New Series: Discouragement

Next month, for Crosstrainers, I will be tackling the topic of discouragement.

I remember as a kid putting together a really cool model rocket. One of those that you build from a kit. It was so much fun putting it together, reading the instructions and making sure everything looked like the picture on the box. I spent what seemed like hours gluing, taping, and designing to make sure everything would be perfect for its first launch.

Well, launch day came and I slid the rocket engine into the rocket and placed it on the launch pad. I was so excited as I hooked the wire to the fuse and stepped back to the “safe zone.” With family surrounding me and chanting my name (at least in my mind), the countdown began. In this moment I was having flashbacks of watching “October Sky,” knowing that this rocket launch would thrust me into rocket science stardom. “3-2-1” and then the most amazing thing occurred, my rocket left the confines of its launchpad and raced toward the stars. It was a beautiful thing, but then came the re-entry. What should happen is the nose of my rocket should pop open and the parachute would be deployed. On this day, that did not happen as scripted. The nose of my rocket popped off, but the parachute did not deploy. I would later discover that the parachute had melted from the heat of the rocket fuel. I watched in disbelief as my model rocket, the one I spent hours constructing, plummeted back to earth. My very heart sank as I watched it crash into the ground, tearing apart into pieces. TALK ABOUT DISCOURAGING! Never again would this rocket fly and my dreams of rocket science stardom had ended that day.

There are a variety of discouraging things that occur in life. Some we will be able to reflect on years later and laugh. Other events will leave us changed, some may say, even scarred.

Throughout Scripture we see a variety of events that were discouraging and yet God’s plan still moved forward. We see someone like Job who did not reject God in a discouraging time; how did he do it? Joshua and Caleb I’m sure were discouraged when they trusted that God would provide and yet the people would not trust in the God who had saved and provided for them.

God is good even in times of discouragement. I look forward to our next series! We just might have to build a rocket together!

Pastor Josh