Elisabeth Elliot: "Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged." Can you think of those as commands? That's what they are. God is telling us that we have no reason to be afraid or discouraged.

Lisa Barry: I don't know about you, but it seems the older I get, the more prone I am to worry and get discouraged. Every day it seems there's some new tragedy in the news, where a child becomes a casualty in some accident, poisoning or abduction. I get discouraged thinking about this world of ours and how it becomes more evil by the day.

How can I protect myself from the problems of life that want to keep me from living? Elisabeth Elliot has the answer, as we spend this entire week on the topic of discouragement. Find out what you can do about it next on Gateway To Joy.

Elisabeth Elliot: "You are loved with an everlasting love." That's what the Bible says. "And underneath are the everlasting arms." This is your friend Elisabeth Elliot, talking with you this week about discouragement.

Gateway To Joy receives letters about everything and anything, and a lot of things you or I could never imagine. But very often, there is a note of discouragement. I think, "Well, there's nothing new about that." That's what I want to talk about this week.

Let's just start with this letter from a listener. "Well, I'll just be honest," she says, right up at the beginning. "I feel like I've got the Hittites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites and other 'ites' round about. I've tithed until my bank account showed 'Non-Sufficient Funds.' I've repented, forgiven and done all I know to be in right standing with God. My husband of 1 1/2 years has had an affair with his brother's wife for 1 1/2 years. He is emotionally abusive and doesn't love me. I just want a husband who loves me.

My boss doesn't like me and wants to fire me. I'm in debt. My ex-husband has filed a custody suit for my six-year-old daughter, of whom I have full custody. My house is messy. Please, don't use my name on the air."

Well, I certainly am not going to tell you what her name is, but I'm sure that many of you would wish that you could sit down with a cup of tea with that lady and try to encourage her in her discouragement.

Discouragement means a weakening of confidence. Sometimes it's confidence in the self, not a very good sign because we ought not to be very self-confident, when really what we need to do is place our confidence in God.

To discourage means to lessen the courage of or to dishearten. In a useful sense, to weaken an intention. For example, to discourage the breaking of laws. Now that is a useful way in which the word "discourage" can be used. Or you want to encourage someone to quit smoking. To deprive of courage is the opposite of encourage. Encourage means to give courage to.

Moses reminds Israel of God's command in Deuteronomy 1:19-21. "As the Lord our God commanded us, we set out from Horeb and went toward the hill country of the Amorites, through all that vast and dreadful desert that you have seen. And so we reached Kadesh Barnea. Then I said to you, 'You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. See, the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, told you. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged.'"

And to Joshua, Moses said, as he was turning over the heavy responsibility of leading the people of Israel, he says in Deuteronomy 31: "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you. He will never leave you or forsake you."

Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, "Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to your forefathers to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged."

And almost those identical words are repeated again in the Book of Joshua several times. "Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged." Can you think of those as commands? That's what they are. God is telling us that we have no reason to be afraid or discouraged. Humanly speaking, we feel as though we are highly justified in becoming afraid and/or discouraged. But not when we know God. There are many, many other references where we are told "do not." "Do not be afraid."

P. T. Forsythe said, "Faith is a resolve. Not a state of the self, but a disposal of the self." That's an interesting statement, isn't it? Faith is a resolve. In other words, it's something that you make up your mind to do. It is not a state of the self. It's not just a condition, an emotion, a description of how one feels. It is a disposal of the self, which means it is a choice that this is what I will act upon. Faith is not a state of the self, but a disposal of the self.

We have two gifts which were given to us in our creation as human beings. Many more than two, of course, but there are two here which are crucial to this talk that I'm giving. One is emotion and the other one is will. That is, perhaps, the simpler way of what P. T. Forsythe is talking about.

Discouragement is an emotion, isn't it? My will can conquer how I feel. I may still continue to feel that way, but I don't have to act that way. Will to act in accordance with the Word of God. Will to quit acting or feeling discouraged. And when the feeling comes back again and again, just offer it up to the Lord.

I think it's helpful to me to say just what Jesus said on the cross, "Father, into Thy hands. Lord, You know how I'm feeling about this particular thing, this assignment, this letter I must write, this job I must try for, this place that I have to go. I'm tempted to be discouraged, Lord, but I will to trust You and to accept Your encouragement."

Don't waste time wondering if a task is doable. If it's commanded, do it. What is God telling you to do today? Make an apology perhaps to someone? "Please, forgive me." Not easy to do, is it? But it is doable. Let's never tell ourselves that the task that God is requiring of us is not doable. If it's commanded, it is doable and so we are to do it. Never mind how you feel about it.

How did Joshua feel when the whole huge multitude of Israel was turned over to him? He could hardly help feeling discouraged and overwhelmed. It's no wonder that Moses said to him again and again, "Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged."

Do you know that Gospel song, "When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed, when you are discouraged thinking all is lost"? My father used to sing very often in the bathroom. We would hear him singing these Gospel songs. My brother Dave was either listening outside the bathroom or was in there with Dad, I don't remember which. But he was just a little boy. When my father came to that line, "When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed, when you are discouraged thinking all is lost," Dave looked up at him and said, "I never did think all was lost." He was an optimist. I think he's always been the most optimistic of the six of us.

But most of us would confess that there are times when we do think all is lost. What does the Gospel hymnwriter say? "When you are discouraged thinking all is lost, count your many blessings; name them one by one and it will surprise you what the Lord has done."

I'm often tempted to discouragement. I don't think I have been more greatly tempted than in the efforts to learn foreign languages. I had to learn more than one foreign language when I went to Ecuador. It was a daunting task.

But I'll go much further back. I was afraid I was going to flunk arithmetic when I was in first grade. I was very discouraged. I guess I've learned what two and two means at some point, but I was really quite seriously afraid that I would flunk the first grade.

Then when I was in the sixth grade, there was a boy there named Franklin Pierce Stowe. We used to all him "Stowie." He and I were always in competition for grades. Our sixth grade teacher had had the entire class make a Snow White freeze, because Disney's movie of Snow White came out when I was in the sixth grade. Did you realize that it was that old? Well, it was old, all right. And we also spent several weeks making a Japanese freeze, because we were studying Japan.

So these two freezes were posted on the walls of our classroom. The teacher told us that whoever got the highest grade in the final examinations would get to choose one of those freezes. Whoever came in second would get the other one. So I worked very hard to try to beat Franklin P. Stowe. I was very much hoping that I would get the Japanese freeze.

Well, guess what happened? Franklin P. Stowe got 100 on his final exam. Guess what I got? 99.5. Do you know why? Because the answer to one question was supposed to be ten square feet and I put down ten feet. So I got the freeze that I didn't want. Alas and alack!

Discouragement. God knows how to encourage you. Will you trust Him for today?

Lisa Barry: If your answer to that is "yes," then I applaud you. It's also important to know that if we're going to make a change in life, we need to reinforce the lesson we're trying to learn. That's why I think purchasing a copy of this series will be a valuable investment for you. The title is DISCOURAGEMENT and the cost is $7.

You can send that, along with your request, to Gateway To Joy, Box 82500, Lincoln, Nebraska, 68501. Or call toll-free: 1-800-759-4JOY. That's 1-800-759-4569. Our Internet ministry address is gatewaytojoy.org. Gateway To Joy has been a production of Back to the Bible.

Tomorrow Elisabeth offers the antidote for discouragement, so be sure and join us then for the next Gateway To Joy.