How Do I Overcome Discouragement?
1) Direct answer
You overcome discouragement by turning from feelings to the Word, casting your cares on the Lord in prayer, speaking His promises, putting on the garment of praise, and pressing on with your eyes fixed on Jesus. Resist the spirit of heaviness, feed your faith, and keep moving in simple obedience.
2) Scriptural explanation
- Recognize and resist it:
- The Bible says there is a “spirit of heaviness,” but God gives “the garment of praise” for it (Isaiah 61:3). “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). “Whom resist steadfast in the faith” (1 Peter 5:9).
- Cast your cares and pray through:
- “Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you” (1 Peter 5:7). “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving… the peace of God… shall keep your hearts and minds” (Philippians 4:6-7).
- Talk to your soul with the Word:
- “Why art thou cast down, O my soul?… hope thou in God” (Psalm 42:5). “Bless the Lord, O my soul… who crowneth thee with lovingkindness” (Psalm 103:1-5).
- Feed your faith:
- “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). “This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me” (Psalm 119:50). “Thou shalt meditate therein day and night” (Joshua 1:8).
- Put on praise:
- “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). Paul and Silas sang at midnight, and God opened the prison (Acts 16:25-26).
- Fix your eyes on Jesus:
- “Looking unto Jesus… who for the joy that was set before him endured” (Hebrews 12:2). “Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
- Remember His presence and promise:
- “Fear thou not; for I am with thee” (Isaiah 41:10). “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5-6).
- Use your armor:
- “Be strong in the Lord… put on the whole armour of God” (Ephesians 6:10-17). Pull down imaginations with the Word (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).
- Clear the conscience if needed:
- “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive” (1 John 1:9). “There is… no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).
- Rest and refresh:
- Elijah was overwhelmed, and God gave him sleep and bread for the journey (1 Kings 19:4-8).
- Keep walking:
- “Let us not be weary in well doing” (Galatians 6:9). “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31). “Wait on the Lord… and he shall strengthen thine heart” (Psalm 27:13-14).
3) Simple clarifying logic
- Discouragement grows where faith starves; faith grows where the Word is heard. So feed on the Word, and the giant shrinks.
- Peace is promised after prayer with thanksgiving. If peace isn’t there yet, keep praying until it anchors you.
- Praise displaces heaviness. You can’t wear the garment of praise and the spirit of heaviness at the same time.
- Now notice: Who told you you’re alone and finished? Not the Bible. The Bible says, “I am with thee,” and “All things work together for good” (Romans 8:28). So believe the Word over the feeling.
4) Short reinforcing statement
Make it practical today:
- Speak a promise out loud (Isaiah 41:10; Philippians 1:6).
- Pray and cast the care by name.
- Thank and praise God for what He already did.
- Read a Psalm and Hebrews 12:1-2.
- Encourage someone else (Hebrews 10:24-25)—what you sow, you reap.
A simple prayer you can pray:
Lord Jesus, I cast this care on You. Your Word says You are with me and will never leave me. Fill me with the Holy Spirit, clothe me with the garment of praise, renew my mind with Your truth, and strengthen my steps. I choose to believe Your promise over my feeling. Amen.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
Perseverance
62-0520 §42
You know, somehow faith finds a source that others don't know nothing about. No matter how much they try to say, "Don't go," they go anyhow, see, 'cause faith finds its source. Others don't see it. That's right. Now she knowed his Word. And the Bible said in Hebrews, the 4th chapter and the 12th verse, that "the Word of God is sharper than a two-edged sword, cutting even to the ... asunder of the soul, and a discerner of the thoughts of the heart." That's what the Word of God does. It discerns even the thoughts tha...
How can I overcome?
63-0825M §107
Paul preached this Word and wrote this Word, the same Word that we're trying to follow, because he took the Old Testament, and patterned it, and showed that it was a type, that all of the Old Testament was a perfect type of the New. O Lord, may we follow that example. We see our Lord, what He did, and we realize that those Old Testament saints, this morning, we find out that they did go. When Jesus raised, they went with Him. And Lord, we believe that we'll go when He sounds the trumpet. We believe it, that the bri...
What it takes to overcome all unbelief: Our faith
60-0729 §57
Now, we're living in a terrific day, but all that you have need of is already supplied to you, when you believe. So many people, today, I find, when they join church, and here especially, in America, they just become drifters. They're just... "Well, praise God, I've met Brother Branham, and I got saved, and I put my name on the book, and that's all I've done." Just drifting, we don't want to do that. You never got saved just to be a member of a church. You got saved to work. We don't dress an army up just to lay ar...
Why some people can't keep the victory
57-0324 §65
...n, and you're joint heirs with Him in heaven. It's easy. Now, what do we do when this comes into us? when this love comes in? I believe I was preaching here the other night how that that love is projected, how that the burdens seem light, how that love casteth out fear. You won't be scared if you got that love in you. And the Bible said you can be healed, you'll take God at His Word. You won't care about nothing as long as love's there, making all of these things move around. If things don't go right, that doesn't...
Look
63-0428 §50
That's what the church should do. That's what each member of the church should do. But focus out of you all doubt. Look only to that Word. It promised it. God said so! It's got to be that way. The Bible said, "Against hope, he believed in hope. And he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong, giving praise to God." Each day he got stronger because the miracle would be greater.