August 24

“If we examine the causes of the rebellious and complaining thoughts that sometimes beset us, we will find that they always begin in discouragement.  The truth is that discouragement always involves a kind of speaking against God.  It implies some sort of failure on his part to act the way we think he should.”  Hannah Whitall Smith, Daily Secrets, 8/24

I was feeling discouraged today.  It seemed to come out of the blue.  It was over something that has been a problem for some time but I thought I was dealing with it just fine.  But then it hit me like a ton of bricks and it took me hours to regain my composure.  Looking back over the days leading up to today I can see some important signs that I ignored--signs that discouragement was lying in wait for me.  One was an expectation I had that wasn’t met.  I tucked it away rather than giving it to God.  Then, because I was on vacation, I got behind on writing these devotionals.  I’ve come to depend on them to keep me daily on-course.  Writing always helps to solidify what I’m learning better than just thinking about it.  But if I really listen to what Hannah is saying I see an underlying belief that is like an undercurrent in my life--always lying in wait to grab me by the ankle and pull me under.  An undercurrent that is deadly.  She says that my discouragement is really all about the fact that I believe that God has failed to do not only what I want but also what I think He should do.   Lord, I confess this desire of mine to call the shots in my life.  May my heart be humbled in reverence to Your almightiness.

“All these things my hand has made, and so all these things are mine, says the LORD, but this is the man to whom I will look, he that is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.”  Isaiah 66:2