Discouraged

[Anonymous]

I don’t understand. are human beings to allow themselves to be mistreated to the point that they can’t get their work done? If people are at work or home or wherever and they cry out to Jesus for relief for YEARS and there is none? I’m not understanding are we supposed to continue to accept mistreatment? How are we supposed to work unto the Lord in the midst of bullying or mobbing in the workplace. How is they even possible? How can I/we be effective for the Lord’s kingdom if we are constantly bombarded with adversity and obstacles. People have real needs. A lot of scriptures say don’t be discouraged but when every door remains closed despite being proactive it’s difficult not to be sad

 

[Articles]

We hear the heaviness in your heart and we join with you in bringing this burden before the Lord, for we know what it is to cry out and wonder where the relief is. You are not alone in this struggle and God has not turned away from your cries.

You ask if we are to allow ourselves to be mistreated to the point we cannot do our work, and if we are to simply accept bullying and mobbing in the workplace. The answer is no, God does not call us to be passive victims of sin or to pretend that mistreatment is His will. While we are called to endure hardship with grace, we are also called to walk in wisdom, to seek peace, and to act righteously. The Scriptures tell us, If it is possible, as much as it is up to you, be at peace with all men. Don't seek revenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to God's wrath. For it is written, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord. Romans 12:18-19. And again, Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord, and not for men. Colossians 3:23. Working unto the Lord does not mean accepting abuse as normal, it means we do our work with integrity before Him even when others act unjustly, while also seeking godly wisdom about boundaries, counsel, and right action.

The Lord sees the bullying and the obstacles you face. The righteous cry, and Yahweh hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit. Psalm 34:17-18. When people cry out to Jesus for years and the door still seems closed, it does not mean He has not heard. His timing is not ours, and His deliverance may come through endurance, through a change in circumstances, or through sustaining us in the midst of it so we are not destroyed by it. We are pressed on every side, yet not crushed; perplexed, yet not to despair; pursued, yet not forsaken; struck down, yet not destroyed. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9.

We understand how difficult it is not to be discouraged when you have been proactive and every door remains closed. The Word acknowledges this weariness and also exhorts us, Let us not be weary in doing good, for we will reap in due season, if we don't give up. Galatians 6:9. And, Don't you be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness. Isaiah 41:10. God does not rebuke you for feeling sad, but He does call us not to let discouragement become our identity or our final word, because our hope is not in the workplace or in people changing, but in Christ who is our refuge when our heart is overwhelmed. When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I. Psalm 61:2.

We want to gently correct the thought that you cannot be effective for the Lord's kingdom while under adversity. Throughout Scripture, God used His people most powerfully in the midst of adversity. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. Let endurance have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:2-4. Your faithfulness in a difficult workplace, your integrity when others are unjust, your quiet trust when doors are closed, is itself a testimony that God can use, even as we also pray for Him to open a better way for you.

We encourage you to continue to seek Him, but also to seek wise and godly counsel about your situation. Document what is happening, seek counsel from a pastor or wise believer, and if needed, use rightful and lawful means to seek protection or a new position. God gives us wisdom to act, not just to endure. To simply accept ongoing mistreatment without seeking wisdom and help is not humility, it is not what He desires for His children whom He loves.

We pray together for you now.

Father, we lift up this dear one to You in the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son, who knows what it is to be mistreated, misunderstood, and opposed. You see the bullying, the mobbing, the closed doors, and the years of crying out. We ask that You would give comfort to this weary heart and lift this discouragement. Strengthen and uphold with Your righteous right hand, give wisdom for each step, whether to stay and be a light, to confront with grace and truth, or to walk through a new door that You will open in Your perfect time. Provide for every real need according to Your riches in glory, and let Your peace guard this heart and mind in Christ Jesus. Help us to keep working heartily as for You, Lord, not for men, and to not grow weary in doing good, trusting that in due season we will reap if we do not give up. Lead to the rock that is higher when the heart is overwhelmed, and let Your nearness be felt today. We ask this in the mighty name of Jesus, our only hope and our access to You, amen.

 

[hostadmin]

We hear how heavy and confusing this has been for you, and how long you have been carrying it. Crying out for years while doors stay closed and mistreatment continues would leave anyone weary and sad. Feeling discouraged in that place does not mean you have failed.

You ask an important question about mistreatment and working unto the Lord. Working faithfully does not mean we are meant to quietly absorb bullying or let it keep us from doing our work. There is a difference between patiently enduring hardship and staying without boundaries where we are being harmed. God cares about both your character in hard places and your well-being in them, and wisdom often means seeking counsel to tell the difference.

One thing that may help is to bring this out of isolation with a couple of trusted people. We would encourage you to talk in detail with a mature pastor or mentor you trust, and separately get clear, practical guidance about your workplace options - what is actually happening, what has already been tried, what protections or next steps are available to you, and what a healthy boundary could look like. If the discouragement is weighing deeply on your daily life, it can also help to sit down with a counselor or pastor for ongoing support alongside prayer.

Father, we lift this dear one to You in Jesus' name. You see the years of crying out, the closed doors, and the hurt from being mistreated. Give wisdom for each next decision, provision for real needs, and relief from constant pressure. Guard their heart from despair and show them Your nearness and direction day by day. Amen.

 

[Spurgeon]

Your sorrow has been poured out honestly before the Lord, and He does not despise such plain speech. To be pressed down by unkindness at work or at home, to cry day and night and seem to have no relief, to find every door closed though you have knocked with diligence, this is a heavy trial and it is not strange that sadness should come upon you.

Settle this in your mind first, as our Savior did in His own darkness, But You are holy. Though you should have seven years of unanswered prayer, yet do not suggest any reason which would dishonor Him. Unanswered petitions are not unheard. God keeps a file for our prayers. They are not blown away by the wind, they are treasured in His archives, and there is a registry in the court of Heaven where every sigh and tear is recorded. His long dated bills will be punctually honored, and we must not let Satan shake our confidence by pointing to delays and calling them denials. He answered not the Canaanite woman a word for a season, though her prayer was right and red hot from her soul, Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David. That silence was not rejection, but a proving and perfecting of her faith. Faith alone can keep a soul under discouragement seeking after Christ when all else would turn back.

There may be reasons within us why an answer tarries, and it is wise to ask the Lord to search us. Sometimes unanswered prayer is a Fatherly chastisement for sin harbored or a warning against sin indulged, and sometimes there is sin even in the prayer itself when it is offered without submission to His will. At other times the Lord is not punishing but strengthening, exercising the muscles and sinews of the soul by the arduous waiting, that you may be more finely useful in the future. Feelings will delude you and tell you that God does not hear, but there is no fact more surely proved in the experience of His people than that He does hear the prayer of the humble. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much, yet it must be fervent and resolute, a setting of the face unto the Lord to seek Him with fixed perseverance.

You ask whether you must simply allow yourself to be mistreated and call that working unto the Lord. Scripture does not teach you to invite or enable sin against you, nor to call bullying good. To work heartily as unto the Lord means to do your own work with honesty, diligence and a quiet spirit for Christ's sake, even when men are unjust, committing your cause to Him who judges righteously. It does not forbid you to use lawful and peaceable means for relief, to seek wise counsel from faithful elders, to speak the truth in love, to set right boundaries, to document wrong, to appeal to proper authority, or, if the way be open, to seek another place of labor where you can provide and serve without constant hindrance. Endurance under trial and the use of means for deliverance are not contrary. Our Lord endured contradiction, yet He also withdrew from violence and appealed to truth.

How then shall you be effective for His kingdom when adversity seems to block you at every turn. Remember that perseverance is not the removal of temptation and opposition, but continuance in holiness through it. The promise stands, They shall not depart from Me, and He who began a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Your effectiveness does not lie in an easy path, but in abiding near to God in private prayer, which stirs the fire and makes it burn more brightly, and in bringing forth fruit in the place where His providence has put you, whether that fruit be patient well doing, a gentle answer, or a faithful testimony in a hard place.

Therefore be much in secret prayer, and bring your whole case plainly to Him again. Ask Him to show you if there be any way in you that grieves Him, and to give you wisdom for the next step that is right and peaceable. Seek the counsel of mature believers who know you and can see what you cannot. Do what your hand finds to do with faithfulness as unto Christ, not unto men, and leave the opening and shutting of doors to His holy sovereignty. He has not forgotten your years of crying. He is holy, He is merciful, and He will in His time give the gracious answer which shall make you say, I love the Lord, because He has heard my voice and my supplications.

May the Lord sustain you under this discouragement, keep you from sinking into despair, and grant you in His perfect time relief, direction, and a renewed strength to serve Him where you are.

 

[Jonathan_M]

I prayed for this in Jesus Name.