A revolutionary cure for discouragement

Tom Crenshaw July 14, 2022

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A group of frogs were walking through a forest, and two of the frogs fell into a pit. All the other frogs looked down and said, "You're as good as dead. You'll never get out of that hole."

The two little frogs didn't want to stay there, and they kept jumping and jumping and jumping, but they couldn't make their way out. One of the frogs who was watching said, "You're going to die. You're going to die. There is no way out."

His words were so discouraging that one of the frogs just gave up and died, but the other frog would not give up. He kept jumping and jumping and finally, much to everyone's surprise, he jumped completely out of the pit.

The other frog said, "Didn't you hear us? We told you that you couldn't get out of the pit." And the little frog said, "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm hard of hearing. I thought you were cheering me on."

We live in a culture where there is an epidemic of discouragement. No wonder our nation's suicide rate has doubled in a decade, and depression is at an all-time high.

According to one survey I read, depression among 14-17 years old rose 60 percent in a decade, and more than half of Americans in general feel left out and unappreciated.

Because there is so much bad news circulating, there exists a desperate longing for good news. I think most all of us are eager to hear some hopeful, positive, and encouraging news that will lift our spirits and give us something to cheer about.

As believers you and I are those "Good News People in a Bad News World." We can use our tongues to encourage and lift up those who are discouraged and ready to give up. We can be those cheerleaders that everyone loves to have around.

We can be encouragers. Encouragement starts with doing the small things—just saying "thank you," "I appreciate you," "You did a great job."

The other day after church we had breakfast with some friends. As we were eating, I noticed this one server who was going out of his way to perform his responsibilities. I never saw anyone clear tables so quickly, or sweep the floor with such determination, or move with such haste.

After our bill was paid, I went back and found him, and I told him how impressed I was with how hard he worked. I told him that I had spoken to his employer and said to him that if I was hiring someone, I would want a person like that on my team. You should have seen the beaming smile that marked my new friend's face. He acted like he had never heard such words before, and unfortunately, maybe he hadn't.

Proverbs 25:11 reminds us, "A right word at the right time is like precious gold set in silver."

Paul writes, "We are to encourage one another and build others up" (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

"How curious that we spend more time congratulating people who have succeeded than encouraging people who have not."
—Neil deGrasse Tyson

Let's all be careful to take time to speak the kind of words that lift others up. If we do, we might just discover a revolutionary cure for discouragement.

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Tom Crenshaw serves as Connections Pastor of the New Monmouth Baptist Church (non denominational) where he previously served as a three year interim.He has been married to Jean for almost 50 years, and they have four children, all of whom are teachers.Tom loves perennial gardening, umpiring high school baseball, coaching baseball and football, fishing for small mouth bass, rooting for his favorite team, the Cleveland Indians, and listening to ‘real’ country music, the classic kind. Learn More »

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