Let us look at an example in the Bible of a moment of despondency in the life of Moses. Despondent means “feeling or showing extreme discouragement, dejection, or depression.” Moses was despondent to the point that he wanted God to kill him. The children of Israel decided that they were sick of manna. Numbers 11:10 says, Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent: and the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly; Moses also was displeased.
There are times in our lives when we become overwhelmed and just do not feel that we can go another step. Things are not going well at work. Our children are not doing their best in school. Our houses are a mess, and we are never home long enough to do anything about it. The dirty laundry is taking over the laundry room. The children are sick, so we cannot fulfill our duties at church. It is then that we often say, “Lord, this is it! I can’t take any more!” We might not get to the point that Moses did, but we do get pretty low sometimes. At this point, we need to pray, “Lord, help me, and give me wisdom to know what to do.”
Proverbs 15:13 says, A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken. The definition of merry is “giving pleasure, delightful, full of gaiety or high spirits.” Cheerful means “full of good spirits, conducive to cheer: likely to dispel gloom or worry.” When we have a merry heart and a cheerful countenance, we will not have a broken spirit; however, there will be times when we get down.
I am here to say that this is not unusual! Let us look at Moses. God talked to him from the burning bush. God gave him the Ten Commandments. God allowed him to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. God led His people with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. When His children were thirsty, God told Moses to strike a rock with his rod. He did, and the water came gushing out. They were hungry, and God provided them with manna to eat. After a diet of manna day after day, the people decided they were tired of it and cried to Moses that they wanted some meat. This is when Moses reached his breaking point.
Numbers 11:11-15 says, And Moses said unto the Lord, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me? Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest unto their fathers? Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat. I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.
Moses asked God, “Why are You doing this to me? Did I father all these people? God, where will I get flesh to feed all these people? They are crying to me saying, …Give us flesh, that we may eat…!” Moses told God, “I cannot bear all this! It is too heavy for me. If I have to deal with this, just go ahead and kill me right now.”
If Moses felt this way, I think God understands when we get discouraged and when we do not have a merry heart and a cheerful countenance. Yes, we must work at giving pleasure to others and being delightful and happy. However, we also need to remember that, at times, we will become frustrated and discouraged ourselves, and so will others (including our children, our husbands, and other ladies). We need to stay aware of this and work at being an encourager. We may be surprised at how far just a small dose of encouragement can go!
by Carmel Bailey
