{"id":717,"date":"2014-04-22T13:13:00","date_gmt":"2014-04-22T18:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tide4christ.ua.edu\/?p=717"},"modified":"2019-07-12T12:15:30","modified_gmt":"2019-07-12T17:15:30","slug":"blessed-beyond-discouragement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tide4christ.ua.edu\/?p=717","title":{"rendered":"Blessed Beyond Discouragement"},"content":{"rendered":"
I think it is safe to say that all of us, at one time or another, will experience some type of discouragement. Discouragement comes in many forms. Whether it’s about church, school, friends, or family, discouragement is one of the tools that Satan uses to get us focused on something other than God. This is dangerous to us. God is meant to be the main focus of our lives, so any time we put that focus onto something (or someone) else we are in dangerous territory. Merriam-Webster defines discouragement in the following ways:<\/span><\/div>\n

Discouragement<\/b>:<\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
noun<\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00b7  <\/span><\/span>the act of making something less likely to happen or of making people less likely to do something <\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00b7  <\/span><\/span>a feeling of having lost hope or confidence<\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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Although the above definitions adequately explain what discouragement is, I thought I would share another definition of discouragement I\u2019ve heard recently. It was said that discouragement comes from unmet expectations. <\/i>I think that is, perhaps, the best way I have heard discouragement defined. <\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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Discouragement is the feeling that results from our unmet expectations.<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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I know from experience, that it is so easy to get caught up planning out how our lives will go, even down to the small details such as what we will eat for dinner. These plans for our lives tend to turn into expectations. <\/span>

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