Why Do Christians Become Discouraged?
1) Direct Answer
Christians become discouraged when they take their eyes off the Lord’s promises, listen to the accuser, walk by sight instead of faith, grow weary under trial, or misunderstand God’s loving chastening. Discouragement is a real battle, but it is not the believer’s portion—God provides strength, comfort, and renewal.
2) Scriptural Explanation
- Looking at circumstances instead of the Word: Peter sank when he saw the wind, but was safe while looking at Jesus (Matthew 14:29-31).
- Isolation and fear: Elijah ran, sat under a juniper tree, and asked to die; God fed him, spoke gently, and sent him back with a word (1 Kings 19:1-18).
- Delay and dashed expectations: “We trusted…” said the Emmaus disciples, sad and confused, until the Scriptures were opened and Christ was made known (Luke 24:17-32).
- Weariness under chastening: We “be wearied and faint” unless we consider Him who endured; God’s chastening yields fruit (Hebrews 12:3-11).
- Hope deferred: “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick” (Proverbs 13:12).
- Satan’s accusations and attacks: The adversary seeks to devour; he is the accuser of the brethren (1 Peter 5:8-9; Revelation 12:10).
- Honest testimony of saints: “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? hope thou in God” (Psalm 42:5). “We are troubled… yet not distressed… cast down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).
3) Simple Clarifying Logic
- Discouragement rises when sight takes the throne and the promise is pushed aside. Faith looks away to Jesus (Hebrews 12:2).
- If God’s people never faced discouragement, why would He say, “Be not weary in well doing” (Galatians 6:9), “Fear not… be strong” (Joshua 1:9), and give us “the comfort of the Scriptures” (Romans 15:4)?
- The remedy is not to deny the storm, but to lift higher than it:
- Return to the Word: “This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me” (Psalm 119:50).
- Pray and cast away your cares: “Be careful for nothing… the peace of God shall keep your hearts” (Philippians 4:6-7); “Casting all your care upon him” (1 Peter 5:7).
- Resist the devil and take the shield of faith (James 4:7; Ephesians 6:16).
- Wait on the Lord for renewed strength (Isaiah 40:28-31).
- Keep fellowship and encouragement (Hebrews 10:24-25).
- Rejoice and give thanks—“the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
- Remember past deliverances (Psalm 77:11-12).
Short reinforcing statement
You see, discouragement is a sign of battle, not of abandonment. Lift your eyes to Christ, speak what God has spoken, and keep walking. “We faint not… while we look not at the things which are seen…but at the things which are not seen” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).
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.
How can I overcome?
63-0825M §26
...outside it looked good, looked like a big old beech log, but when I jumped on it, oh, a great chunk of it fell off; it was real rotten and doty. I said, "That's the way the Christians are becoming." They've been dead in sin and trespasses so long to become doty. They can hold no weight at all. They don't know what to overcoming means. Then I begin to think of this text then: Overcome, keep life in you. When life went out, that's what brought that log to that condition. See? And it made it worse than ever when it la...
Forsaking all
62-0123 §43
That's the matter with Christians tonight. God gives it to us, but we're afraid to investigate it. When you become a Christian, you're heir to every promise in the Bible. Right. Everything that God promised is yours. It's just like a great big arcade. And by one Spirit we're all baptized into this arcade, which is Christ. Well, if I ... if somebody give me something, I'm going to look around and find out what I own. I think that's what Christians ought to do tonight---find out what you've got. If something gets jus...
As the eagle stirs her nest and flutters over her young
58-0316A §34
...t's happened to many of your families. Certainly it is. He just pulls all the soft pad out, so you walk on thorns. Every time he sits down, it's on a thorn; he jumps up. He becomes discouraged after a while. And I think, if there ever was a time that the Pentecostal church ought to be discouraged, is now. We've denominated ourselves, built great barriers of lines: one's Assemblies, and the other one's a Oneness, the other one is this, that, and the other one. And we just built such lines and barriers till there's s...
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 4:E-44
The Smyrnaean church had drifted far from the original. It had become a hybrid. It had hybridized itself the way Eve did. You know that a hybrid is what comes of two species mixing. The result is no longer pure like the original. It is mongrel. Well, when Eve allowed the beast to mingle his seed with hers she produced a creature called Cain that wasn't pure human. He was of the WICKED ONE. Notice how different he was from Abel. Notice how different he was from Seth. He hated God and would not obey the Word and pers...
Pardoned
63-1028 §38
...ily tradition. It come atonement day and maybe the Jews had been doing what was wrong. He'd say, "Well, I believe it's atonement day. I'd better take my lamb down." See, it become a family tradition. They didn't go with it with sincerity; they just did it because the families had done it. "That's just the thing we should do. All the families do it, so we should do it too." And that's just exactly where our Christianity's got. That's just exactly where our Pentecostal movements are coming to. It's a family tradition...