Not long ago my youngest daughter was working on her long and short vowel sounds. As she was working on recognizing diacritical marks such as: the macron (¯), and the breve (˘) she seemed a little disturbed by the symbols. She frustratingly said, “Can we just change those symbols?” My wife told her we could not because they are part of our language. She still insisted that we should change them into what she wanted instead of what she was seeing. However, she lost the battle, and the English language won.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could just change things to be the way we wanted instead of the way things turn out sometimes? Wouldn’t it be nice if we could customize life? Yep, just wake up in the morning and put in our favorite order for the day. That would be nice. But life is more like a local fast food restaurant. You put in your order and then receive something very different.

In the Bible, Joseph experienced this sly, quick, slight of hand trick that seemed happening to him. He received a dream from God and was excited about the possibilities…then life happened. Plans changed, people got involved, and forces unseen took over. What he thought was going to be a glorious journey of authority and purpose turned into humility and problems. Have you ever felt like you had a great idea, a calling, or a dream in your heart that made you want to shout with excitement? You were ignited by the possibilities and energized by the passion! But then…you left that moment and were hit with a major roadblock. Maybe you told someone about it and they shared zero of your excitement. Maybe you were thrust back into the rat race of life and forgot the vision. Maybe you tried to sit down and plan your next steps, but were faced with more questions than answers. Maybe you woke up the next day and realized, who are you to do something like that…then you gave up in discouragement. Whatever the case, I almost guarantee you’ve battled spiritual discouragement, probably even more than once. I know because I experience it all the time. And Joseph experienced it when he woke up in a dark pit that his brothers threw him in after he had his big dream moment. He had to battle spiritual discouragement like you and I. His life lessons gives us some great tips to remember. Just know, in the end, he became the second most powerful ruler in Egypt. There is hope and you can win!

So how do we battle these moments of spiritual discouragement? How do we keep on keepin’ on when we’ve lost the dream?

1) Embrace The Journey

You will never make it to your destination if you allow yourself to get derailed. Always giving up or changing course at every roadblock will make for an unfulfilled life. Understand that our destiny is not a destination…it’s truly a journey. This means the journey is more important than the destination. If you got to where you wanted to go now, you probably wouldn’t be ready to handle it. It’s the lessons we learn along the journey that develop us. Joseph would have never of had the opportunity to rule Egypt if he hadn’t of went through prison to get there. His journey prepared him for his position as ruler. Quit trying to escape your circumstances and embrace the lessons you need to learn through them. 

2) Recognize The Small Wins

If you are always looking for the big stuff to happen in your life you can easily miss the little stuff. Sometimes it’s the little stuff that makes the biggest difference. So, recognize the progress you have made and be thankful for it. If you are constantly complaining about what you don’t have, you’ll waste what you do have.

3) Always Be Alert

Discouragement causes us to become disillusioned. Disillusionment causes Despair. Despair causes Discontentedness. And Discontentedness causes Defeat! When we are defeated, we are checked out. We must stay ready and willing if we are going to fulfill our destiny. If fact, Peter reminds us…

1 Peter 5:8 (NIV)

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

The enemy wants nothing more than to get you unfocused and uninterested in your potential. We fight this attack by always staying in ready mode. Each day you wake up you need to be expecting great opportunities to happen in your life. Stop waking up tired, depressed, and unfulfilled. Make a choice to get the proper rest so you can tackle the day. Be intentional about being alert. Make sure you are taking care of yourself so you are at your best! The more available you make yourself, the more opportunities will open up.

Remember Joseph…and if God did it for him…He can do it for you!