the most common cause of discouragement…

there are many things that are fascinating about the easter story. one is the sudden change in the disciples. one minute they're defeated, the next minute they're dynamic. one minute they're crushed, the next minute they're confident. one minute they're having a pity party, the next minute they're taking on the world. what made the difference?

when you see JESUS CHRIST, when you know HIM personally, you will become a confident person.

john 20.19-20 (tev), it was late that sunday evening, and the disciples were gathered together behind locked doors, because they were afraid of the jewish authorities. then JESUS came and stood among them. "peace be with you," HE said. after saying this, HE showed them HIS hands and HIS side. the disciples were filled with joy at seeing the LORD.

have you ever wondered what is it that robs us of confidence?

well one thing is fatigue. as you’ll see the disciples here were fatigued, they were tired, dead tired.

notice it says, it was late that sunday evening.

it had been a rough week. they had palm sunday, they had the cleansing of the temple, they had the LORD's supper, they had gethsemane, they had the six trials, they had the crucifixion. and they are worn out.

and the most common cause of discouragement is physical and emotional exhaustion. things look worse when you're tired and you don't feel too good about it.

vince lombardi said, "fatigue makes cowards of all of us."

cartoon: psychologist to a client, "did this feeling of being an insignificant, dominated pipsqueak, with no self confidence happen suddenly? or did it develop normally with marriage and parenthood?"

when you get tired, you lose your confidence.

sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is go to sleep. it's amazing how much better things look after you've gotten a good night's sleep.

just a thought from the front porch…