Spiritual Discouragement
Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, Luke 18:1 NASB
Not to lose heart – me enkakein. The Greek is the conditional negative (me) plus the verb enkakeo. Literally it means something like, “Under these circumstances don’t be treated badly.” The verb actually comes from the root kakos, “evil.” So enkakeo means, “to be treated badly.” But in the context of Luke 17, it means to grow weary, to slack off, to allow difficulties to interfere with the goal. Yeshua tells his disciples the parable of the unjust judge and the widow in order to exhort them to keep going no matter what! In the end, faith is perseverance. It is not giving up. “Faithfulness” is a more appropriate translation than “faith” because in our Western world “faith” often means something cognitive. But Yeshua is speaking about action. Is the world making life difficult? Are circumstances and emotions hindering your relationships? Are you feeling discouraged? Keep going! Faithfulness is picking yourself up, remembering who you are and who God is, and pressing on. You might not have all the right answers. In fact, you might be feeling as if you no longer have any of the answers. It doesn’t matter. Keep going. Take the next step forward. Yes, it might not seem to make much difference. Yes, it will feel as if it’s just the same thing all over again. But do it anyway. Don’t get sucked into myopic analysis. Just make the move. Put your foot forward. Try once more.
A crisis of faith isn’t usually a monumental event. Most of us don’t feel compelled to nail ninety-five proclamations to a door or debate with erudite scholars or confront demonic forces. Most of us encounter our personal crisis of faith in nearly invisible moments when the futility of it all overwhelms us. We might even be reading Scripture and suddenly we realize that we aren’t managing very well, we are still struggling with the same old sins, we are confronted with our failures or we begin to doubt that all those words really make much difference. Maybe we find that we feel alone, abandoned, inconsequential. Maybe we acknowledge that we have been waiting for God to show up for a very long time—and it hasn’t happened. Maybe we are just tired of fighting. We wish yisra’el did not mean, “to struggle with God and men.” Most of the time a crisis of faith is the result of weariness. We didn’t think it would take so long. We hoped for something else. We just want to stop.
But, in the words of an ancient king, “maybe God will change His mind.” Maybe the next instant will be the healing moment. Maybe freedom from oppression is right around the corner. Maybe our cries will be heard. Maybe splanchnon[1] will arrive unexpectedly. You never know.
Spiritual discouragement is a symptom of hopelessness. And in Scripture, hopelessness is forbidden to those who know YHVH. Hopelessness is a lie no matter how you feel.
Topical Index: me enkakein, enkakeo, not lose heart, treat badly, hope, Luke 18:1
[1] Take a look at Luke 7:13 where this word is translated “compassion.”
I think I have learned that expectations are the real deal killer, but they also invariably set you up for disappointment, too. Expectation is the closest the flesh can come to hope so I think we tend to cultivate it in all the places we are not, in fact, operating in trust; for to not have even the semblance of faith, hope or trust is to not even be able to take that next breath from the Hand that is offering it. In creatures, we see animals or even plants that conclude that there is no chance for life, just giving up. Death quickly follows.
Without faith, hope and trust, the world practices various forms of self deceit or deceit of others; it lies, kills and steals, but it MUST have at least those lies to even take a step, for without any hope at all we quickly become paralyzed. Faith and trust may not be possible outside the Fence, but we have to have at least some sort of substitutes for them before we can choose (live and move and have our being) at all – even if that living, moving and being is just an illusion! Not for nothing has many a wise person of the world concluded that life is that illusion (from their perspective, of course), but they cannot see that the illusion is conditional upon the absence of love, for without love, choice is not possible, and we have only futile reactions to things we cannot change. Hence, the Eastern observation that we appear to be locked into fate. Well, without faith, hope and love, we are!
So, in the West, I think we invented expectation as a way to keep putting one foot in front of another, but expectation locks the future in such a way as to not be able to respond to what, in fact, is, which effectively keeps us from connecting properly with what is. In other words, disappointment. The only way, then, to avoid disappointment,is to trade in that worldly substitute for true trust. Expectation is a form of force of the future, which makes all of it a sin, but, hey! it doesn’t even work! Disappointment, like all pain, is there to teach us to recognize yet another place that we did not, in fact, let go and let God.
Well to say that hopelessness is a sin it’s quite thought-provoking but the fact is if she always has come to give us hope and we are in a hopeless state that would be calling God a liar I don’t want to be in that camp although he is patient and kind he brings us back to the truth. But we should not let sin have it season because it wears down the faith. Faith hope and love these three remain. We have been ingrained in the brain that that’s where the battle is but most of it is true we must pull down every evil imagination that exalts itself against the name of God. We live in physical bodies and they take the toll of our endeavors. Most in the circles I’ve been involved with find Faith stays alive when we pray and we are told to pray without ceasing. Yeshua also said my house shall be a house of prayer for all nations if that’s not enough to keep us praying we need to return to the manual the story of Abraham early chapters of Romans recalls on Ancient story where Abraham hoped against hope and it was a counted to him as righteousness the world has a hope I certainly hope so I hope that happens for you but biblical hope is proclaiming God’s wonderful Acts toward us. The simplest thing to me that is a faith Builder is. We are a family think of all the Believers around the world I would not shutter to say Millions yes what an awesome thought.
I have a different definition of “expectation” that seems a lot more “hopeful” than Laurita’s. It’s not that I disagree with the gist of what Laurita is saying, I just think that an “expectation” can be a very good thing, (as long as we separate our worldly and spiritual expectations) and that it should actually replace our use of the weaker word, “hope” in our translations.
MKJV Rom 12:12 rejoicing in HOPE, patient in affliction, steadfastly continuing in prayer,
In the first ten versions I checked, nine of them here use the word, “hope”, and yet Strong’s says this about it,
G1680, elpis, used 54 times, from elpo, which is a primary word (to anticipate, usually with pleasure); expectation (abstract or concrete); or confidence: – faith, hope.
My issue with the modern day use of “hope” is that it is used similar to “wishful” as in, “I hope I win a million dollars.” But our “hope” of a resurrection in Christ is not a hope but a firm expectation. That is why Paul is saying we are to be rejoicing because we are “anticipating with pleasure this (firm) expectation” There is no doubt in our mind.
Of course we believe this by faith, and something in faith is not seen, but it is still my expectation and not my wishful hope.
Define the terms. Dan, we have to do that every time, I think! Love the clarification, and agree.
To me, we get into trouble when we try to use the dictionary to discover the things of God, for the flesh has a viewpoint that does not mesh with heaven’s. This is no exception. I think, like I have been working out with you, that the trouble comes when we try to think in terms of what is instead of in terms of what should be. In that lies all the difference between form and function (again!). The flesh puts its emphasis on the future by means of the attempt to control outcomes, or, forms. The position of faith, however, puts its emphasis on the future in terms of what WORKS, or, functions. Thus, we could use the same language to say “I expect a particular OUTCOME”, vs. saying “I expect God to be trustworthy no matter what the outcome”. Both are expectations, but one is projecting a ‘form’ for reality to CONform to, while the other is projecting a place where there exists the freedom necessary to correct all disfunction and to perfect existing function. Um, that would be faith. No matter what form it happens to take. Expectation is no more wrong than anything else, but, like all things about love, must be applied to the function of love. The form that love takes by mean of that function will naturally follow. No control necessary.
Thanks Skip Laurita, brother Bret and friends about the table. This as usual is a timely message. I am reading “the gifts of imperfection ” by Brene’ Brown phd, who defines courage in its earlier form of “to speak ones mind by telling ones heart ” rather than the current version of the “heroic” The book is really about whole -hearted living. We are living in a culture saturated with blame, shame and guilt trips . These are the Yezter Heras antidote to fellings of helplessess and powerlessness . Haveing courage and pressing on toward the prize = whole hearted living, requires real stamina, perseverance and true faith. It is the point however of this walk into waht art cats discusses in his book of the name “realty the- hope of glory”.
A GREAT book.
Oops as Joni Mitchell sings in Hejera “Why is my perfection always denied” ? Because, this side of heaven as Skip I think it was informed us “perfection is thearetical ” We can at least fix our mistakes and tried harder next time, so: waht= what and art cats = Arthur (Arron) Katz…
Tried = try, how about a spell check app or loading an edit tab we can acess after posting to fix our bubbos Skip?
I think Omar al Khayyam in the Rubiayat gives clear voice to the hopelessness of a world left to itself. His writing, to me, is one long lament, in elegant minor key, of what Neitzche screamed at the top of his lungs. It may be totally human to feel hopeless, but then, we were never expected to find hope within our own humanity.
“The worldly hope men set their hearts upon
Turns ashes – or it prospers: and anon,
Like snow upon the desert’s dusty face
Lighting a little hour or two is gone.”
Wow! This teaching was timely for me and Mark Parry’s input about speaking one’s heart. I have been practicing that and it causes a whirlwind of misunderstanding. People don’t know what to do with it, especially coming from an imperfect human who wants to be transparent. All I can say, is if you want some brutal feedback, try it! I really needed the encouragement of this teaching today. Thank you!