Resist Discouragement

Over the past months and weeks I have been dealing with some major church and ministry issues, that have basically been quite overwhelming. I have faced some of the toughest things that I have ever had to face in ministry. For the first time in my life I dealt with depression. It effected my emotions, my health (heart problems last year due to stress), and my family, etc...I felt like I was in a pit and I couldn't get out. Thank God for a Godly wife who wouldn't allow me to stay in it, and a family who drove 12 hours to be a source of love and encouragement, and true friends who stayed close, and praying people at church who prayed diligently for their pastor on a daily basis.

We are in the midst of change and transition, and in that time I have had opportunity for discouragement. Christine Welch, a faithful saint and support that I pastored back in Ohio, who went on to be with the Lord, always would tell me, "Pastor I pray for you everyday because high man on Totum Pole gets hit first". :-)

Thanks Rick for sending me this timely article. So those of you that are facing the same thing read it and be encouraged!

Resist discouragement
by Rick Warren

... Great people are really just ordinary people with an extraordinary amount of determination. Great people don’t know how to quit.

I believe procrastination is the number one enemy of your life mission. You know what you’re supposed to do, but you don’t get around to it. You keep putting it off. That’s a deadly enemy. But a close second is discouragement. If Satan can’t get you to put off your life mission, he’ll try to make you quit altogether. He’ll neutralize you.

If I’m going to fulfill the purpose for which I was made, then I must resist discouragement. Galatians says: “Let us not get tired of doing what is right …” Do you ever get tired of doing what’s right? Sure you do. Because it’s easier to do the wrong thing than the right thing.

When you’re discouraged, you’re ineffective. God cannot use discouraged people, because discouraged people are the opposite of people of faith. And God uses people who have faith. When I am discouraged, I’m saying, “It can’t be done.” That’s the exact opposite of saying, “I know God can do it because he’s said …”

I have a few questions for you. How do you handle failure? When things don’t go your way, when plans don’t happen the way you want them, do you start getting grumpy? Do you get frustrated? Do you start complaining? Do you have a pity party? Do you finish what you start? How would you rate yourself on persistence?

The Bible says you need to resist discouragement. Don’t give in without a fight. Nothing worthwhile ever happens without endurance and energy. When a stone sculptor is trying to sculpt a masterpiece, do you think the first time he hits the chisel with the hammer everything’s going to fall off and it will be a beautiful sculpture? No. He has to keep hitting it and hitting it, chipping away. And that’s the way life is. Nothing really worthwhile ever comes easy in life. You keep hitting it and going after it – and little by little your life becomes a masterpiece.

The fact is, great people are really just ordinary people with an extraordinary amount of determination. Great people don’t know how to quit.

I’m sure many of you are discouraged. Some of you are discouraged over your children. Their lives are not going well. Some of you are discouraged about your marriage. It’s not at all what you thought it was going to be. You feel deflated and disappointed. Some of you are discouraged about your ministry. Or about your finances, or your health, or the economy, or an unanswered prayer.

I want to say something to you. It may sound mean, but it isn’t. It’s the truth. I say this in love. If you’re discouraged, that’s your choice. You have chosen to be discouraged. Discouragement is always a choice. It comes from thinking discouraging thoughts – and you can change your thoughts any time. You have a choice of what you’re going to focus on: either your purpose or your problems, God’s power or your weakness, Christ or your circumstances. It’s your choice.

Great people fight discouragement. Here’s a tip to help: When you get discouraged, ignore it. Just say to yourself, “I don’t have time to be discouraged right now. I’m too busy fulfilling my life mission.” That doesn’t mean you’re a Pollyanna and pretend that everything’s great. Life is a mixture of good and bad. You can be realistic, but you also need to be optimistic because you are a Christian. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” And “Lo, I am with you always,” God says. He will help you, and he will strengthen you. Faith starts with optimism.

Some of you have been praying for something specific and you haven’t yet gotten the answer. In Habbakuk 2:3 God says, “These things I plan [for your life] won’t happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient. They will not be overdue a single day.” God’s timing is perfect. Our church claimed this verse from Habbakuk for 13 years. For 13 years we had no building of our own, and the church kept getting bigger and bigger. We’d say, “Everybody else has a building. How come we don’t have a building?” The reason was that God wanted to put us on 79 acres of land. He had a bigger plan. The piece of property we now own wasn’t even available when we started Saddleback. There weren’t even roads leading to it. God had a plan and slowly, steadily, surely the vision was being fulfilled.

The same is true in your life. God’s delay is not a denial. Just because you haven’t had the answer or the miracle yet, that doesn’t mean God isn’t going to do it eventually. It simply means not yet! Maturity is knowing the difference between, “No,” and “Not yet,” between a delay and a denial. God says, “Don’t become discouraged. Resist discouragement. Because there are going to be delays in your life.”

You’re going to be tested in your patience by God. The really good news is you’re not just going to be tested once, you’re going to be tested thousands and thousands of times. Because anybody can be patient once. And anybody can be patient twice. And anybody can be patient three times. So what God’s going to do is test you over and over and over. Why? So he’ll know how patient you are? No. So you’ll know.

God tests you, not for him to find out what’s inside of you but for you to find out what’s inside of you. He tests you so you’ll know your level of commitment, and he tests you so that you can know his faithfulness. His purpose is to teach you.

Some of you are going through some difficult times right now and you feel like dropping out of the race. You’re discouraged because the situation seems unmanageable. Unreasonable. Unfair. It may seem unbearable. Inside you’re basically saying, “God, I can’t take it any more. I just can’t take it any more!” But you can. You can take it some more because God is with you. He’ll enable you. Remember, you are never a failure until you quit, because quitting means you won’t make it to the finish line.

Resist discouragement! Finish the race God has set before you.

Greatest College Football Coach of All Time

There he is! Woody Hayes of the Ohio State Buckeyes (1951-1978). As a kid I can remember watching the Buckeyes play on Saturday afternoons with my dad and I remember vividly Coach Hayes. My Dad, as a student in the early 60's at Ohio State worked the Training tables and would see Woody often and serve the team their after practice meals. This is a must see DVD "Beyond the Gridiron: The life and times of Woody Hayes "

ESPN Friday Night Fights

We had ringside tickets to ESPN's Friday Night Fights in Columbus Ohio a few years ago and Here is a photo of me and Former Heavy Weight Boxing champ James Buster Douglas. Then a photo of some buddy's, Matt Winemiller, Kirk Herbstreit (ESPN Gameday), myself, and Micah Pelkey. We had a BLAST! A very memorable evening amongst friends. It was great meeting Buster and Kirk. Both guys were really cool.

Seven Reasons Why Jesus Could Not Have Been A Pastor In Many Churches

Ok...I read this blog this evening and it is a must read. Seven Reasons Why Jesus Could Not Have Been A Pastor In Many Churches by Perry Noble

Thanking God through difficult times

Thanking God through difficult times
by Rick Warren

Now comes Thanksgiving. Can we thank God even when times are tough? Yes, we can.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (GNB) This verse does not say give thanks for everything. It says give thanks for every circumstance. I see it misinterpreted all the time.

You don’t have to give thanks for evil in the world. If my children were murdered, I would not be thankful. If my wife was sick, I would not be thankful. The Bible does not say be thankful for evil. But in every circumstance, no matter how bad it is, you can give thanks to God because …
• His purpose is bigger than my problem.
• He will give me the power to overcome my problem.
• I know I will grow through the experience if I allow God to help me grow.

I may not be thankful for evil, but I can be thankful despite evil.

How can you be grateful when you’ve lost your job, your health, or a spouse? You look not at what you’ve lost – but what you have. And you have an awful lot left.

You’re alive for one thing!

So the question is: What are you taking for granted? Your health? Your freedom? Your relationships? There used to be an old song, “Count Your Blessings, Name Them One By One.” We need to do that. We need to make lists of what we are thankful for – our families, friends, our ministries, whatever we are thankful for. When times are tough, that’s when you need to be reminded of everything God has given you.

Becoming a truly grateful person can be the healthiest change you make in your life all year long – better than any diet or exercise plan you start on. Love isn’t the healthiest emotion out there – gratitude is. When you are thankful despite your circumstances, you’re more resistant to illness and stress.

Besides, you can’t find God’s will for your life when you’re ungrateful. Read 1 Thessalonians 5:18 again. “Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will.” If you’re not living a grateful life – despite your circumstances – you’re out of God’s will. It’s that simple.

When To Move On

Got this from David Finch's blog the other day. Simply Profound and Timely.

When to Move On

I've been thinking about this quote from Joseph Jaffe (Across the Sound Life Podcast) the last few days.

"The world is too small, life is to short to waste time with people who don't get it anymore." Joseph Jaffe

Joseph was speaking within the context of new media, but at what point to you stop trying to convince others about new initiatives who have no intention of getting on board? I think of how much energy I've wasted trying to pitch my idea to individuals who had no intentions of "getting on board" and then struggle with the thoughts of rejection, because they didn't seem to get it.

However, today is a new day! From now on their can't be wasted time trying convince the cynic, but I'm wiling to invest all the time I have who individuals who are willing to be a part of the conversation and collaboration.