Deuteronomy 1:21 says this, “See, the LORD your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it, as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, told you. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged.” This is a word from God, encouraging His people so that they would actually go and take possession of what was promised to them.
The two things that He warned them of that would cause them to stay back instead of moving ahead, were fear and discouragement. And today I want to give you three quick keys to help you overcome fear and discouragement in your life, so that you possess all that God has for you. The first thing I want to say before any key is that, I believe that discouragement of fear are opportunities rather than setbacks. You have an opportunity right now, if you’re facing these things, to grow in courage and to grow in boldness. That is exciting. I would encourage you to smile and even laugh and jump up and down, because you are about to grow.
The first key I want to give you is, to take a risk. Go and take a risk today. Often when I am riddled and locked up with fear and discouragement, I will make myself go and share the gospel, pray for the sick, and do something outside of my comfort zone, so that I step into God’s comfort zone, which is where the believer was always meant to live. So take a risk today. Do something that gets you out of your head and into your heart.
The second thing is, I want to encourage you to focus on what’s ahead instead of what’s behind. Discouragement and fear are locked up in what our past experience was, while courage and boldness are focused on what God has promised. And this is true in the story of the Israelites. Joshua and Caleb were compelled to go, because they didn’t give in to discouragement and fear.
And the third key I want to give you is, don’t wait for the right feeling. Believe the right belief. So many people are locked up in discouragement and fear because of what they are feeling. They’re so focused on their feelings that they, “I feel discouragement so close to me, I feel so afraid,” that it’s transformed their beliefs to serve those things instead of transform those things.
So here’s what I want to challenge you to do today. Change your belief instead of trying to change what you feel, because when you change what you believe, your feelings will always follow. So to wrap up those three keys, to overcome discouragement and fear, take a risk, focus on what’s ahead instead of what’s behind, and don’t focus on changing how you feel, focus on changing what you believe. God bless you.
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