Overcoming Discouragement

The following notes come from a revival sermon preached at Ridgway First Baptist Church on Nov. 13, 2006, by Bro. Denny Steed. Bro. Denny had recently been diagnosed with cancer, had undergone surgery and was going through difficult treatments. Despite his weakness physically, the Lord gave Bro. Denny great spiritual strength in delivering this message along with three other sermons he preached during this week.

Denny Steed went home to be with His Lord and Savior on October 4, 2007, holding on with supernatural joy, unshakeable hope, and all-surpassing peace to the promises of God’s Word to the very end. Our hearts and prayers go out to his family and church family.

Using Psalm 42 as his main text, Bro. Denny shared with us “10 Ways You Can Overcome Discouragement.” What made this message so special and powerful was knowing what Bro. Denny was personally going through as he lived out the hope of the very words he was preaching. He shared openly of his struggles and hardships, yet claimed his victory over sickness and death through Christ Jesus. He knew the reality of Psalm 42:5: “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.”

Here are the notes as recorded from this message:

10 Ways You Can Overcome Discouragement

1. Pray in faith – expecting and believing God to answer – and keep on praying until He answers (James 1:2-7)
2. Read your Bible (Joshua 1:7-9)
3. Sing praises to God (Ephesians 5:18-19)
4. Share your burden with your church family (Galatians 6:2)
5. Remember God’s promises (Hebrews 13:5; Romans 8:28; John 14:1-3)
6. Keep your heart and mind on God, not on your troubles. Glance at your troubles, but keep your gaze upon the Lord (Philippians 4:6-7)
7. Keep your hope fixed on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-2)
8. Consider your troubles as a lesson of discipline from the Lord (Hebrews 12:3-10)
9. Draw strength from God’s grace (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
10. Realize that nothing can separate you from God’s love (Romans 8:35-39)

Bro. Denny concluded by saying this: “If God is who He claims He is in this Book (the Bible), why should I be discouraged. If Jesus is my Savior, who died for my sin, was buried and raised again and is sitting at the right hand of the throne of God right now, and promises me one of these days He’s coming back, why should I be discouraged?”

These written notes hardly do justice to the spirit and passion in which Bro. Denny preached. There is simply no way to describe the love he exuded for His Savior, nor the confidence he placed in God’s sovereignty. But if you’ll allow the Lord to speak the truth of these verses over you, claiming His promises and trusting in His goodness and grace, I believe the Holy Spirit will encourage your heart in depths no preacher ever could.

I believe God was greatly glorified in the life and death of Bro. Denny Steed, who walked by faith, not by sight. We grieve with his family and church, but rejoice that he is at home with the Lord, receiving as his reward the “crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day” (2 Timothy 4:8).