Overcoming Discouragement Part 1

The last few weeks have probably been the most roller coaster-y weeks of my life.  You see, the devil decided that I should take a long walk down Discouragement  Lane.  The only thing is, God didn't want me down there and frankly I wasn't to happy about it either.  So, I've been up and down, in and out of discouragment quite a bit lately.  Now, you are probably wondering why on earth I'm telling you all this.  Well... I'm telling you this because through those weeks God gave me some wonderful tools to overcoming discouragement.  I'd learn the lesson, use the tool and be happy for a few days, successfully using the new tool I'd received.  Then a few days later the devil would figure a way around my new found happiness and I'd head down Discouragement Lane again.  After repeating this a few times I began asking God why?  "Why are letting me go through this?  Why didn't the first tool work for good?"  God felt so far away and I kept asking why? "Why were you so close some may times recently only for me to turn around and wonder where you went?  I know you didn't leave me, but why am I going through this.  Where are you this time, I need the next tool, I'm trying to learn what you have for me, but I'm lost I need your help!!!" For a while, I didn't have an answer, then one day a quote popped into my head, and I didn't understand it.  It just kept coming over and over thinking "It was then that I carried you."  My finite mind didn't understand that that was my answer.  God was telling me that he was there, in fact he wasn't far from me at all.  He had scooped me up in His strong arms and was safely and securing carrying me back to happy territory :-)

So, hopefully over the next few weeks I will be imparting those tools to you.  God gave me the opportunity to learn and have the experience of using the tools, and hopefully they will be an encouragement and tool for you to use as well.  Not that you should be discouraged, but just in case, I'll give you a few tips to help you along the way.

So until next week I'll leave you with the last thing God gave me.

"It was then that I carried you."

and all I could do was grab ahold of that and say "O.k. Lord I'm trusting that you are carrying me."