powerful of an antidote encouraging others is to my discouragement.  It's miraculous and is of God and a glorious thing to experience!  God knows we can be discouraged at times, but He doesn't "deal in discouragement" as my brother once told me. My bro was so right - it's SO true.  God doesn't give discouragement - but He's with us when we are feeling that way and He's encouraging us to experience His antidote by claiming His truth over us and others!!!!!!!!!!!

Try it friends!  Yes, it doesn't change the situation or stage of life that might have you down, but it changes your view of it and that's REALLY the most important part!

" A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." -Proverbs 25:11

"Be of good courage, and let us behave ourselves valiantly for our people, and for the cities of our God: and let the Lord do that which is good in his sight." - 1 Chronicles 13:19

(YES YES and YES to those two verses above! God is amazing!)

    Blessings to you!  Be encouraged and be an encouragement! :)  God and me are cheering you on!!!!
    -Bri :)

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