Kicking Discouragement: Getting Back On Track

Have you ever been tempted to not set any goals to shoot for because of the discouragement that came from past failures? Yesterday, I was speaking with my barber & she shared with me how this year her resolution was to have no resolutions because she was tired of making resolutions & then being discouraged when she quickly broke them. While I could easily relate, my heart saddened at the power of her discouragement.

Discouragement is one of our greatest enemies;

it can attack us swiftly or slowly. Discouragement comes to rob you of your joy, your strength, & your will to fight. The word literally means: to remove courage, to strip away boldness, to take away the spirit or heart, or to deprive of hope. 

Discouragement can be a powerful thing, but it is not unstoppable. It is like a drug that suppresses passion & depresses our hopes. When we slip we need to learn to kick discouragement & get right back on track.

In one of my favorite movies, “We Are Marshall,” there is a scene where the new head coach for Marshall University is trying to persuade the sole surviving facility from the coaching staff to come back & help him keep the football program going after a tragic plane crash earlier that year that killed around 100 players, coaches, & fans. The coach was so discouraged & felt so hopeless because of the plan crash that he wanted to quit, shut down the program, & live a different life. While they were talking the head coach saw a train coming in the distance & asked, “Isn’t that the train that slipped off the track a couple years ago?” “Yes,” the other coach replied. “It’s back on track,” the head coach said as he walked away.

What made the story so powerful was that the new head coach wasn’t so focused on a ‘winning’ record as he was showing up & putting a team on the field. Sometimes showing up is the greatest victory! If you get knocked off track choose to immediately get back on. You can’t do anything about yesterday, but you have full control over the choices you make today.

Just because your train may have slipped off track does not mean you have to let it stay off track. If you get knocked off track get back on. It really is as simple as that. Yes, you may have to push through discouragement, hopelessness, or feelings of failure, but when God is with you you have all you need to push forward.

Remember what He said to Joshua before he was stepped into a place he had never been? “Be strong & courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be dismayed. For I am the Lord your God & will be with you everywhere you go,” (Joshua 1:8-9). Our greatest confidence & weapon against discouragement is the promise of God’s presence. Go today in the confidence that as you stay on track or get back on track the Lord is with you.

Let’s Do This Together

In what areas of your life is it easy to get discouraged when you get knocked off track? How can you look to God’s presence for a greater sense of courage?