2 Cor. 1:3-4, “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; (3) Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. (4)

Because of Jesus Christ, we believers have an incorruptible inheritance which places us in a position to be able to call God, our Father! The word incorruptible appears only four times in the Bible:

And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. (1Co 9:25)In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (1Co 15:52)

To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, (1Pe 1:4)

Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. (1Pe 1:23)

We see that our crown will be incorruptible, our raptured bodies will be incorruptible, our inheritance is incorruptible and our salvation is incorruptible! How encouraging is that?

When we are discouraged, we must remember that our trials are for a short time. 2 Cor. 1:3-4 show that our Heavenly Father will provide comfort during our tribulations so that we may in turn pass that comfort on to others going through trouble. I noticed this verse didn’t say to comfort those who are going through what you have experienced but that we are to comfort those who are going through any trouble. In other words, be there for those in need of comfort – period! Pass along to someone else the knowledge and assurance that the Father will comfort them in the same manner He comforted you.

We have encouraged ourselves and defeated ole slewfoot’s attempts to discourage us. We have assurance that our salvation and inheritance of Heaven is incorruptible. Now take those encouraging words to someone who needs to hear them and you will continue to keep yourself encouraged. Share the blessings the Father has given you with those in need of healing words.

They that fear thee will be glad when they see me; because I have hoped in thy word. (Psa 119:74)

Father, I thank You for Your grace
You have brought me through every trial
With mercy, peace and comfort sweet
You walked with me all the while

But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. (Mat 14:27)

What a blessing this statement must have been for the apostles to hear from their Saviour! Here they are in a storm and see Jesus walking toward them. They thought they were seeing a ghost! I don’t know about you, but as I place myself in their situation, I would have been afraid also. There are times in our own lives where we don’t “see” the Lord working. Our problems become insurmountable and we focus on the circumstances before us instead of focusing our eyes on the Lord.

Deut. 6:6-8, “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.”

Have you ever worn a sweat band? I am always aware of that sweat band being around my forehead. It gets damp, it gets itchy and although it provides a purpose, I am always aware of its presence upon my forehead. A frontlet is similar to one of these bands. Can you imagine if God’s Word was as this sweat band between our eyes – constantly making us aware that It is there? If our eyes are focused on the Word, how can they also be focused on the circumstances surrounding us?

Praise the Lord that we have the precious Word of God to read and memorize! We can encourage ourselves daily and be of good cheer when those days come and we don’t see the Lord clearly there beside us. The Word comforts us and assures us that He is there right within view and we should not be afraid. Granted, we may not recognize the Lord in our situation, so we need to really “look” for Him. We find Him in the Word, we find Him in the brethren who encourage us, we find Him in a kind note, we find Him in the beauty of creation surrounding us, etc. Need I say more?

The Word should be constantly upon our foreheads, reminding us of God’s promises and of His presence. We are to be comforted by this and allow it to cheer us up and encourage us. When we do so, it removes all fear of those trials and circumstances.

Be of good cheer, the Lord commands
I’m Your Guide as well as Friend
Do not let your heart be troubled
I’ll be near you til the end.

I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. (Psa 69:30)

No wonder David was the apple of God’s eye! He knew how to love His God… He knew how to thank His God! David was able to recognize when he was discouraged or depressed. The world recognizes in their 12-step programs the need to admit one’s addiction. However, their 12-step programs are only temporary. I speak from experience – I witnessed my father remain sober for almost 30 years, but the feeling of being alone drove him to drink again. The 12-step program did not have a lasting effect on my father. But this is not so with born-again believers! Praise God that we have One whose help can be eternal, if we allow Him to work in our lives.

We, as believers, need to recognize our state of discouragement and depression and go to the Source of healing and encouragement. We have the precious Word of God, in our King James Bible, which contains all the solutions on overcoming discouragement. Let’s learn from David.

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God. (Psa 42:11)

David knew that his discouraged soul would find health. But David had to take that first step – David had to hope in God and His solutions as well as praise God. What does a discouraged soul have to praise God about? Counting your blessings is a great place to start. Everyone has blessings in their lives – everyone! Are you a born-again child of the King? Have you been spared from an eternity of burning in hell? Do you have a roof over your head? Do you have food on your table (even if it is just peanut butter)? Do you have fairly good health where you can still get around? Do you have loved ones? Do you have a good church family? List these blessings on a post-it note and place it where you can see it several times a day. After reading these blessings over and over, you will be able to say with David that you can praise God.

Now that you are praising God, the next step is to magnify Him with thanksgiving. I love looking up words from King James’ era when our beloved King James Bible was translated. The words from that time period have so much more punch and meaning than if using modern-day English.

Noah Webster’s definition of magnify is:

2. To make great in representation; to extol; to exalt in description or praise. The embassador magnified the king and queen.
3. To extol; to exalt; to elevate; to raise in estimation. Thee that day Thy thunders
magnified. The Lord magnified Solomon exceedingly. 1 Chr 29.

So my brother and sister in Christ, extol and exalt the precious Name of Jesus to yourself and anyone who will listen! Share with others God’s blessings and compassion for you! Doing this is a sure-fire way of taking your eyes off your circumstances and discouragement and focusing on the “good” things that the Lord has blessed you with. Do you have the gift of writing? Let others know what God has done for you. Do you have the gift of speaking? Use your gift and magnify the Lord and His goodness toward you. Do you have a gift of ministering to others? Find yourself a dear Senior Saint and share God’s blessings with them. I dare say, these dear Saints are in desperate need of a kind and uplifting word. As you read the words to Mr. Oatman’s song, Count Your Blessings, you can surely appreciate the fact that he had been through a few bouts of discouragement. He learned from David what he had to do to be encouraged.

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.Refrain
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

~Johnson Oatman, Jr.

…for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

(Heb 13:5)

What precious words these are to the Christian! Can one say for certain that their child will never leave them or forsake them? Can it be said of a dear friend? I’m sure we can all say that a friend has abandoned us at the worse time in our lives! But not so with the Lord.

My friend, Christ promises to always stay with us and never forsake us. Noah Webster’s definition of the word forsake is as follows:

1. To quit or leave entirely; to desert; to abandon; to depart from. Friends and flatterers forsake us in adversity.

We can feel as though we have lost our way and that God would never forgive us, but the Word says otherwise. If I were to re-phrase Hebrews 13:5, I could say that the Lord will never leave us entirely – or the Lord will never abandon us – or the Lord will never depart from us. I don’t know about you, but this is eternal security in a nutshell!

There is nothing more encouraging to me when I am discouraged than to remember that the Lord is right there with me. My position in the family of God once I am born-again is sealed, according to Ephesians 4:30. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.(Eph 4:30) Noah Webster says that the word sealed means:

Furnished with a seal; fastened with a seal; confirmed; closed.

My salvation is confirmed in Heaven and the matter is closed! Enough said! My Father in Heaven will never leave my side, His Son’s Spirit lives within me and will never leave me – no matter what state I am in.

…and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Mat 28:20)

Praise the Lord that I can encourage my heart by dwelling on the permanency of my salvation!

His work on the cross brought death to sin
So I can live righteously
The Shepherd and Bishop of my soul
Purchased me for eternity

Excerpt from A Vessel in the Potter’s Hand

David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee. (1Sa 17:37)

Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. (1Sa 17:45)

And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands. (1Sa 17:47)

As I lay in bed reading last night, this account of David and his battle with Goliath just jumped off the pages and encouraged my heart so much. We have all heard this account numerous times, some of you preachers have probably preached on it several times. But have we truly stopped to think about the little details the Lord has given us?

I once read that David was approximately 15 years old when he killed the 9-foot Goliath. Several things impressed me about this account.

• He had already killed a lion and a bear
• He recognized that God brought him through that and he was confident that God would bring him through the trial with Goliath
• David was so confident that he confronted Goliath with the statement showing he was not afraid of Goliath’s sword because he had God on his side
• David recognized that God’s solutions are not with the sword and that the battle was the Lord’s

David saw the trial ahead of him — a 9-foot soldier with the armor to match his size. How many 9-foot giants have we had in our own lives? Each trial seems to be greater than the last. We’re just now overcoming our battle with discouragement. I didn’t even get a feeling at all that David was discouraged over his upcoming battle with Goliath, did you? I only noticed confidence on David’s part in this account.

Will we look at our next trial in the same manner David did? David recognized Who helped him with the lion and the bear. So much so, he had confidence that this same God would help him with the next trial. Also, he didn’t keep that confidence hidden away in his heart. David had a testimony before the people. They were able to see where his confidence came from.

David announced for all to hear, including his nine-foot giant, that he had the Lord of Hosts on his side and that the battle was the Lord’s. Our bout with discouragement was quite a trial in itself. No, it isn’t fighting lions and bears or nine-foot giants, but the circumstances sure did feel like it, didn’t it? But God brought us out of this discouragement. Our hearts have been encouraged once again. We need to glean from this account and realize why God looked at David as the apple of His eye.

It is this same Lord who brought us through our discouargement. It is this same Lord who encouraged our hearts and helped our eyes to look up. The battles in our lives belong to the Lord, my friend. There is great comfort in that. Discouragement was our Goliath. But it is the same God of David who helped defeat our Goliath and gave us wonderful peace and joy once again.

Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
(Heb 13:8

My Shepherd cares for my every need
In my life and along life’s way
He gives me such peace with every trial
Reviving my weary heart each day
Excerpt from O Watcher of My Soul

I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities; (Psa 31:7)

It’s one thing to say that you will be glad and rejoice in the Lord, but quite another to have the drive and purpose to do so. As I strive to encourage myself in the Lord, I find that this effort is not only on-going but is progressive. Total encouragement does not happen over night. However, there are immediate results when we begin to exercise our encouragement muscle.

As I look at Psalm 31:7, I noticed that David was glad and rejoicing in the Lord’s mercy. I love looking up the definitions of words used in the King James Bible using Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary. Today’s definitions of these same words are so diluted. Noah’s definitions put Psalm 31:7 into a more meaningful light. Let me show you the difference:

The Cambridge Dictionary’s definition of the word mercy:

kindness and forgiveness shown towards someone whom you have authority over

Noah Webster’s definition of the word mercy:

1. That benevolence, mildness or tenderness of heart which disposes a person to overlook injuries, or to treat an offender better than he deserves; the disposition that tempers justice, and induces an injured person to forgive trespasses and injuries, and to forbear punishment, or inflict less than law or justice will warrant. In this sense, there is perhaps no word in our language precisely synonymous with mercy. That which comes nearest to it is grace. It implies benevolence, tenderness, mildness, pity or compassion, and clemency, but exercised only towards offenders. Mercy is a distinguishing attribute of the Supreme Being.

The Cambridge Dictionary’s definition of the word considered:

an opinion or decision that someone has reached after a lot of thought

Noah Webster’s definition of the word considered:

Thought of with care; pondered; viewed attentively; deliberated on; examined.

I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities; (Psa 31:7)

After reading Noah Webster’s definitions for mercy and considered, it reveals a more compassionate Father and One who cares for us intimately. David knew that God not only viewed his troubles attentively but God also pondered over them and examined them. God knew all the “in’s and out’s” of David’s troubles. David did not have to worry about a thing because His Heavenly Father had everything under control.

Furthermore, the Father knew David’s soul in his troubles – again this shows us that God knew David intimately.

No wonder David was glad and rejoicing in His mercy! There is nothing more comforting than to be able to turn over our troubles and leave them in the Lord’s capable hands. The same God who helped David and knew him intimately, is able to do the same for us!

Let us rejoice and be glad in God’s mercy toward us!

Kate Plourde
August 24, 2006

Oh come join me all ye who love Him
Let our voices ne’er cease to sing
Cast thy burdens at Jesus’ Precious Feet
Shout Hosannah to our Heavenly King!

Excerpt from Jesus My Redeemer, My King

Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. (Jam 5:13)

Thank you, Brother Jerry, for encouraging me to cover the first part of this verse and elaborate on it a bit. As we review the first part of the verse, let’s rest on the word afflicted for a bit. Noah Webster defines the word as:

AFFLICT’ED, pp. Affected with continued or often repeated pain, either of body or mind; suffering grief or distress, of any kind; followed by at, by or with; as, afflicted at the loss of a child, by the rheumatism, or with losses.

We can see that the state of discouragement is covered in this definition. David’s solution to this was prayer. The Word says it is to your benefit!

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (Jam 5:16)

Confess your discouragement to God and to dear saints who will pray on your behalf. Furthermore, you want to make sure that the Lord will hear your prayers. When you send a letter to IRS, you send it certified mail and return receipt requested to ensure that it gets there. Your prayer life will be hindered if you have unconfessed sin.

If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: (Psa 66:18

Your prayers will go unanswered if you have unconfessed sin. Someone once said “Keep your accounts short with God.” That is good advice. Now you can lift up your needs before the Lord and be healed from your discouragement. The latter part of James 5:16 states that a righteous man (covered by the Blood of Jesus) who prays specifically for his needs before God with fervancy (such great desire) will profit much! God desires to answer our prayers, my friend.

Once our heart is clean before the Lord, we can go before Him with boldness knowing that all hindrances have been removed and His ear is at our mouth.
In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. (Eph 3:12) The sin of discouragement has been forgiven; the Father will hear our prayer because our righteousness lies in Christ; and now we can go before the Father with boldness knowing that He will provide encouragement to our heart.

Sometimes it is easier to encourage others than ourselves. Oh how true this statement is! But encouraging ourselves is do-able! David encouraged himself in the Lord ( I Samuel 30:6). That’s is why James provided the latter part of today’s verse. Yesterday’s devotional covered this – reading Psalms is a wonderful way to encourage your spirit. Also, surround yourself with saints who will encourage your heart and pray for you!

Here is a beautiful poem, written by Brother Jerry in 2001. It is so appropriate and I know it will bless you as much as it did me!

A Friend When You Need One

It’s so easy to get discouraged,
To be downcast or in despair.
When you feel all alone in your wilderness,
And it seems that no one cares.That’s when temptation hits the hardest,
Where the battle is nearly lost – or won.
When you stumble through dark valleys
And gloomy shadows hide the Son.

In your loneliness and your struggles,
Here’s a solution that may seem odd -
Don’t look around to man for comfort,
Instead, with hope, look up to God.

Jesus will provide the grace you require
And His Word will light the way.
All you need is faith to claim His promises,
And your night will turn to day.

The Lord knows your each and every need -
He knows, before you even ask in prayer.
Just keep on being faithful to Him,
And, in time, His answer will be there.

So instead of giving up in disgrace,
Do the work that must be done;
You will find that as you run the race,
God will bring a friend when you most need one.

December 8th, 2001
Jerry Bouey

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones. (Pro 17:22)

As we start the second half of our discouragement series, we will be focusing on encouragement. Encouragement is the medicine that heals the heart and brings joy. As we are in the process of healing our discouraged spirit, we are focusing on exactly what we have to do to restore that joy which will bring about a soul which is at rest.

I just love God’s Word! Our compassionate Father, who pities us, gives us verses in the Bible that are right there for us to glean from. All we have to do is search them out. A simple Bible software program has a search feature which allows me to search for particular words. Today, I searched for the word “merry” and my soul leaped within me when I discovered James 5:13. What a wonderful solution to obtaining that merry heart! Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. (Jam 5:13)

It stands to reason that if I am not merry, then I am not singing psalms. Therefore, if I want to be merry, I need to sing psalms! Is that simple or what? Not only did the Lord provide the solution in James 5:13, but our Succorer gave us the Book of Psalms. Furthermore, not only did He give us one or two psalms, but our Creator knew we would be in need of many and gave us 150 of them! Three psalms a day is enough to keep any soul merry!

My friend, I hate to sound like a broken record, but once again the Word comes into play. Everything we need in life is contained in the Word. It is the very food (bread) that we need to feed the spirit within us.

But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (Mat 4:4)

Kate Plourde
August 22, 2006

You are my light, my water, my bread
A cleansing power is Your blood so red
This Crimson Thread is revealed throughout
Each letter, each page Your Word thus shouts

Excerpt from “Your Word, My Breath”