When you're having a problem or a struggle, doesn't it help to know others have faced the same situations? David, Elijah, and Hannah were discouraged. Here are some other discouraged people in the Bible.

4. Naomi

Naomi was discouraged because of financial difficulties and terrible loss. Her husband and two sons had both died, and she was left penniless and homeless. "Don't call me Naomi," she told her friends. "Call me Mara (meaning bitter), because the Almighty has made my life very bitter…” (Ruth 1:20-21). It's easy enough to understand her discouragement. Financial difficulties cause a great deal of discouragement for many of us.

5. Mary and Martha

Mary and Martha were discouraged because they lost someone they loved, and they had really expected Jesus to save him. After all, Jesus had been healing all kinds of other people; surely, he would come and save his beloved friend, Lazarus, they reasoned. And when he didn't, they were very discouraged; Jesus had disappointed them. "Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died" (John 11:21).

Have you ever set an agenda out for the Lord, expecting him to work on your timetable, and then been disappointed when he didn't come through? That can be discouraging.

6. Peter

Peter was discouraged because of his own failure. After he denied the Lord three times, Peter went out and wept bitterly, we are told. I imagine he felt he had blown it for good, and he must have been terribly discouraged with himself. How could he deny the Lord, the one he promised never to deny?

When I look at myself and see how inadequate I am, how often I fail, how I go back and do the same things over and over I know I shouldn't do, I get very discouraged. In fact, that discourages me probably more than anything else, how about you?

7. Jesus

Even Jesus fought discouragement when his friends failed him; when he was misunderstood; when he tried to help, and his help was refused. That really hurts when you have totally good motives, and yet people don't approve or understand or support you. In fact, they may reject you, as they did Jesus. Easy to be discouraged then.

Well, it is encouraging to see even these great people of God went through times of discouragement. But now we want to know how they learned to defeat it.

Do you get discouraged? The answer has to be "yes.” If you aren't now, you have been. If you haven't been, you will be. None of us go through life without periods of discouragement. Let’s examine practical ways we can defeat discouragement.

Did you realize the Bible is full of discouraged people? Let's think about some of the reasons they were discouraged, because they're very similar to the things that discourage us.

David

Oh, that I had wings of a dove! David wrote; I would fly away and be at rest…I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm (Psalm 55:5-6:8). David was discouraged because of an enemy who was jealous of him and trying to destroy him.

Do you have some people in your life who are consciously trying to do you harm? Are there some people close to you who are jealous or mean or vindictive? That can be very discouraging.

Elijah

Elijah was discouraged because of exhaustion. After a great spiritual victory, when he called down fire from heaven and destroyed all the prophets of Baal, one little woman scared him to death because she threatened to kill him. And he was ready to give up. "I have had enough, Lord," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors” (1 Kings 19:4).

I find I am often discouraged after spiritual victories. How about you? Do you often find yourself discouraged just when God has done something wonderful in your life? It's not unusual.

Hannah

Hannah was discouraged because the deepest desire of her heart had not been given to her. And it was a good and worthy desire—to have a baby she could give back to the Lord. Downhearted and discouraged, in bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the Lord for a baby (1 Samuel 1).

Some of you are discouraged because of unfulfilled desires. Maybe it's the desire to be married, but the right person hasn't come along. Maybe, like Hannah, it's the desire to have a baby, but your womb has been closed so far. Maybe it's your dreams of serving God in some special way, but the door hasn't opened yet. It can be discouraging.

We can certainly see discouragement is nothing new; it's been around since the beginning of time.

The Old Testament gives us the history of God’s people, the Israelites, before the coming of their long-awaited Messiah, Jesus Christ. And throughout their history they had good times and bad times—times when they obeyed God and times when they went far astray. Eventually, they split into two nations, Israel and Judah, with ten of the tribes forming the Israel nation and two forming the nation of Judah.

I want to focus your attention to one of the most wonderful chapters in the Bible, in my opinion, 2 Chronicles 20, which tells us about Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. Jehoshaphat was one of the godly kings who obeyed the Lord and led his people to follow Yahweh. But they were a small nation, not well fortified, and therefore very vulnerable to their enemies.

In chapter 20 of 2 Chronicles, Jehoshaphat finds himself and his nation in a truly frightening predicament. Here are the first four verses of that chapter:

After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites came     to make war on Jehoshaphat. Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, "A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Seas. It is already in En Gedi.” Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.

Jehoshaphat is faced with a grave dilemma. His entire army and his entire country could be wiped out by this enemy army. And he is alarmed. Who wouldn't be? But notice what Jehoshaphat does in his alarmed condition: He resolves to inquire of the Lord.

He could have inquired of his political advisers. They would have undoubtedly told him to try to make a peace treaty with this vast enemy and save their necks, even if it meant giving up the land. He could have inquired of his military advisers, who would have told him to retreat and get out as fast as possible, because there was no way they could defeat this great military army coming against them. But Jehoshaphat didn't inquire of people or counselors or advisers. He inquired of the Lord.

Where have you been running for answers as you face your impossible situation? Is the Lord the first one you turn to? Amazing how often we do everything else except inquire of the Lord.

This should be the first thing we do when we don’t know what to do: Inquire of the Lord. Notice that Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord; he set his will to do it. I can imagine his feelings were taking him in different directions. I can believe he wanted to start running fast and take some kind of action immediately. But he knew he would only find answers by inquiring of the Lord, so whether he felt like it or not, he resolved to do that.

Many times, we run with our emotions when we're up against impossibilities. And our emotions take us to hasty action, to running away, to seeking advice from the wrong people, etc. If we would first inquire of the Lord, sit down with his Word and ask for direction, spend time in prayer to listen to his voice, we would find the answers we need.

I remember at one point in my life, many years ago now, when I was suddenly faced with what seemed at the time to be a potentially disastrous situation, and I truly didn’t know what to do. So, what did I do? I picked up the phone to call my best friend and ask her what to do! Now, there’s nothing wrong with seeking godly advice from trusted advisors, but that’s not the first place we should go, is it? Well, wouldn’t you know she wasn’t there. This was long before we all had cell phones, and so I couldn’t reach her. I just kept redialing and redialing her number, pacing the floor, and becoming angry with her for not being there when I needed her.

It was one of those teaching moments in my life, when I could hear the voice of God in my head clearly saying to me, “Why would you call her before you call me?

Presented by Lauren Stibgen

As we wrap up talking about some of the worldly ways we try to calm our anxiety that typically don’t work, I want to address the fine line of talking it out with a friend verses gossip. I admit, sometimes talking to a close friend about something that is causing anxiety is helpful. Do you ever feel like this verse:

Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character (1 Corinthians 15:33).

These days I am very selective about who I seek counsel from. First and foremost, I look for fellow Christ-followers. I saw a note today that said, “The best kind of friend is a praying friend.” Seeking this kind of community is essential to keeping us close to our peacekeeper Jesus.

After all, the bible tells us that,

The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice (Proverbs 12:15).

I want to be sure the advice I am seeking from others is based in biblical truth. Proverbs 15:22 states Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.

I have spent time focusing on how to build this bench of advisers and dear friends I can count on when I need an ear.

Carefully discerning how I work through some of the things that cause anxiety can also be important. I want to be mindful that my talk doesn’t turn into gossip. Shared friends and relationships can sometimes lead to hurt feelings. If I am ever needing advice within a shared friend group, I always make sure I am seeking it outside of that group of friends. When you find yourself naming names and bringing up things that maybe aren’t kind, make sure your intentions are headed in the right direction. Are you talking about it just to vent or gossip, or are you seeking wise counsel to help you work through this stressor?

Back to that phrase, “The best kind of friend is a praying friend.” Another one you may have heard is, “Have you prayed about it as much as you have talked about it.”

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God (Philippians 4:6).

Having a confidant to pray with you about what is making you anxious can surely be a help.

Presented by Lauren Stibgen

Media that we take with us anytime and anywhere is causing anxiety. The dings for emails, texts, and calls can make it hard to shut off and unplug. But what about when you are using social media to try to reduce stress and anxiety.

Is it the next binge-worthy show? Is it reels on Facebook or Instagram? While social media can help reduce anxiety by providing people with an outlet to connect, it can also cause further anxiety by causing active comparisons to others or a need to engage constantly because of a fear of missing out on what others are doing. Watching cute videos of animals or some fun comedy can surely make me laugh, and I know laughter is one way I can reduce my stress levels. Noted benefits of laughter are relaxing the body, boosting the immune system, triggering the release of endorphins, protecting the heart, and burning calories. And God loves us to laugh!

Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy (Psalm 126: 2).

I have spent some time talking about the pros and cons of social media and faith. Overall, the access people have to resources like the Bible or faith-based media at their fingertips is a good thing. There are countless ways to access aggregated sermons and to look up Bible verses quickly. In fact, when you look up Bible verses for anxiety, one of the results that pops up is 30 encouraging Bible verses to overcome worry and anxiety. This is helpful!

I would say engaging in faith-based media and resources on your mobile device can be stress and anxiety reducing because it is drawing you closer to your ultimate peacekeeper—Jesus!

The challenge is staying on this path and avoiding the countless other distractions like texts, email dings, what so and so has posted about their vacation, or even worse, commenting on something out of haste or reaction. Sometimes the thing that causes us anxiety is what someone is posting on social media. In haste and anxiety, you may be tempted to reply. Can I encourage you to hit the pause button?

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal (Isaiah 26:3-4).

Keep your mind on the Lord, and he will give you perfect peace.

Presented by Lauren Stibgen

Does the busyness of your daily life make you feel like you should just get away? Perhaps it’s a weekend away with friends or with your spouse. You want to recharge from the anxiety you feel in the daily grind of work and home.

I wasn’t sure, but I had a hunch there would be articles about vacation anxiety. I was right. While the benefits of getting away include lowering stress, improving heart health, boosting creativity, strengthening relationships and keeping you healthy, it seems we need more rules of the road to take a good vacation these days.

Taking this time away can add anxiety—financial, the care of your children or pets, leaving projects at work, and countless others. The truth is none of the things that cause you daily anxiety will disappear. They will be there when you come back.

How can you incorporate the ultimate peace into your getaway, so it isn’t just a runaway from your daily stress and anxiety? You know what I mean. How can you include Jesus in this time? How can you draw closer to Jesus in faith?

Jesus is a proponent of getting away.

“Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place (Mark 6:31-32).

You know the feeling of coming and going—days of no leisure and nothing to eat! We have all had these days.

Knowing Jesus invited his disciples to recharge, you can be encouraged he wants this for you too. Be mindful of how you consider this time. It isn’t an escape, but it can be a time to rest and be in God’s Word. If you are spending the time to get away, make sure it is time spent reconnecting with your peace, Jesus.

The only real escape for us in this world is Jesus. Abiding with Christ can give us a foretaste of the glory we will have in heaven. We know in heaven Jesus has prepared a space for us, and the Father’s house has many rooms. One of the descriptors I love is in Revelation 4:6.

… in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal (Revelation 4:6).

If you have ever been near still and serene water, you will know why this is so striking. It feels so calm. I am in awe knowing heaven has a sea of glass that I can enjoy for eternity.

Presented by Lauren Stibgen

What do you turn to during times of stress? Some of the most common outlets for stress and anxiety in our world are related to addictions. These addictions can quickly become idols and can keep us further away from our true peace: Jesus Christ.

You know the addictions you or other struggle with—stress eating or drowning our sorrows in a glass of wine, a cocktail, you name it. Food and alcohol rank in the top of legal addictive substances. With work, access to these habits can increase. Maybe it is a consistent happy hour after work or meals with colleagues and customers. However, our long days, filled with anxieties, can be enough to drive us to these habits even when we are not engaging in them because of work. Culture has taught us that alcohol can help us have a good time and unwind from a long week. Food has become a little more taboo with the diet culture, but eating fast food with low nutrition value can seem easy when you are balancing work and life.

Did you know alcohol can actually increase your levels of anxiety? There is research to read, but if you find yourself in a pattern of consuming alcohol to reduce anxiety, you are not doing yourself any favors. Considering the other health issues that can come from excessive drinking including cancer, you may want to reconsider this as a peace-giving habit.

Stress eating can also cause health issues including weight gain.

None of this is peaceful and life giving. Advice about food and alcohol in the Bible is mixed, but one thing is for sure. Anything that is a stumbling block or an idol standing in your way to your relationship with our ultimate peace—Jesus—is not a good thing!

Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags (Proverbs 23: 20-21).

We must also be sober minded. 1 Peter 5:8 exhorts us to be watchful for the devil that prowls around like a roaring lion.

Talk about a peace stealer. Satan is the ultimate stealer of peace! If you and I are walking around salving our anxiety with alcohol, we will be prone to the attacks of the devil. My prayer today is that you rethink these habits and turn to Jesus!

Presented by Lauren Stibgen

Work is only one element of our life that can bring stress. Marriage, children, family, health issues, and anything else we add into the mix of our days can make us anxious too.

Honestly, thinking about how to find peace from all of this can be yet one more thing we add to our mix. Is seeking fleeting peace only adding to your anxiety?

We can feel anxiety as we are waiting for this elusive moment for peace. Maybe you have even tried to plan it out. We experience anxiety in our waiting when our perceived outcome doesn’t happen within the perceived time we have set in our mind. If you have blocked out a time for peace on your calendar each day and it keeps getting run over by life, I can imagine this can make you more anxious!

I have felt all of this. In fact, there was a large part of my professional and mom life that I told my husband I felt like I was wearing a high heel and a gym shoe at the same time. Try walking like this—a heel on one foot and a gym shoe on another—unbalanced, kind of messy, out of sorts! I was consumed by so many things and not turning to where I truly could find the peace I needed: Jesus.

Jesus promises us trouble here in this world. He knows we will be experiencing the feelings of being consumed, out of balance.

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace (John 16:33).

Jesus is clear. In him I can have peace. I know this sounds silly, but when I think of the peace of Jesus that gives rest, I think of my most comfortable, fluffy house slippers. I am not fancy; I am not running anywhere. I am keeping a slow pace and finding rest.

Too often we are trying to plan our own peace when we need to be turning to Jesus. While some of the ways we seek peace in this world aren’t “bad,” they will never be a complete salve for the anxiety we feel.

Presented by Lauren Stibgen

I love to learn. In fact, learning is one of the things I do best. Relying on God’s Word as my guide in all aspects of my life means that, as a Christ follower I should always be discerning about the world’s advice no matter how good it seems! With the Bible as my guide, I am always keen to get advice about things in business!

Don’t get me wrong, there are many experts I trust who are not believers in Jesus Christ, but when it comes to something truly personal, like the term inner peace, my guard comes up.

What is inner peace? For sake of ease, let’s go with the Wikipedia version—a deliberate state of psychological or spiritual calm despite the potential presence of stressors.

There are many more technical versions of this definition from research articles, but all of them seem to reference the same spiritual calm and religious aspect of this sometimes-elusive state of being. Some of the other words and phrases associated with inner peace are:

Tranquility of mind

No sufferings or mental disturbances like worry or anxiety, greed, hatred, ill-will

To keep strong in the state of stress[1]

Luke 12:15 warns: Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.

1 Timothy 6:10a: For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.

1 John 2:9 exhorts: Anyone that claims to be I the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness.

Proverbs 10:12: Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers all wrongs.

Here’s what our culture gets right. Inner peace is, in fact, spiritual. For those of us who have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we know Jesus is that peace.

I also find it interesting that some of the words above greed, hatred, and ill-will are exactly the things we, as Christ followers are commanded not to do. In fact, they are considered sinful. In the verses above, the Bible tells us we should guard against greed; it is the root of all kinds of evil. Hatred of another person means you are still in darkness, and it stirs up conflict. None of this sounds peaceful to me.

Now, since so many people are seeking this inner peace, how do we get it? Out of three separate articles I read, the top three reoccurring ways to “find inner peace” include: meditation, nature, and practicing gratitude.

First, what is meditation. We hear about this a lot. Books, apps, and classes tout meditation as a way to reduce anxiety and get better sleep. Most of these resources use reflective thinking, some breathing exercises, and practices to help declutter your mind and be present in the moment. We can already see the issue of this for those of us who follow Jesus Christ. This method is devoid of a Savior who is our peace.

The Bible does suggest meditation. In Joshua 1:8 we read, Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. We are also instructed to meditate on God’s unfailing love, on his work and mighty deeds, on his precepts and ways, and on his promises. All these instructions are found in the Psalms.

So, the world tells you to declutter and clear your mind, but when you stop meditation, what creeps right back in? You guessed it—the same things that were there before! The difference with God’s instruction about meditation is clear. You are to think about his laws, his unfailing love, his ways, and his promises.

This is peaceful. The verse in Joshua also tells us to do this day and night which highlights the importance of the frequency of filling our mind with the Word and the wonderful ways of the Lord!

So, how can you do this? I suggest several things. First, start and end your day in the Word of the Lord. There is a wonderful devotional by Charles H. Spurgeon titled Morning and Evening that offers a devotional—you guessed it—in the morning and evening...

Through our on-going story of Fran, we’ve been talking about the topic of clinical depression. Fran has encouraged her good friend, Louise, to seek medical help for her depressed state of mind, and Louise is now beginning to take a prescribed drug to see if indeed it will help her to emerge from this depression.

The next day Fran is talking with her doctor friend at church, Anne. “I sure hope this helps Louise,” she says. “But what if it doesn’t?”

“Well, Fran, if Louise has other issues, such as sin in her life, medication won’t fix it. But you indicated that you don’t know of any existing problem like that, so it could be that this medication can help her get herself back, if you know what I mean.”

“Oh, that would be wonderful,” Fran says.

“But remember, sometimes the doctors have to try several different kinds of medication before they find the right one,” Anne reminds her.

“Yes, that’s what Dr. Monroe warned us about yesterday,” Fran says. “And she highly recommended that Louise also go for some counseling as well. I think that bothered Louise. What do you think?”

“Well, rarely are these depressions caused solely by physical reasons. It’s usually a combination of stress or perfectionism or workaholism along with a chemical imbalance,” Anne informs her. “So, I would concur that Louise should see a Christian counselor, at least to make sure she’s not living in denial about other areas that could be contributing to her problem.”

“I’m going to encourage her to do that,” Fran says. “And I’m going to encourage her to spend even more time in the Bible and prayer. She says it has been very difficult to read her Bible or pray since this depression hit her.”

“That’s a typical reaction, Fran, and I’m sure the enemy of our soul moves in at times like these to make matters worse,” Anne says.

“Well, I’m going to pray for her more and pray with her more. At least I can do that for her, while she’s finding it difficult to pray herself,” Fran says.

With a good friend like Fran, Louise will have the support she needs to help her recover from this depression. All of us need to be more sensitive and aware of the needs of others who may be going through something like this. It’s a time to gather around that person and help them, not abandon them.