Discouragement

It is very easy to become discouraged even when you have felt very close to God in the past. Every day seems a struggle sometimes and prayer life seems very stale. I would say that I have many more discouraging days than encouraging ones.

The big answer to this is to push through. Even though you feel that no-one is listening or answering, God is always there and although it doesn’t seem like it, we have to hang onto that.

I think that the stale, difficult times are the ones where we are developing our faith and becoming stronger. We have to rely more on what we believe than what our senses or feelings are telling us. This helps us to push through the darkness and reach out more when we need to and not get despondent where the danger is we could turn away from God.

I remember I was surprised when I read what Mother Theresa of Calcutta wrote (in 1953): ‘Please pray specially for me that I may not spoil His work and that Our Lord may show Himself — for there is such terrible darkness within me, as if everything was dead.’ It has been like this more or less from the time I started ‘the work.’

Remembering what an incredible life she led and the difference she made to the people she helped, you can see that even though we are doing our best, we may not feel that we are getting anywhere with it or any closer to God. I think it is to keep us humble. Those christians who have done great things in the past and failed ultimately have fallen because they started to believe that they were great and doing wonderful things rather than that God was doing this through them.

I pray that if you are feeling despondent at the moment, God will give you the strength to keep going, knowing that he is there for you no matter what.

God bless,