The Thing About Discouragement | Pr Sandra Chin

You're listening to a message to go from axt church. We hope this message

will light up your day this morning. I would like to share with us

as I did a little short study on this, and you know, as

our theme is about Heaven rules and meaning God is in control and God rules

how does he work in different times in our lives? So I know this

message the thing about discouragement? Okay, okay, the thing about discouragement?

What is the thing? And a part of this message came out yesterday,

so it's not just a message for women, it's for all of us.

Don't pany And I'm just zeroing this so much that we could preach out of

Genesis chapter sixteen. But I'm just going to just zero in on this particular

area called the thing about discouragement or this bonderness or despair. Okay, please

don't go there. Okay, I know sharing this, but not for you

to get there, okay, Okay, just just saying, just saying,

if ever you get there, these are some things you can think about or

if you're there, maybe we can do something about it. Amen. All

right, So we're looking at at Genesis chapter sixteen, and and it is

I want to look at the life of Hagar Genesis chapter sixteen, and we're

looking at Hagar. Who is this? This woman not important every time you

read by Okay, she's the one. She's the one. Yeah, So

let's read this and then we'll go through the thoughts for this morning and pay

Holy Spirit will help us to digest this as well. So, uh,

maybe we'll start from verse one. Book we read from from chapter one,

we can turn to your bibles. Actually, I'm sorry, I only I

did not give the verses on the slide. You carry the show if you

can, but otherwise you all brought your bibles, right, So let's let's

read from Genesis sixteen, Verse one. Now, before Sarah was Sarah,

she was SARAHI, not Sarai SARAHI. And Abraham was Abram, all right.

And so Sarah, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. And

then she had an Egyptian maid servant whose name was Hagar. And so Sarah

said to Abram. See, now the Lord has restrained me, prevented me

from bearing children. Please go into my maid, not knock, knock hello,

Can I come in? Noah, Please have intercourse with my maid.

Perhaps I shall obtain children by her and wan does Abram say so fully he

was my husband, no, thank you, but he didn't weber kama la

mapa. Yeah, all right, so here like I heed it. Yes,

ma'am, yes, I tell you, Abram, okay, anything you

say. And then Sarah, Abram's wife, took Hagar, her maid,

the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram, to be his wife.

So like a second wife. Okay, he actually used word wife here

after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. So he went

into Hagar knock, knock, here I come, and she conceived, oh

so fast. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became

despised in her eyes, meaning she was not having good behavior towards her boss

or her mistress. Then Sarah I said to Abram, my my wrong.

Okay, this is women laughs. Sometimes we like to change gold posts.

Now suddenly my wrong is your fault. I'm a wife. I know I

do this to my husband. But you can play a four with my husband

because he's keep it to the goal post. Don't change gold posts. So

I always cannot get away with it, all right, So she say,

hey, my wrong be upon you I give my maid into your embrace.

And when she saw that she conceived, I became despised in her eyes.

Bit not delaga, okay, And the Lord judge between you and me,

will bring God's name. No no imagina, all right, so Abram said

to Sarah. When men cannot deal with the wife's and neggain, they just

gotta do whatever are So Abram said to Sarah, Indeed, your maid is

in your hands due to her as you please, are you? And when

Sarah there harshly with her, she should never happen. But did she fled

from her presence? Now? The Angel of the Lord. Look at the

Angel of the Lord is a capital L O R D Lord. When you

see that, it's not just any lord. In the Hebrew, it's Adunai,

and Adunai means master Lord. And so the angel of the Adonai,

which means not just any angel. This is the first mention of angels in

the Bible, first mentioned. First I mentioned this angel of the Lord or

Adonai is actually the Lord himself, either Jesus the Son or God himself.

That I am found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by

the spring on the way to sure, And he said to Hagar Sarah's maid.

Where so he said, hey, guy, Hagar, No, Hagar,

Hagar Sarah's maid. Where have you come from? And where are you

going? She said, I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress SARAHI

And the Angel of the Lord said to her, return to your mistress.

Why love this terrible man and submit yourself under her head? What Lord?

And the Angel of the Lord said to her, I will multiply your descendants

exceedingly, so they shall not be counted for multitude. That means there be

very many. And the Angel and the Angel of the Lord then said to

her, behold, you are with child. You shall bear a son,

and you shall name his name Ishmael. Because the Lord has heard your affliction.

The name Ishmael is a beautiful name. It means the Lord hears,

I have a friend whose name is Ishmael. Yeah, Ish, and he

is very, very creative. So in fact, he's one of the founders

of aaw together myself Ishmael not anymore, but that time back, it's twenty

eight years ago. But it's a beautiful name. God heres, Yeah,

and I would like to stop there. And then Verse thirteen then she called

the name, and then she called the name of the lord who spoke to

her. You are the Lord, you are the god who sees But she

said, I have I also seen him who sees me. And then she

the well that or the spring where she was at. She called it beerre

LAHYROI observed, observed it is between Kadesh and Baret. And then Hegabo,

Abraham's son, and Abraham named his son whom hegabor ishmael. All right,

a beert a la hayroi just means it is the well of the one who

lives and sees me. Amen. Okay, So this is this is a

story of many stories can come out out of it. Many messages can come

out of it, especially the one with Abraham agreed to go and have,

you know, do God's work by having a baby with Hagar, which you

know today until today we got problems love, right, why are we're having

wars now? So? But God is very gracious. But we're gonna look

at Hagar. Who is Hagar? And what does her name mean? Apparently

her name means flight. Her name means flee. Okay, all right,

so she's this Egyptian mate. Likely if you look at the background. When

Abraham and family left Egypt, the pharaoh and all the people because got it,

told them, when you leave, ask them for for for my name,

my name, my name, okay, okay, So they asked,

not everybody went to neighbor, got anything to give me, or they'll say

go go wait, go wait, you got too much of you know,

plagues coming in our lives. Get out, We give you everything, just

leave Egypt. So likely Aharah may have given the Egyptian maide or a few

Egyptians might have followed them as well. And that's how they had a maid

servant Bye Bye, by the name of Hagar, who is an Egyptian,

and she became the servant of Sarah. And later due to this uh and

so when Sarah after ten years in the land of Canaan, couldn't have didn't

have a baby. And so it is in tradition in that culture that it

is acceptable, although it's not God's plan. But in that culture where they

were in the Middle Eastern side, was that if you have a maid,

that you can as the mistress you can opt to as if tell sen your

maid to be the one who will bear your children. So they were and

it's taken as it will be the wife of that man. But you,

you are the one over this, this lady. And when the time for

conceiving the boss or mistress, would that lie next to the woman who's giving

birth, and the baby will be placed on her like her own child.

And this is something they do in the Middle Eastern culture. So Sarah therefore

thought of a brilliant idea to help God, because God had given a promise

in Genesis chelf that Abraham will have many descendants, and that out of his

families, the families will bless other families. They will be a blessing to

be He will be blessed to be a blessing. God spoke to him even

just before chapter sixteen, even in chapter fifteen. And you know what,

Abraham believed it, Yes, Lord, in Genesis fifteen he said, I

believe you that I will have a descendant. He already had a promise,

and he still went and do do that girl? Okay what he could have

said, No, Sarah, let's he could have done all these things,

but at that moment either he was dumb founded, giving me your maid,

I don't know, like another one. Well whatever, he goes for it

that's where when we don't go with God's word and promise, we birth ishmaels.

Niche Miaels is not God's plan. Isaac is the child of promise.

Whereas they did something by their own and we do something by our own will,

and we choose another way, we will give birth to ishmaels, which

were never meant to be in our lives. But this was the problem.

By by leaning on our own hand and planning our own ways and do our

own thing, that's what Abraham did. And until today they have problems in

the Middle East. So that's another story for another day. But today Hagar

she it was this woman, and so she became the wife of Abraham.

She conceived and was with child, and when she conceived, I don't know.

For some reason, she was a bit rude. Hey, I'm now

the second wife, so say right, I can't imagine sometimes because you can

despise your very boss, you're very mistress. I said, you don't have

I have right, so and she could have been doing that, and and

poor Sarah was just so upset that he's my mate. Some man. Now

she's give me problems. And as a woman, we were, as women

as we are, we will then go to the husband and blame us and

you la again, no it doesn't work that way, but she didn't.

Abraham then say I don't want an eggy wife. Do whatever you want.

And so she mistreated her not good also, all right, so it's a

big triangle of not niceness. So therefore because she was being treated unwell,

harshly, hey, God, therefore ren and she left. She fled from

the presence of a mistress Sarah. She ran away. Where was she running?

Guess where she was? Get into the wilderness, all right, and

not little the wilderness, but this path was towards the way of sure,

and sure will lead you back to Egypt. Right, So she goes into

the wilderness. I really don't know. It's a huge white desert by the

way, one poor small woman by herself, with no camel, no guide,

no guiding light. There's not gonna be a pillow of light and pillow

of fire for her. She's going in the wilderness. Very brave, but

very fed up already or whatever. I just I actually my boss called me

today and I angry. Fled. She sits by a spring. Clever lady

go to the well, and there she was found by the Angel of the

Lord at nine, the Master, the Lord God whom was the master of

her boss Abraham and Sarah. She has experienced. So you have to imagine,

they've ten years, They've lived in Canaan, in this land Canaan what

today is known as Israel. They've lived there for ten years. She would

observed them. She would have experienced the provision, the goodness of God,

the blessing of God. And until the time that Sarah realized, I have

no child, and there's this promise that God said, I will we will

be, you know, a family and have descendants. So did that story,

she would have experienced something. And so first mentioned first time ever than

an angel of the Lord. It wasn't just any angel. It wasn't Gabriel,

it wasn't Michael, the arch angel. It was the Lord himself.

Beautiful, isn't it. This is somebody who was being naughty and rude.

But yet God came to this well, to the spring, to this oasis

that she was, you know, taking a break in wondering which direction,

but must be somewhere there, all right, And he said to her,

this is the first Genesis sixteen eight Haygar. Look at the way he addresses

her Sarah's maid, not Abraham's wife, but Sarah's maid. Where have you

come from? And where are you going? Wow? When God speaks to

us, I find if you read through scripture, he always asks us power

questions. If you're a coach, you will ask power questions. Girls like

that kind of a girl. He never gives you answers. He doesn't.

He asks you because he makes us think and answer honestly. Where are you

going? Right? Where have you come from? And where are you going?

How does Haga reply? She only answers one question. I'm running away

from my boss, okay, say Lari la bye bye Okay. So she

does not answer the second question simply because she's probably not sure why she's even

running, probably offended that her boss had to scold her that day. You

didn't make my tea properly? Are you today? You didn't I in my

close nicely? Are you? Oh? You never? Did? You know?

Sarah was being a bit of a cat, all right, Kio and

bloom, but men, you know what I mean? And so she probably

fed up and she ran. And that's why I don't know why she never

answered the first the second question where are you going? But she was definitely

heading back to Egypt, and at this time she was in the wilderness,

and I would then stop there for a little while, And I ask you,

don't we see this repeated in Somebody, Somebodies in the New Testament.

We see the same thing happening in Luke chapter twenty four to thirteen, when

the disciples found hopelessness after Jesus had been hung on the cross. They thought,

I thought that Jesus was going to restore the kingdom, but he's dead.

And two disciples walked very despondently, despaired, discouraged, on the road

to a Maeas away from Jerusalem, where Jesus had said wait there in times

past, that he would visit them, but they couldn't remember all that.

They walked very sadly going to Imaeus, away from Jerusalem. Not only that

we have Peter. You know, Peter had really made it wonderfully, really

betrayed Jesus l three times. Okay, he just denied Christ. Everybody fled,

and so Jesus, Peter and the other disciples while they were sitting and

thinking, what shall we do? Okay, good morning, everybody, Let's

go fishing on the way through year Ah so they went to go fishing,

back to what they were used to doing. So, okay, the rest

of them, I think there were about seven of them, they said,

okay, we'll follow you, Peter. They went back to fishing. Out

they went. And you see how Hagar also went back towards Egypt, and

then these guys also were going backwards in the time of despondent, discouragement,

despair, directionless, direction less, All right, just don't know where to

God, this is so bad. Have we ever been there? Have you

felt, you know, lost, discouraged, despondent, despair? You know

sometimes we could have been offended, people made you angry and then you're like,

well, I've been so good to you and you and you do this

to me. I am just gonna just forget you ler and you know,

all the person itself. How many times have we been there? I remember

being when I was in corporate, working and trying to learn the ropes to

grow in my profession. Well, I had a very difficult supervisor, not

even my boss. My boss was very good to be, but my supervisor

who I had to report to as well, and I'm so young and new

to this whole corporate I went straight into a public listed company. What do

I know nothing, just graduated. But I had such a hard time to

the point I thought, I think I just give up. I will not

fully be trained in my profession and not just give it up because the pay

was bad back in the nineties, I think it was in the mid nineties,

bad economic down. The pay was bad. You know, City Bank

was offering me a job. I thought, maybe I'll join City Bank until

they told me what they wanted me to do, and say, for geila,

for getla. I would train and be my profession. But my boss

was difficult on me. It was never good enough, and I thought I

should find another job. You know, I wanted to just go away from

my I think it is my calling. I'm trained as a company secretary.

I work in a legal department and it's a very exciting job because we do

we do much just we do takeovers, we build companies, we work.

I had opportunity to work with so many really uh hot shots in the in

the in the corporate world, madam date now okay, because they're all my

so already, so they are big names, big names that my boss,

my CEO CEO, worked with a board of directors. I s get to

sit and board meetings, get to be a part of that time. I

know you brought him, was one of our guests. I got to serve

and be there. You know these are that's the kind of work corporate.

Oh I love it, But these boss are made my life so hot as

I was growing. I want to give up and I want to give in

and forget it. I don't even want to get my my credentials. But

that's where you thought I'm gonna just run away. I don't even know how

to see her every day and just be offended by everything she says. Right,

I don't know why. But then instead of going another way or going

back to doing whatever, doing nothing or whatever, you just have to ask

God, should I move even though it's so difficult to be there? And

this is where I bring this our record of Hagar and what God is saying

to her. A few thoughts for us. If I, if I,

if you look at Hagar the age of the Lord, ask her a question.

The Lord asked her where did you come from? And she had to

answer honestly, I was leaving my boss because she treated me harshly. Where

are you going? No answer will not answer. And then the Lord says,

the Angel of the Lord, I don't, I says to her,

this is bad. This is where you're gonna say. Get thee behind me,

set return to your boss. Oh paula, God, are you say

this or what? Go back to that woman? No way? I don't

know what Hagar would have gone to. Know. She wasn't even a worshipp

I don'taya, she's not. She's an Egyptian. She had her own pagan

gods. But why was she talking to this god who was talking back to

her? Oh? How right? Like she probably she had an experience,

she saw what her boss experience. And the Lord of the Lord, the

Lord, the Angel of the Lord said return to your mistress, not only

return here star midway whay, no way, sub mead. Plus, she's

the wife of Abraham, actually second wife. You know. Well, I

could do and he could do. Not God's plan not God's plan. B

what to do? He did it? Really? And yet God very graciously

comes in to lead because God has a plan. He never chief goal posts,

Sarah posts. God never chief God post. Abraham a bit blinded.

But God's plan was this, you will have a nation, you will have

descendants through your body, not through Hagar. And you'll read later in the

scriptures are the things that happened. So he says you go back whoa,

and then says to her, you are with child, and when the child

comes for you will name him Ishmael. And Ishmael just means that God hears.

Aren't you glad today that God hears you. He's a God that not

only can hear. He's not the deaf God. He's not a blind God.

He sees and he hears. I just don't know how many times we

remember that it is a God who can see and hear us. Amen,

Hallelujah. And so therefore she then calls the Lord by this name, Elroy,

the Lord who sees. Wow, God sees me, And have I

now had the chance to see him? And the word see in the Hebrew

is not the sea, the face, but the back of God, because

nobody can see God and live. You read it in Moses Exodus, chapter

thirty three thirty four. You have to see the back of God. But

she said, why do I have the pleasure of actually experiencing him? Seeing

God at work right now? She then says, I will name this place.

She builds a memorial that this is the well, This is the living

God who lives. He's a living God and he sees all right, that's

what heah. He's the well of the one who lives and sees me.

And so we might be now different journeys in our lives where you're going to

different things, but know that the God who sees also is the God who

knows where you're at. But he doesn't ask us to run away. He

says, this is the general rule, not talking about exceptions. I'm not

talking in different marriages where they're abusive, and I'm just saying generally, where

where we're at, where he sees us, where we are, we cannot

leave what we have, We can't run away. But if we would just

submit, not to that boss, but probably more likely to the God that

created us, submit to God's will because that's that's that's where the break truth

will come. That's where that freedom from offenses will come, and and and

to live fully full on and to So my points for us is is Number

one, know that God sees us. The disciples walking to a Maeus,

did they know that God remembered them? Know that God sees us. Number

two know that He hears us, he hears our prayer. Sometimes I know

we feel like God doesn't hear us. Return to his word of promise.

What is that word that God has given to us? I believe if you

have walk more than one year with the Lord, even within a year,

God has spoken to us to you in his promise, in his word,

you have to go back to his word, return to his word or promise,

and submit to God's will. To God's will is always a perfect will.

Four points here for us, and I'll break it down again. Know

that God sees us, he hears us. Return to his word of promise,

submit to His will. Sometimes in our discouragement over whatever that problem might

be, many kinds of discouragement, whether it be in our career, our

marriage, our relationship, history, our friendships, or I don't know,

dealing with different things usually people. Then there dare is a sense of discouragement,

and then you're asking God for something and you don't get a direct,

immediate answer. Discouragement, despair, and sometimes people might be blaming you for

something, Someone might judge you for something, someone might read you differently,

and then you feel like you know what enough, I could give up my

job or my job, my calling. My calling is not a pastor.

My calling is to serve the Lord, a servant of the Lord. A

pastor just happened to happen because nobody else want to do it, So I

just dola. I can also give it up with what I go through for

many when we when pastor when God's to pass to the plant church, I

told my husband, please don't. It's the worst thing because I've seen things

happen. I come from a very very big church. I know what goes

through. I said, no, I don't want to take this route.

But if I didn't take that round, I would not have you as family

today. I would not have an ex church. People. There were people

that we love and love us and also the we are people that sometimes break

our hearts too. But do I throw in the towel if I did,

if I walked the other way, believe God will also sit me down and

say go back. Don't walk around in the wilderness like on Bordo person trying

to find where is Egypt? And you know what the road to Egypt the

way of Sure. Do you know what sure means? A wall? A

wall? Sure is a wall. So baby, you're gonna walk into a

wall, a wall. You want to keep walking into a wall when it's

not God time to move, We don't. That's why many of us don't

have our breakthroughs, because with him hitting a wall and then you get angry

and God, maybe it was Sarah, you know, no baby, no

baby, no baby, and then create a wall by giving one. Hey

God, you oh, I say God. Maybe that's why many times we

walk keep walking into a wall because we ain't wanting to go back to the

promise, to return to his word of promise and to submit ourselves to God's

will and some some bitter hubs for a little while, but then there will

be joy, Amen, hallelujah. So I you know, just for the

like the disciples walking the road to a man's and looked twenty four thirteen.

They were down and they were talking to each other. Yalla, I don't

know, you don't know it, Jesus, but what this? How come

he dial? And then Jesus comes in their meats and walks with them,

and then then he says, oh, so what are you talking about?

What happened? And they go get him? Are you the only bond of

person? You know? What's happened in Jerusalem. No, I don't know.

Tell me about it again. It was a question because in asking that

question, they had to search their hearts and see and tell the storyler,

what can you remember? And only as they talked and Jesus walked with them,

and as he broke bread later that their eyes were open, and then

they knew they had to return to Jerusalem. Peter and the and the boys

went fishing. Fish fish, fishishish, no fish, they never think,

you know why, because disecurage, despair, despondent fish fish fish. I'm

sure Jason were very clever businessmen would go, let's turn the net to the

other sideler. No fish, fish fish fish fish. Then Jesus goes from

the morning. Boys, they cannot see who is it any breakfast? Any

I see? Lama? Any whatever you eat there? You know? Middle

is a hommas, any hommas? Any bitch dips? No can can catch

nothing? Boys, what do you just flip over the other side. There's

this joke with a fisherman, just you know, put over the other side,

and I think there'll be some fish, okay, whoa lots of fish

there? And then Peter eyes open and he went like, I think it's

the Lord. He jumps in globala. Oh. He felt such a remorse

from his you know, his betrayal to Jesus. He was really very deep

in pain in his heart to say I really betrayed Jesus, And is this

the Lord here? Now? You know? Later on God ask him do

you love me? Do you love me? Asking questions? The Lord asked

those questions to dig deep in ourselves so that we can answer the Lord,

and that brings healing because we don't reflect and we sell them. I hate

reflecting because we very reflect all cry so, but when you reflect, you

know that you're answering honest questions. Reflect thing again, Why why did this

happened? Why did I respond this way? And Jesus and God ask us

these questions. Remember he's not asking to hurt us, he's asking to redeem

us, asking questions why did we respawn? That were all more likely reacted

that way. He asked, so that we can talk about it and find

healing in recognizing where we went off or what it is that God has done

for us. Amen, And it's amazing, And here we see him and

a reminder to you and us, to you and I that if we run

away or walk away from something because we are unhappy, too difficult to to

do. Uh, stay a while, I think, Andrew, you know

what I mean. Stay a while with a difficult person. Uh. And

by the time I left my company, I bought my suppert was very sad

and I left at the time a promotion was up for me. But I

was only still very young. If I remain faithful like my age group,

but we are very loyal and to a company, I probably become the company

sect. We have many, many companies if I wanted to go that way.

But God's call was to go full time. But I left at a

time when it was time to leave to train as a missionary. And my

boss was very sad. She she never told me to my face, but

she told my colleagues she's a very good girl. You man, And okay,

I say that is a good stuff. You know, I do the

work. We're there together. We do this. You want a testimony,

you people say, yeah, came, man, left, came and left,

came and left, but stayed on. And she recognized that she was

a very difficult person. She she told me, where I'm angry, I'll

take the hammer and throw at my husband. I thought, Oh my God,

don't throw a hammer at me. Like no hammers came at Mila.

Theggers on you right, return and know what is God saying to us?

Hear him, Know that God sees us. Know that God hears us.

And he also gives you a word of promise from the from his scripture,

written word that will become the written Loggo's word that when you read it and

it's the time for you at that season, it will become the raima word

of God, that word that you need for the now to go through that

situation. And many of us lack the coming to the word of God to

find that strength and his living word to speak to us. And that's why

it is important. As I deduced from here, Hey, God did go

back and went on to serve her boss. But I don't know where the

Sarah when, like yea, I can't find her. Did he take days?

Did he take hours? I don't know. But she went back and

she served and carried on and probably behaved herself a little better and didn't go

in and right. Sometimes it's not even us, as I say, it

could be others. But we need to do what we need to do.

Don't go around in the wilderness in the way of the wall, because if

it's not time, if it's not God's will for us, we will hit

a wall. And what he's saying to us is my child, my daughter,

my son. I see you, and I hear you, and I

have a plan for you. But would you return to that promise that I

gave you and wait patiently, because then as you submit, you will see

that breakthrough. Amen. God sees, God hears, and he got and

God delivers to you a promise He shares with you from his word, and

then you submit your will to the Lord. And in this case Hega was

was it was her boss. But for us we have the Lord who is

our I don't I amen? So my question is the Lord our I don't

I don't means master, provider, protector, and the one who provides protect

is the one that will do everything for you. He is I don't know,

I amen? Is he the I don't know? The master? If

some if you are the master of something, you direct that path. Right,

It's true. Right, if you are the boss of something, you

direct that path. You say this or that you if you you're the master

of your pet, dog. The dog has to listen to you, that

one voice and guides you. Amen, So my encouragement. The thing about

discouragement is it always tries to push you off, derail you from the destiny

that God has for you. The thing about discouragement is to rob you of

your strength, rob you of the vision of looking unto Jesus. Instead,

it causes you to look at that thing, that person, that job,

that whatever, that sickness, that illness, that challenge as the whole thing

about your life. The thing about discouragement does that to us. I'm sure

we have had our moments of discouragement and would not have if it was not

for the grace of God. We would have been eaten up by that problem

and even might have, you know, just gone off track. But God

is so kind. He sees you, ladies and gentlemen. He sees you,

He hears your your complaints. It's okay, he hears your cry.

He will guide you. But we can't also stay in the wilderness for too

long because you will keep hitting a wall. Why do we want to hit

a wall? And why do we go round and round the desert? It's

it's it's hard. Then it takes a longer time to get to the journey

that you know, the destiny that God wants for you a man. And

so that's my encouragement, because it feels like every portion of scripture teaches us

to return to the Lord, to turn to him, even though that when

you turn to him might mean you have to address the issue that is at

hand, face up to that challenge sometimes and be there. It's hard,

or we're so discouraged that we don't we can't get up because of that circumstance

that we're in. I have to say when my dad passed on, it

took me a week before I could come back to myself again. It was

just it was just so heavy to lose Dad, although I've been taking care

of it for all these years, but just in a sense, I didn't

get to say goodbye. Although I was by his bedside, he he just

couldn't hear me anymore. And I can't imagine how much harder for my mom.

But it took me a week. I just couldn't get back to work.

I tried to go back to work, and then it was like you

know, you go into a wilderness kind of cocon and you stay there and

thinking that you're okay, but you're not until I said, like, you

come to yourself and say that I have a God who sees and hears me,

and I know my dad. You know it's a child of God.

He will be in the arms of Jesus. Why am I? Yes,

I can moan, I can grieve, but not grief until cannot go to

work, you know. And because so said, do not have dead around

anymore? That sometimes could be our challenge. I didn't get to really say.

I was with my dad the whole day, but there was no chance

to talk because he was not well. And I prayed my last prayer to

actually say, Lord take him. But I couldn't even do that. God.

I didn't want to make like say to that go. It wasn't that,

but I just felt it was struggling so much, and I just declared

some twenty three but he could not see me. He just couldn't. And

I took a week. But when I came to that, Wow, no,

God is God is still good. He gave me a chance to take

care of my dad. I've been with him, they lived with us for

eighteen years. It was such an opportunity. I can do this, and

I just got a you know, like you're to brush your teeth, comb

your hair, and I'm back at work. Enough. It was very tiring,

you like a wilderness. Even though it was one week. It was

like a wilderness, so so hard to get out. Only you know,

and God has to ask you that question, what is your problem? I

also cannot answer, Lord, But I know I have to get up and

go back to living, not mourning, because I know where my dad is,

in a better place with the lot. So sometimes the discouragement could be

because you didn't fulfill something. The discouragement could be that person said this to

you. The discouragement could come because, like Sarah, it hasn't happened yet,

but I think this morning when you take home this word. He's the

God who sees you, he hears you. But hey, it's time to

return to his promise and don't hide away and stop, you know, keeping

yourself away. Return to his promise and submit to his will and do the

things that needs to be done that brings a life, not sit there in

the desert and wondering why am I hitting a wall? Cutting things off from

you. People away from you just don't want to be. That leads us

into a deeper hole. But the Lord says no, He said, I

see you. Can you see God now in your circumstance? Would you allow

yourself to see Him working in your circumstance? And I ask us all as

the disciples, as Peter, they had to turn, go back to the

promise that was given to them and submit to the will of God that he

will bring us through and be lifted up out of that discouragement. Because God's

promise doesn't give us discouragement. It gives us hope, It gives us direction,

it gives us clarity. And we say, all right, it's fire,

it's hot, But I can wait on the Lord, and I will

trust you, and I will continue to do what I need to do in

this place of waiting. I will submit to your will. Amen. And

I want to encourage us with that. I think the best thing that I've

never read hegar hage, but I've never seen it that God says to her,

I see you. Wow, if you felt that God couldn't see you,

he sees you, He sees us, and he hears us. He

hears us. Therefore, will you allow yourself to see God working in your

situation? Amen? He will always work in us, even though you can't

see it happening yet. But he is working, Amen, hallelujah. I

ask us the thing about discouragement, it robs you. It keeps you in

the wilderness. It brings you to a wall. It doesn't allow you to

answer the questions that are truth in your heart. Why are you here?

Where are you going? Don't know? And want to know? Just angry?

But you can't stay angry forever, offended forever you know? Or just

hell? They keep reading me wrong, they keep me, always misunderstanding me.

Why am I in the same spot again? I want to say to

us, we all go through this. We all go through this. If

you haven't, you will. Life is such Sometimes we get misunderstood. Sometimes

we get offended, We offend people. Sometimes our prayer isn't answered yet.

Sometimes what we're waiting for hasn't happened yet. Why it's God taking so long?

Again? A reminder to us. He's the Lord el Roy, the

god who sees, and he is the Ishmael, the god who hears us

and will do that which is needed to bring life to us and to step

out. And the best thing you and I have today, Francisters, is

his living Word living in us, and have the written word of God that

we can look at every day. Come back and study his word. Come

back and give yourself to the word. I need to do that. You

need to do that so that we are always strengthened in God's goodness. Amen.

And and really the fourth thing that we most people don't like salm mission

sub meet God's will. Amen, like our hands. I'm not not white

flag and not white flag. Mendring got towards white flag. And another one

is surrendered to God. I don't know why. The word is I learned

for aditionally, not the surrender white flag. I give up. No,

I surrender because I submit to God's will. And then the beauty, the

beautiful, the precious begins to flow from that. Amen. The thing about

discouragement, it brings along all his cousins despair, despondency, directionless doubt.

But we don't want that. We want hope. We want to see the

light at the end of the tunnel. We want to be able to live

that promise of God, live our destiny. Yeah, I tell you you

won't forever be in that same place. God will lift you to the next

level of faith, to the next level of faith, next level of hope.

Build new friendships, bill better friendships. Some friendships might leave you,

but you can continue because God brings you more. Amen. We hope you've

been blessed by this message. For more information on our church, please visit

as church org. We are also active on Facebook and Instagram. We're believing

that this week is going to be a good week ahead for you. God bless