Several years ago, I received an email from a brother in Christ reprimanding me for saying that followers of Jesus could be discouraged or anxious. He tried to tell me that I was wrong for suggesting it, and that couldn’t be part of the believers’ experiences. I wanted to respond in anger, maybe trying to fight back for all the amazing people I have worked with who struggle with these things and not because they are messing up. Instead, God directed me to sit in the Psalms for a while, seeing the pattern so often with David of despair and hopelessness turning to new hope and encouragement.

Psalm 42 is a great illustration of this pattern, and I recently went through it again to look for David’s process in dealing with his own discouragement. I think so often we see discouragement as the end, rather than another place to hear from God and walk back through His faithfulness to a place of encouragement. Here are the steps that I see David taking in moving from darkness to light.

1.        Recognize the lies whether they are from a person (David’s enemies in 42:3) or from our own emotion. David says he feels like he’s thirsting, empty, crying out, heartbroken. But that doesn’t mean that this is his new identity. He sees the heartbreak, and also speaks to it to take courage. We don’t just start agreeing with the lies, but rather we take a gentle but firm approach to speak truth to our heart and soul.

2.        Remember God’s faithfulness. There is a reason God has the people remember over and over through feasts, celebrations and memorials—we forget very quickly. I like to think of having mental milestones that I can recite when I’m discouraged—remember when God did this, and this, and how He came through when it wasn’t expected here? These are important for us to come out of the discouragement as we remember the truth. God has not left us, He is at work in our lives, and He has never abandoned us in the past.

3.        Sing and praise to return joy. I read a study recently that talked about some of the activities that helped to reset the vagus nerve to calm the body and mind. The three that were at the top were deep breathing, cold water stimulation and singing. It’s so interesting to me that singing is something God built into us that is good for us—that’s why He commands us to praise in the middle of pain! He knows it helps us reset and move from fight or flight to calm.

4.        Sit under the waterfall of compassion and love that comes from God’s presence. I think one of the greatest lies of the enemy is that God is distant, unfeeling and uncaring. It’s all about separation, when the truth is that David talks about God’s waterfall of weeping, not his own. David talks about how God’s sorrow washes over him, along with his deep kindness and endless love. God isn’t angry with you for being discouraged, but He does want you to sit in the waterfall of His love in order to be encouraged.

So, on days that seem hopeless and sad, recognize the lies as lies, remember God’s faithfulness, sing praise and soak in God’s endless love and compassion. As you do these things, I believe your heart will begin to hope again and you will remember your God is indeed your saving grace.

And those who want to criticize being in discouragement, like my friend the emailer, will hopefully hear from God themselves one day about His incredible compassion and love for His kids, no matter what the struggle might be for their days.

So I say to my soul, “Don’t be discouraged. Don’t be disturbed. For I know my God will break through for me.” Then I’ll have plenty of reasons to praise him all over again. Yes, he is my saving grace! Psalm 42:11