I have been thinking about discouragement lately, and thought it would be a worthwhile subject for a short study.
In reading I came across this passage and it occurred to me that whilst we wouldn’t normally associate this passage with discouragement, I think the marks are there.
Luke 17:1-10Luke 17:1-10
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
17 1 Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! 2 It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. 3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. 4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. 5 And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. 6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you. 7 But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? 8 And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? 9 Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. 10 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.
WP-Bible plugin Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him,through whom they come! 2 It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. 3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. 4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. 5 And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. 6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you. 7 But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? 8 And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? 9 Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. 10 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.
The Lord is talking about offences, and his primary words to them are about forgiveness.
The interesting thing about this passage is that their response to the Lord is to ask Him to give them more faith.
I think they knew what the Lord said was right, but they also knew it is a very hard thing to be offended and then forgive that person – we are so quick to hold offences.
I am so glad that God does not hold our offences against Him, against us once we are saved.
In fact God says that if you are saved by faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ, that He has cast your sins as far as the east from the west.
But the apostles here asked the Lord for more faith so that they might be able to do what He has just told them to do.
I see in this the marks of discouragement.
I see in this an attitude of resignation, in that they know what they need to do, but they just don’t think they can do it. They think it is too hard for them, and they want to honour the Lord, but they just don’t think they can do it.
This is discouragement – when you know what you should do, but you simply can not find the wherewithal to it – it seems impossible, but it is necessary, and that is when discouragement rears its ugly head.
So at this point in the passage I am all ears, because discouragement is no stranger to me – in fact it is close neighbour at times.
So I want this advice and instruction. I need more faith. I need stronger faith.
Then the Lord answers his apostles.
Luk 17:6Luk 17:6
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.
WP-Bible plugin And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.
It is not the amount of faith that matters – even a small amount of faith is enough to do miraculous things.
No, the answer to discouragement and the ability to do as the Lord commands us is in the verses that follow vs 6.
And it will not be a popular answer.
I don’t like to hear it myself, so I don’t expect that too many reading this will like what the Lord has to say.
When I am discouraged I want someone to come up beside me and say “You poor baby. Life is really tough for you right now isn’t it?”
But what does the Lord say?
Luke 17:7-10Luke 17:7-10
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
7 But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? 8 And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? 9 Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. 10 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.
WP-Bible plugin But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? 8 And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? 9 Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. 10 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.
This is a really strange answer to give to someone who is discouraged, especially at their own inability to do what the Lord commands.
Basically the Lord here reminds the apostles that they are servants, and that their job is to serve their master.
It actually doesn’t matter if they are discouraged about their task, and it certainly has nothing to do with faith.
They didn’t need more faith.
They needed do what they were told.
And at the end of it, they needed to realise that they are only doing what a servant should do – what he is commanded to by his master.
So the Lord told them to set aside their offences and forgive the people who offended them, and simply to get on with the forgiving that they had been told to.
In other words – discouragement is neither here nor there – just get about the master’s business.
And then He emphasises the point by saying that when the servant has done what he should do, he is not to be looking for any special reward – it is simply the servant’s duty.
This is probably the hardest part of this to swallow – and this is the real answer to their request for increased faith.
They wanted more faith so that they could do this forgiving that the Lord had commanded them, but the Lord replies to them that this command is no special thing – it is simply what needs to be done, simply their duty.
In other words, discouragement is not a lack of faith, it is simply a lack of obedience………
THAT, my friends, is a bitter pill if ever there was one.
When I am discouraged, I want to put the blame of it onto the people around me, but the Lord simply says “Get over it and get on with it”.
As I have been looking at this passage, I dearly wanted to find a different message in it than this one, but this is what the Lord is teaching me through it.
Discouragement is a lack of obedience.
Not due to the people around me.
Not due to the things that happen to me.
Not due to the troubles of this life.
Simply an unwillingness on my part to do “that which is my duty to do”.
And if I want victory over this discouragement, I simply have to be about the Master’s work.