Discouragement

I know that none of you have ever been discouraged in ministry. Working in a ministry career whether its as a senior or lead pastor or even if its a department head or staff pastor can be one of the greatest and joyous careers you can be involved in.

But to really be honest there are times that even as pastors we can be discouraged. In working at three different churches in 12 years of ministry I have found myself going through seasons of discouragement as well as discouragement in routine tasks or problems.

Often times this discouragement is from focusing on the wrong thing. Remember faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen. Often times we see or focus in on the source of that discouragement and when we do we get our eyes off of our true source.

There was a great post on Fast Company today on this very issue. The post, "Leading Ideas: Take the time to encourage others", explores this issue of discouragement and gives some great tips.

The next time you feel discouraged about a certain problem:
1. Recognize you're feeling discouraged (this is often the hardest step).
2. Physically move from where you are - take a walk.
3. Connect with someone who you know could use your help and lend an ear.
4. Help or encourage them.
5. Come back to your problem with a new perspective.

I would add one more to that. Shift your focus back to the "Source". Shift your focus to God and thank Him. Don't pray about the problem but focus on Him as your source. Sometimes we spend a lot of time praying about our problem that it stays in the forefront. I think God already knows about what we are going through and wants us to just respond in faith to Him.

This can also be refreshing and help us return with a new perspective.