G
Grace_and_Glory
Guest
Is it ever God’s will for us to feel discouraged? I ask because I’ve been quite discouraged for over a month now, and I’m beginning to feel like I’m supposed to be in this state right now.
Here’s why:
Here’s why:
- This discouragement doesn’t really seem to lead to despair. I am rarely tempted to think that my sin is so great that God can’t save me, and when I am, it seems to have only a superficial connection to despair.
- The discouragement is most obvious when I pray, and prayer doesn’t make it go away.
- I seem to have a peace with it. I don’t expect prayer to make me feel more encouraged, and I’m not disappointed when it doesn’t.
- When I think that maybe God wants me to feel discouraged right now, it doesn’t make me bitter, but I can see how it fits in with His goodness.
- I can see a purpose to this. I’ve been battling a particular sin for a while, and it seems like I am making progress, because the more noticeable forms of it seem to be less prevalent. Now, though, I’m seeing that it runs far deeper than I’d thought. I feel like this discouragement is God’s way of letting me get sick enough of this sin that I’ll be willing to endure whatever is necessary to eliminate it from my life.