May 17, 2025 Devo

Discouragement is like a dark cloud that can settle upon any of us. Like a thick morning fog, you can just wake up some days, and it’s there. Sometimes we don’t even know where it came from. All we know is that we don’t want to go anywhere, we don’t want to do anything, and we don’t want to talk to anyone. There are other times we know EXACTLY where the discouragement is coming from.
Maybe you’ve just had a setback, a loss, or an experience that left you feeling lost and alone. Or maybe you’ve just had a season of life where things haven’t gone the way you thought they would, and it’s left you doubting yourself and doubting God. Maybe it’s a health issue. Maybe it’s financial. Maybe it’s relational. Or, maybe you feel as if you’ve won the lottery of discouragement because it’s ALL OF THEM! You’re feeling desperate. You’re scared. You’re unsure of the future. You don’t know what tomorrow holds. But the psalmist reminds us of something really important. You DO KNOW who holds tomorrow!
No matter what your cloud of discouragement is made of, I want to encourage you not to give in to despair. Do what the psalmist did. Put your hope in God. Don’t put your hope in believing that things are going to work out just the way you want them to. That rarely happens. Put your hope in the One who “works for good in all things.” Because God’s “good” is always better than our best-laid plans.
So have a good cry if you need to cry. Talk to your pastor or counselor if you need to. That’s why we’re here. Talk to a trusted friend who can offer empathy and comfort. But by all means, talk to God. While the rest of us can all be helpers for you, God alone is your hope. And He can blow that cloud of discouragement away! That’s God’s Word for you today.