A Letter to a Friend: How to Overcome Doubt and Discouragement

Dear Friend:

I see you have had a lot of trouble since you became a Christian. You have had great trouble and were wondering why God wasn’t helping you. You haven’t had an easy life, and the enemy of humanity has been greatly troubling you and trying to put you down, and to steal your new life away from you. You don’t know why you can’t have an easier time, and not have so many problems.

I would like to tell you about my special friend whom you are starting to get to know. His name is Jesus. He knows what you are going through, the problems you inherited, and knows the battles that you are fighting. But He has won the battle for you at the cross and has been given all power and authority. Matthew 28:18. Just let Him fight your battles for you and rest in His strength. He is pleading on your behalf to the Father.

Sometimes you have felt like you were ready to give up. Are you ready to give up yet? Then let God take care of you. Then allow Him to save you from your doubts and fears. Are you ready to let Him do this? Believe it or not your life will get better when you totally give up, and fall into the loving hands of God. Giving up is not such a bad thing, if you will just rest totally in God’s love. In fact, giving up is the best thing you could ever do! Providing you trust in God totally. There is no room for doubts or fears when you give up and fall into His hands! When you fall into His loving hands, He will then take care of you, no more fear.

Gather up the fragments that remain of the good things and blessings God has given you. John 6:12. Don’t talk through your doubts, fears and mistakes, or the mistakes of others. Don’t dwell on them either. If you mention them aloud your ears hear them, reinforcing them in your brain. Don’t gather up all of your problems, doubts and fears and dwell on them or present them to others. Instead, gather up what Jesus and His Father have done for you, and do not lose any of these blessings. Think about what God has done for you, and the joy you felt when you were baptized and gave your heart to the Lord. Think about how far God has taken you from where you were, and the battles He has helped you to win! Think of all the changes for the better that God has helped you to do. Think about all the blessings you have received, and all the knowledge about God and the truth that you have acquired. Instead of thinking of all of your troubles, trials and fears, think about what God wants to do for you and for all the blessings He is giving you and wants to give you. Gather all of these up and thank Him for it! Gather up all of these and praise Him to others of what He has done for you. The antidote to doubt is to praise God and thank Him for all of His marvelous works.

How do you get rid of doubt or discouragement you may ask? You must get faith. How? Do what Paul declares here: “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17 KJV. Where does faith come from? It comes from hearing. Hearing what? The word of God. What does it mean to hear the word of God? It means to read it, listen to it, receive it into your heart, and to do it by His grace. It means you don’t turn away from what God is telling you to do in the Bible. Is it really that simple to get faith? Is it really that simple to get rid of doubt? Yes! It really is that simple! There is power in the word of God. When God spoke and said, ‘Let there be light’, there was light. Genesis 1:3. And for each day of the week when God spoke and said something, His word created what He said. Genesis chapter 1. So how do you get faith? By hearing the words of God that He speaks, believing them and doing them. In God’s word is contained the power to perform what He asks, this is how you get faith.

But how this and how that? Stop asking how and start hearing His voice. Stop asking how, and start reading His word and believing. Stop asking how, and start really listening to His word and desire to keep it. I know that you want to keep His word, but listening to His word is the secret to how you can get rid of doubt and discouragement and to have faith! The power to get rid of all your doubts are contained in His words.

It is impossible for God to lie, therefore we have a strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. Hebrews 6:18. If you want to be happy and get rid of doubt study the many precious promises of God for you to claim, and ask Him to help you meet their requirements so that they become yours. Peter says, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” 2 Peter 1:4 KJV. Peter ought to know about these things since he had walked and talked with Jesus, and been changed by His love. He had denied His Savior when Jesus was arrested and taken away to the priest’s house where Jesus was being accused, but Jesus forgave him. Luke 22:54-62. After the cross Jesus told him to feed His lambs, letting him know that he had been forgiven. John 21:15. Peter died as an overcomer. He personally knew of Jesus saving grace, and the many precious promises for the believer. Peter had had such a change from his impetuous and bragging nature before the cross, to the kind and humble evangelist, taking care of Jesus’ sheep. If Jesus can help the apostle Peter, He can help you too.

Keep reading and studying the faith building stories throughout the Bible and make them your own. These stories can be your life story in some ways too, did you know that? When you read these exciting stories of people who were faithful to God and served Him with joy and delight, this story of faithfulness can be yours too. The life of the faithful person in the Bible days doesn’t have to be something you just read about, it can be your story too! If you would want to take part in God’s plan of Salvation, He would be delighted to share a peace of the kingdom with you (Luke 12:32). When you give yourself to God, and hear His word and receive it into your heart, this will produce faith in your heart and help you get rid of doubt, because this is the power of God! Just believe it. It is not really as hard as many people want to make it, it is really quite easy! How can that be true? People say that it is hard. But it is not only hard, it is impossible for anyone to become a new creature, which is to live a righteous life, by themselves. But it is easy when you let God, who is mighty to save, do it for you! It is hard and impossible for you to do it, but easy if you let God do it for you.

Continue to yield yourself to your Heavenly Father, until you yield completely. Obey Him in all things; pray for the ability of obeying Him all the way. When this happens you will be given great joy, which will help you to win this battle against discouragement and doubt. When this happens you will know that He loves you and that your salvation is secure with Him, because you kept confessing your sins and have received His Spirit, who will help keep you from falling. And then your whole life will change for the better, and you will devote yourself to Him, the one you love.


The conclusion my dear friend:

Great and marvelous are the works of God! Make Him your focus, and give Him the praise of your voice and heart, and receive great joy in your heart, then you will not worry about discouragement anymore, because God will be your fortress and your strength, and enable you to become an overcomer. 

“And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God. And they sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, ‘Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy; For ALL THE NATIONS WILL COME AND WORSHIP BEFORE YOU, FOR YOUR RIGHTEOUS ACTS HAVE BEEN REVEALED.’” Revelation 15:2-4 NASB.

By John Foll, written between 8/11/2017 and 8/13/2017.
© Copyright 2017 John Foll
 

 

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Lessons on Faith: Part 10 of 14: Complete Dependence on the Word of God Only 2

By A. T. Jones

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Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

Therefore the word of God is the only means of faith.

Therefore, where there is no word of God there cannot be any faith.

And where the word of God is, faith is entire dependence upon that word for the accomplishment of what that word says. 

From all this, which is the truth, it is perfectly plain that in order for anyone to ask in faith, he must first of all be sure that he has the word of God for what he asks.

Having the word of God for what he asks, he, like David, can find it in his heart to pray with perfect confidence, which is only in perfect faith. 

He who thus prays knows that he is asking according to the will of God, for he knows that he has the plain word of God for it. 

Therefore he knows that God hears him, and knowing that God hears him, he knows that he has the thing for which he has asked, because the sole basis of his hope for it is the word which has spoken it, and which is the sole basis of his asking.

The Lord tells us thus to pray, and thus he has made provision for the steady, strong, and continuous growth of faith. 

Many people pray but do not know whether it is the will of the Lord that they should have what they pray for and so do not know whether they can certainly claim it; and not knowing whether they can claim it, they are all at sea as to whether their prayers are answered or not.

The Lord does not want anybody to move uncertainly. Therefore, He has given His word, which thoroughly furnishes every one unto all good works and by which are given all things that pertain unto life and godliness.

And anyone who seeks in the word of God the things which God has there provided for all and upon that specific word prays for that thing, thus asking according to the plainly expressed will of God, knows that his prayer is heard and that he has the thing for which he prayed.
 
So doing, the prayers will be always certain, the life will be filled with the direct gifts of God, and the faith will be sure and strong and will be ever increasing in strength.

Many pray the prayer of the disciples, "Lord, increase our faith." This is well. Yet along with this, it must never be forgotten that faith comes only by the word of God. Therefore, as certainly as your faith shall be increased, it can be only by there being in you an increase of the word of God. And the only way that there can be in you an increase of the word of God is by your harkening to that word, praying to the Lord for the thing which that word says, depending wholly upon that word for that thing and thanking him that you have received it. Then and thus that word is received by you and lives in you.

Thus while we can pray, "Lord, increase our faith," at the same time we must remember that we are to build up ourselves on our most holy faith. Jude 20.

This is how to exercise faith. Faith can be exercised only on the word of God, for where there is no word of God, there cannot be any faith.

And "understanding how to exercise faith, this is the science of the gospel."
RH Feb. 28, 1899

By A. T. Jones in the Review and Herald periodical in 1899.

Blog Edited by John Foll.

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Lessons on Faith: Part 9 of 14: Complete Dependence on the Word of God Only 2

By A. T. Jones

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Faith is complete dependence upon the word of God only, for the accomplishment of what that word says. 

This being so, it must never for a moment be forgotten that where there is no word of God, there can not be any faith. 

This is shown also in the truth that "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Rom. 10:17. Since faith thus comes indeed by the very word of God itself, it is perfectly plain that where there is no word of God, there can be no faith.

This is beautifully illustrated by an instance in the life of David: because David had it in his heart to build a house unto the Lord, the Lord spoke to him by the prophet Nathan, saying, "The Lord telleth thee that he will make thee an house. . . . And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee: thy throne shalt be established forever,"

Then David prayed and said, "Now, 0 Lord God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, establish it forever, and do as thou hast said. And let thy name be magnified forever, saying, The Lord of hosts is the God over Israel: and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee.

"For thou, 0 Lord of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee an house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee.

"And now, 0 Lord God, thou art that God, and thy words be true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant: therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue forever before thee: for thou, 0 Lord God, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed forever." 2 Sam. 7:11-29.

His prayer was altogether of faith, because it was altogether of the word of God: the word of God was the cause of it; the word of God was the basis of it; and the word of God was all the hope of David that the prayer would ever be answered.

He asked according to the will of God, because the will of God was expressed in the word of God. Having asked according to the plainly stated will of God, David knew that his prayer was heard. And knowing that his prayer was heard, David knew that he had the petition which he desired of him. I John 5:14. Therefore he said, So let it be. And therefore also the answer to that prayer was, and is, and forevermore shall be, sure unto David.

And this was written for our learning; that we might know how to pray in faith, and how in prayer to cultivate faith. Therefore, Go and do thou likewise. Because "the knowledge of what the Scripture means when urging upon us the necessity of cultivating faith is more essential than any other knowledge that can be acquired."

RH Feb. 21, 1899 

By A. T. Jones in the Review and Herald periodical in 1899.

Blog Edited by John Foll.

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