Understanding Spiritual Warfare: Victory Through God's Presence, Prayer, and SurrenderSample

Finding Hope in the Battle

If you ever want to make your exercise routine even more exhausting than it already is, you can buy weights that attach to your ankles. If you’ve tried them, you know what I mean. Despite how light they feel when you’re holding them in your hand, it doesn’t take long after strapping them on your ankles before every step feels like it will be your last.

Discouragement is like that. When you’re discouraged, every step seems to require extra effort. You expend precious energy second-guessing your goals, your skills, and even your own worth. You wonder if it’s worth the effort to keep moving forward.

The enemy knows this. Discouragement is one of his secret weapons. It doesn’t burst on the scene like fear or temptation. It creeps in slowly, whispering lies that weigh us down. It feeds on unanswered prayers, delayed hopes, and painful circumstances.

Before we realize it, our strength feels drained and our trust in God begins to feel thin, and we might not even know why. The writer of Psalms 42 understood this. He asks himself, “Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad?” (v.11 NLT).

Then, he answers himself, not with a reason for the sadness but with the antidote for it. “I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again—my Savior and my God!” (Psalm 42:11, NLT).

He doesn’t hide his emotions, but he doesn’t accept them as the final answer either. He brings them into the light and then makes the decision: “I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again.”

That shift is powerful. We often think of hope as a feeling, but it begins as a choice. It is a decision to trust God in the middle of the storm.

We fight discouragement by speaking truth to our own hearts. We recall God’s faithfulness to us in the past. We pray with honesty like David did in Psalm 143, asking God to rescue and renew us. We keep worshipping, even through tears. We wait for the Lord, knowing he will renew our strength (Isaiah 40:31). Then, in faith and obedience, we continue forward. We refuse to let discouragement rule.

If discouragement has pressed in on you lately, hear this: you are not alone. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18). He knows your pain and is ready to breathe hope into your heart again. Don’t give up. Let faith rise. Praise him again. He is your Savior, your God, and your strength.

Reflection Questions

1. Where have you felt discouragement creeping in lately?
2. What truths about God’s faithfulness can you remind yourself of today?