I am learning that when I get discouraged I need to as quickly as possible make time to sit down and quite my heart before God. The perspective of my circumstances can very quickly go down hill. But as I sit quietly, some times this takes awhile, I can see a bigger picture. I can celebrate the faithfulness of God and the hope I have in Him.
Yesterday had those moments where I became discouraged. There was no particular reason, nor did I have a bad morning, but thoughts had gone to a place of discouragement. So I carved out a few moments to sit with God. Once I was quite God brought joy to my heart.
That morning I had sat with a young 25 year old who many in a specific neighborhood are having issues with. Surprisingly he had opened up to tell me his hopes and dreams. I had been praying for this opportunity.
Following this time of silently sitting with God I received a phone call from an community advocate that I have been wanting to meet with. This women’s excitement for the neighborhood and community is contagious and I have been wanting to learn from her. She does not share my faith perspective.
To end my day I had the opportunity to sit with other followers of Jesus and a agnostic and discuss faith and life. We had some great conversations and my agnostic friend had some great thoughts to share about our faith as followers of Jesus. He said something profound like “ones belief in Jesus determines how important He is”.
All this to say that I took time to sit with God in the midst of my discouragement and great joy emerged from it. I didn’t even mention how the Scripture I read brought tremendous joy and comfort.
If you are discouraged I encourage you to make time to quietly sit before God!
