A Beautiful Way to Beat Discouragement!

Two years, five months ago, I posted an article titled, “Dealing with Discouragement.” In it, I shared about seven individuals in the Bible whom I considered “Excellent Encouragers,” in that they handled discouragement well. One of the individuals was Joseph and I noted that “he was convinced that God was with him and that He had a plan and purpose for his life.” Joseph, therefore, never lost hope.

Today, a friend shared Genesis 50:20 with me and I decided to look at the verse closely. The Scripture verse says,

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position, so I could save the lives of many people” (NLT)

After thinking about the verse, I thought of God’s purposeful intention as a beautiful way to beat discouragement in our lives. When we realize that God has a plan and purpose for what’s happening to us, we can find consolation. The apostle Paul in Romans 8:28-30 put it this way:

“Moreover we know that to those who love God, who are called according to his plan, everything that happens fits into a pattern for good. God, in his foreknowledge, chose them to bear the family likeness of his Son, that he might be the eldest of a family of many brothers. He chose them long ago; when the time came he called them, he made them righteous in his sight, and then lifted them to the splendour of life as his own sons” (J. B. Phillips New Testament)

Of course, Joseph may not have comprehended all that was happening to him at the time. However, one thing is sure: Because He depended on God and counted on the accomplishment of God’s purposes in his life, Joseph became God’s instrument not only to save the land of Egypt but also the whole nation of Israel, thus bringing about a fulfillment of his earlier dreams. When his being sold into slavery in Egypt or his being falsely accused and thrown into prison is looked at through the eyes of God’s purposeful intention, things begin to make sense. Instead of succumbing to discouragement, we can instead delight in the Lord (cf. Psalm 37:4).

God’s purposeful intention in relation to Joseph’s story in Genesis maybe summed up as follows: He turns a bad intention into a good intention and uses it to save the lives of many people through us. May the Lord perfect that which concerns each of us so He may accomplish His purposes through our lives. As a result, we will testify of His goodness and in a beautiful way beat discouragement. May God bless you, richly!

Note: You may read the article referenced above, here:Dealing with Discouragement