When Discouraged, Remember God Loves You

Read Nehemiah 4:1-15. How do you defeat discouragement in your life? You remember that God loves you. And because God loves you, he doesn’t give you what you deserve. He shows you grace and mercy instead.

The people of Judah didn’t “deserve” to have Jerusalem’s walls rebuilt. They didn’t “deserve” to have Jerusalem safe and secure again. They had sinned against God. They had turned away from him and abandoned their covenant with him. They had not obeyed his commands. They had been unfaithful.

God had every right to be angry with them. He could have refused to listen to Nehemiah’s prayers on their behalf. But instead, he showed them grace and mercy. He brought them back to Jerusalem, the place he had promised to dwell with them. God gave them what they needed, not what they deserved.

He does the same for us. He loves you. All you need to do is to let him love you. When you do that and you experience his love, mercy, and grace, then your discouragement disappears. You can pursue his purpose for your life and fulfil all that he has planned for you.

THINK IT OVER

Think about the following:

• When you hear God speak, do you feel he criticises you or speaks to you in love? Why?

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.