Day 10 - Dealing With Discouragement

Dealing With Discouragement

Have you felt discouraged about this journey?
If so, you’re not alone—and it’s completely normal.

You’re facing one of the biggest challenges of your life: overcoming the weight of fatherlessness. Discouragement and fatherlessness often go hand in hand. I remember being discouraged about all kinds of things—school, sports, my appearance, my abilities… the list goes on.

But eventually, I realized something life-changing: through God, I am enough.

The summer before my junior year of high school, I went on an 80-mile backpacking and canoeing trip in Canada with my school’s basketball team. It lasted ten days and tested all of us. During the trip, when we hiked across land carrying our canoes and backpacks, it was called a portage. One of those portages stretched 3.5 miles—it was brutal.

The night before that long trek, some of us older students decided to carry the canoes for the younger guys ahead of time. That way, they’d only have to carry their backpacks the next day. It wasn’t easy, but it lightened their load—and they were incredibly thankful.

That experience reminded me of what it means to help carry someone else’s burden. And even more so, it reminded me that God offers to carry ours.

CHALLENGE:
Psalm 55:22 (NKJV) says, "Cast your burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain you."

God wants to carry what’s weighing you down.
Discouragement can be heavy, but you don’t have to carry it alone.

He’s strong enough to lift your burden, and He’s faithful enough to walk with you every step of the way. Let Him sustain you today.

Cast your discouragement on the Lord—He can handle it.

ACTION STEP:
Write down the areas of your life where you feel discouraged right now.
Then, begin praying over them daily for the next 30 days.
Ask God to lift those burdens and replace them with His peace.

SUGGESTED PRAYER:
Dear Lord, I give You my burdens. You know the discouragement in my heart. Please strengthen and sustain me through this season. I trust You, and I thank You for always being there for me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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