Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:00 — 4.1MB)
PROGRAM D-7416
A common problem we all face from time to time is losing heart.
It’s another term for discouragement, giving up, quitting, burning out—losing heart. Had any trouble with it lately? Maybe you’ve lost heart over a relationship that is going sour, or one that hasn’t happened yet. Perhaps you’re losing heart because of your job situation—too much work, difficult circumstances, or a sense of going nowhere. Have you lost heart because of money problems, or poor health, or opposition from others? Are you ready to give up?
The Bible has a lot to say about losing heart. Losing heart comes from losing focus—we start focusing on the wrong things and that inevitably leads to discouragement. Paul wrote about losing heart to the Corinthians, and after reminding them of the grace and mercy we have through Jesus, he says, “Therefore we do not lose heart…For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen” (2 Cor. 4:16-18).
If you’re looking at your problem today, it will cause you to lose heart. Now, you’re the only person who can change the focus of your eyesight. You have to make up your mind to look at something besides your problem. Paul says to fix your eyes on what is unseen—God, Jesus, heaven, the angels around you—that’s what we have to do when we’re losing heart.
Are you willing to do that? I think many times we really don’t want to quit wallowing in our self-pity, or we think we can’t quit worrying. And as long as we refuse to re-focus off of the problem onto the unseen things, we will continue to lose heart.
How do you re-focus? Well, a good starting place is to print or type these verses from Second Corinthians 4 on a card and take it with you everywhere you go. When you’re losing heart, force yourself to stop and reread this passage, and quickly ask God to help you see the unseen things. Read 2 Corinthians 4 every day before you leave home, to remind you not to lose heart. The Word of God is the antidote for losing heart.