Dismayed and Discouraged?

And the Lord is the one who is going ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not desert you or abandon you. Do not fear and do not be dismayed. Deuteronomy 31:8

Biblehub: direct word-for-word translation from the Hebrew:

And YHWH [is] He who is going before you He will be with you Not He will leave you and not forsake you Not do fear and not be dismayed.

The ‘word’ that I wanted to look in this verse was ‘dismayed’. In Hebrew this word is חָתַת / chathath / khaw-thath’ meaning dismayed, shattered, terrified, been shattered, break, cracked, and dismay. A primitive root; properly, to prostrate; hence, to break down, either (literally) by violence, or (figuratively) by confusion and fear — abolish, affright, be (make) afraid, amaze, beat down, discourage, (cause to) dismay, go down, scare, terrify.

חָתַת (chathath) conveys the collapse of courage or structure—ranging from internal dismay, terror, or discouragement to outward breaking, shattering, or destruction. The contexts decide whether the verb speaks of an inward emotional state or an outward physical ruin; often the two blend, as fear leads to collapse and collapse breeds fear.

Now consider what Jesus told His disciples.

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Matthew 28:19-20

Even though we may ‘feel’ abandoned… the truth is … He is always there. Jesus IS with us. If we “know” this …then what is the Truth? Our feelings or His Word / Truth? What is our guarantee? What is our seal?

Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say,

“The Lord is my helper;
    I will not fear;
what can man do to me?” Hebrews 13:4-6

This IS my reality no matter what my feelings say. Yes… we definitely have enemies who are constantly working towards our demise and destruction. Yes… it is a battlefield. Yes … we get weak and broken down. Jesus also went into the wilderness for 40 days and was physically weakened… and THEN the enemy came to tempt Him. We too when weakened are met with the attempt of enemies wanting to crush our soul. The battle for our heart and mind is ON! Our feelings may be screaming for us to quit, give up, and surrender to the temptation, and then to the guilt and shame. This IS their tactics and they are brutal. They actually know every time you’ve slipped up and they will use that over and over – as long as you let them.

We can slip so easily into self-pity and depression and self-condemnation when our enemies are pointing out all our flaws and mistakes. Who is with you? Who has removed your sin as far as the east is from the west – when you gave it all to Him?

Stand on what you KNOW beyond all understanding. The Truth. Jesus. His promises to us. My feelings can’t change that. Appeal to the Holy Spirit within you. Surrender and submit. Then GO FORWARD! Do not stay in that place of torture and dismay. Declare the Truth to yourself again.

Father YOU are LOVE! Jesus YOU are THE TRUTH! Jesus YOU ARE MY TRUTH! Holy Spirit YOU are with me!

No matter what.

If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up. Daniel 3:17-18

Serve ONLY Jesus. Lord of Lords and King of Kings!