Don’t Be Discouraged, Don’t Be Afraid

Dannah Gresh: Do you feel like you’re not strong enough to handle everything in front of you today? Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth says you don’t have to be.

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: You see, you’re not supported in your own strength. Underneath are the everlasting arms of God. If you are a child of God, you are strongly supported. So be strong in His strength, in the might and the power of the Lord.

Dannah: This is the Revive Our Hearts podcast with Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, author of Facing Our Fears: Finding Him Faithful, for September 9, 2025. I’m Dannah Gresh.

What are you most afraid of today? Right now? Nancy wants to help you take that fear to the Lord. She’s in a series called "Defying Discouragement," based on 1 Samuel 30. If you’ve missed any of this series, you can catch up at ReviveOurHearts.com or the Revive Our Hearts app. Today, Nancy’s taking a break from 1 Samuel to explore what else the Bible says about discouragement and fear. Let’s listen.

Nancy: I want to share with you today something very exciting that just kind of came to life in the Scripture to me this past week as I was studying on this whole matter of dealing with discouragement. I saw a pattern in the Old Testament I've never noticed before, and it really was quickened to my heart. It's just amazing how life-giving the Word is.

By the way people come to me sometimes and say, "I wish I could get out of the Scripture what you get out of it." Can I say that you can? It takes time. It takes effort. The Scripture is like gold that you don't pick up just walking down the street. You have to work and mine it and dig it out.

But in this case, I just ran a search on a Bible program that you can get on the internet. I looked up the word "discouraged." It brought up for me all the references that include the word "discourage" or "discouraged." I printed those out—a couple pages worth of them—and just began to read and to meditate on those verses. A pattern emerged that I just had never noticed before. I'm so excited about it. I have to share it with you, because I believe it will be encouraging to you as it has been to me this week.

Now before I show you what that is, I'm going to read several of those verses in many Old Testament passages, particularly in the history books. As the people are going out of Egypt into the Promised Land, as they are having to face enemies and attack from pagan nations, there were many opportunities for discouragement. Their opportunities are different than ours. Their circumstances were different than ours.

But it's amazing, human nature is all pretty much the same. No matter what era you live in, no matter what culture you live in, no matter whether you're married or single or have children or not, you can always find circumstances that give you a reason to be discouraged. There are times of life when things just press in on us and we're prone to discouragement.

Some of the circumstances the children of Israel faced were going into a new land; this was new territory, there were new challenges before them. There are seasons of our lives when we are going into a new period of life. Maybe you didn't marry until you were older, or you didn't have children for the first several years of your marriage, or you went into marriage or having children and you realized, "This is different than anything I've ever faced before." It was a new challenge.

Maybe it was a new job or a new career you enter into or a new responsibility you've taken on at church. You find yourself at times saying, "This challenge is bigger than I am. I don't know how to handle this." That's a recipe for discouragement if you let it become one.

The Israelites had enemies; they were in warfare. They did a lot of battle. God gave them the Promised Land, but God said, "You're going to have to fight to take possession of this land."

The Scripture tells us in the New Testament that we are in a battle. The enemy is not your children. The enemy is not your husband. The enemy is not your boss or your pastor or the youth director. The enemy is the devil and this world's system and your flesh, your natural, selfish inclinations. Those are our enemies.

The Scripture says it's not a flesh and blood battle. It's a battle against wickedness and evil powers. We're in that battle. We wrestle in that battle, and we will until Jesus comes back to deliver us out of this world. So as we face the battle it may not be Amalekites or Canaanites or Perizzites or the people the Israelites had to face.

But we have enemies we are facing in this world. I'll tell you, I can sit in my room the whole time and face a battle because my own flesh provides a battleground itself. Just my own selfish, natural tendencies put me in a battlefield every day of my life, and you face that as well.

Sometimes we are facing a major undertaking or a daunting task. We find that in the Old Testament, particularly when the children of Israel went back to the Promised Land after years of exile. They had to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem that had fallen down, and the temple had to be repaired. As the went to rebuild in a time of restoration and revival and renewal, this task was huge! They found themselves often overwhelmed and discouraged just by the bigness of the task.

You think about what God has called you to do and your family and your workplace and your church. Maybe you are leading a Bible study and are in some way in something where you just say, "Lord, this is bigger than I am."

I have to tell you I love ministry. I love serving the Lord. I love teaching His Word. But God has always arranged to put me in situations where I feel I can't handle this. That's never been more true than since we started Revive Our Hearts. Over and over again I have found myself saying, "This job is too big for me. I can't do this."

When you face the circumstance, the challenge, the enemy, if you do it in your own strength and in your own effort, you'll find yourself overcome by discouragement. Do you wonder how I know so much about this? It's because so often I give in to the discouragement. I'm really maybe teaching this series these couple of weeks because I found myself needing to know, "How do you encourage yourself in the Lord?" When you feel overwhelmed, how do you find strength and courage for your heart?

Encouragement is really a matter of the heart. Let me show you what I found out when I pulled up all those verses with the word "discouraged." There were ten times in the Old Testament (I may have missed some, but ten that I found) where the Scripture says in the same verse, "Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged."

Deuteronomy 1:21: "See, the LORD your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it as the LORD, the God of your fathers, told you. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged" (NIV).

By the way, we'll post these verses on our website, ReviveOurHearts.com, so you can go there and get more than the ones that I'm going to read. I'd encourage you just to print out these verses and read them and see if they don't say to you what they've been saying to me.

Deuteronomy 31:8: "The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged" (NIV).

The word "afraid" is a word that speaks of "emotional and intellectual anticipation of harm." There's something you're afraid is going to happen, something that you feel may go wrong. Emotionally and mentally you're anticipating this happening. It hasn't even happened yet, but you're afraid it's going to.

The word "discouraged" is the word that means "to be broken, to be abolished, to be afraid or confounded, to be alarmed, in fear, in despair, to be crushed." One Bible dictionary says that it means "to break in pieces." Do you ever feel like you're breaking in pieces? You're discouraged. You're falling apart, is the term we use. We're losing it; that's another way we say it.

Your family knows when those times are. You feel like "I can't handle one more thing." There are days when I'm so mentally and emotionally and physically exhausted. I think if one more person just looks at me, I'm going to scream. Everything is just going to come out. That's called being discouraged, breaking in pieces.

Now there are discouraging circumstances in life, but God does not intend for us to live those frazzled, falling apart lives. That's why over and over again He says, "Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged." It's interesting He pairs those two. Over and over again in Deuteronomy, in Joshua, 1 and 2 Chronicles: "Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged."

I think one of the reasons we get discouraged is because we're afraid. We're afraid of what's going to happen, of what might happen, of what could happen . . . and it hasn't even happened! But we're discouraged over something that isn't a reality.

I remember some dear friends of mine were going through the wife dying of Lou Gehrig's disease. They addressed in a video this issue of fear. They reminded each other, they reminded those who have watch this video since, that God does not give you grace for something that hasn't happened yet.

 

They were asked, "How are you facing death?" They said, "We're not there yet. We don't have grace for that right now because I haven't died. She hasn't died. There's not grace for what will happen, what may happen, what could happen. There is grace for what is at this very moment."

So the Scripture says, "If you want to be protected from discouragement, then watch out for this little fox that spoils the vine. It's fear." Don't fear. Don't be afraid. God's Word just tells us over and over and over again, I'm told 300-plus times. I haven't checked that one out. But over and over again, it says, "Don't be afraid." Sounds like a command to me. Don't live in the future. Don't go there. Don't let your mind go there.

We know how if we let our minds go down a track of what could happen, we just end up mentally and emotionally really overwhelmed in a way that is just disproportionate to the current reality.

So the Scripture says, "Don't be afraid. Don't be discouraged." Five of those ten times have another phrase: "Be strong and courageous." In five of the verses that talk about "Don't be afraid" and "Don't be discouraged," there's also this phrase: "Be strong and be courageous."

We said earlier in this series that that word "strong," which is used almost 300 times in the Old Testament, means "to be strongly supported," to have God hold your hand. You see, you're not supported in your own strength. "Underneath are the everlasting arms." If you are a child of God, you are strongly supported, so be strong in His strength and  in the might and the power of the Lord.

Joshua 1:9 says, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not be terrified, [do not be discouraged,] for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go" (NASB).

That last phrase is the last little secret here. In five of these verses that say, "Don't be afraid and don't be discouraged," it gives the reason: because God is with you." The Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

David said to Solomon in 1 Chronicles 28, "Be strong and courageous. Do the work. Don't be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD my God is with you" (paraphrased).

"Don't be afraid," Hezekiah said to the children of Israel when they were hopelessly outnumbered by the enemy in 2 Chronicles 20. "Don't be afraid. Don't be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you."

Second Chronicles 32:7: "Be strong. Be courageous. Don't be afraid. Don't be discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him" (paraphrased).

It's the presence of God in my life and in yours that is what delivers us from fear, from discouragement and enables us to be strong and courageous. Counsel your heart. Wherever you are, whatever you're facing, counsel your heart according to the truth of God's Word.

"Don't be afraid, heart. Don't be discouraged, heart, for the Lord your God is with you. He is here. He is now. He is in this circumstance. He is walking through this with you. You have the God of the universe in you. Christ in you, your hope of glory." That's where you get hope. That's where you get encouragement. It's the fact that God is with you.

These passages go on to say, "He will not fail you. He will not forsake you. He will fight for you. So be strong. Be encouraged. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged."

Father, as I read these verses that tell us to be strong and courageous, that tell us we should not be afraid, that we should not be discouraged, I realize it's a sin against You to give in to discouragement. Lord, I'm so sorry for all the times I have been afraid, for all the times I've given in to discouragement. I thank You for Your grace. I thank You for Your presence.

By faith I tell my own heart to be strong and be courageous not because I have any strength, but because You are strong in me. Thank You for being a very present help in times of trouble. May our lives and our responses to pressure reflect the greatness of Your presence. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.

Dannah: Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth has been inviting you to take courage in the Lord, even if you’re tempted to fear.

If you’re fearful today, I want to remind you of a helpful resource. Endure: 40 Days of Fortitude is a booklet that invites you to trust the Lord, even in the hard places. Because endurance isn’t about digging deeper into your own strength—it’s about leaning into God’s. Let these forty days shape your heart with courage, calm, and confidence in Christ. Request your copy today with your donation of any amount. You can do that by visiting ReviveOurHearts.com or calling us at 1-800-569-5959.

Now, I want you to hear some real-life examples of what Nancy just shared. A few years back, we gathered a bunch of sweet friends for what we called our Sisters in Ministry Summit. While we were together, we had an honest conversation about fear. Kristen Wetherell kicked us off, then Nancy, Betsy Gomez, and Laura Wifler jumped in. I’m excited for you to hear what these women have learned in the face of fear and discouragement. Let’s listen.

Kristen Wetherell: So, the Bible is really clear that the Christian life is a fight. And so fear, I believe, is a fight. The world likes to tell us that there is a way to be fearless, and in a sense, I guess that’s true. In Christ we are ultimately victorious over the power of fear, but I just keep coming back to the Lord with it in prayer.

I guess that looks like confessing that I’m afraid, and then going to specific places in His Word and soaking in what’s true, to take my thoughts captive to that. It’s every single day, pretty much, because we just have to keep fighting. Fighting your fears is like a muscle that has to be exercised; so is faith. So I just keep coming back to the Lord.

But I also think the question, “Is this true?” is really helpful. Because, sure, certain things have been true of us in our past. But I think the question, “Is this true?” is helpful in terms of, “What’s my reality right now?” And it’s like, “Well, that’s not happening right now.”

I’m just envisioning this possibility, and so the Bible tells us to think on what is true, and I think that’s helpful, too. (see Phil. 4:8)

Nancy: Robert often says to me, “Wait to worry.” Like, it’s not happening right this minute. And I’ll sometimes go, “Well, you’re just not being realistic!” But that’s good counsel, “Wait to worry.”

Can anybody else relate to fear, just to how you battle it, or how you would encourage somebody else in battling it? Because I don’t think Kristen is the only person in the room or in the world who does battle with it! 

Betsy Gomez: Well, I can so relate to you, because in 2014 when I got pregnant, my third pregnancy, I lost that child and that was my first miscarriage. And then I had another one, and then I had another one. So I had three miscarriages. It got to a point that I didn’t want to get pregnant again, because I was so afraid.

And then I couldn’t; I didn’t get pregnant for several years. Our family [my husband and two boys] was ready to transition to another city here in the States, and the second day we moved, I realized I was pregnant. I was so afraid! I was afraid to have a miscarriage again. I was even walking like a duck all the time, like if I had a ball between my legs, because I was afraid to walk in a way that I was going to lose the baby. 

And I remember Moises looking at me while I was walking in this weird way, and he said, “Why are you walking like that?” 

And I said, “I just want to press hard, because I [want to keep the baby].”

Anyway, the word that the Lord kept bringing to my heart in that season was Psalm 127:1, “Unless the Lord builds a house, its builder labors over it in vain. Unless the Lord watches over a city, that watchman stays alert in vain. In vain you get up early and stay up late working hard to have enough food. Yes, He gives sleep to the one He loves.”

In that time I was not only afraid of a miscarriage, I was also afraid of not being a good momma. I was even afraid to have a girl. I was like, “Can I even do this?” I was just reminding myself of God’s sovereignty and reminding myself of His provision and just embracing the moment.

I remember saying to myself, “If this life is going to last two months, five months, three years, one-hundred years, life is to be celebrated!” I think a mix of thankfulness and reminding myself of God’s sovereignty was the way that I could endure.

I mean, kids are alive and things can happen, so it’s a constant exercise of being thankful for today and trusting God for tomorrow and trusting His sovereignty. So, I thank you for sharing that.

Laura Wifler: I often think of fear as “making a future possibility your current reality.” Often when I’m afraid, my husband will say [calmly], “Okay, well then, what would we do?” [Kristen replies, frantic,] “I don’t know!” And then he’ll say [deliberately], “No, seriously, if that happens, then what would we do?”

And so, he kind of forces me to play out the scenario. Often I can think of at least something, or together we think through things: “Okay, and we’d go here, and we’d trust God for that,” or “We’d make this move.” 

My youngest daughter has special needs. She’s two. We had no idea the whole pregnancy. When I was thirty-six weeks pregnant, I walked in for a regular appointment and they measured my belly. You’re supposed to be at least somewhat on track. I always measured a touch small, but I had shrunk ten weeks’ worth, so I was measuring at twenty-six weeks.

And they kind of reacted, “O-o-h!” Everything goes a little crazy, and they said, “You’re having this baby today!” Then all this stuff happened. Anyway, long story short, I remember they told me that, “There’s a fifty-percent chance that she has special needs, and there’s a fifty-percent chance that your placenta has just failed her and you’re losing your fluid. We need to get her out.”

I remember thinking, She cannot have special needs! That cannot happen! I wouldn’t know what to do; I can’t do that. I’ve seen people with that, and that is not for me! I can’t handle that; I wouldn’t be good at that. That’s different.

Two months later we found out she has a genetic disease and indeed does have special needs. And the reason I couldn’t imagine it is because I hadn’t been granted the grace to walk through it at that point. I think so often with our fears, we’re taking that possibility and we’re trying to walk through it without God’s grace.

I think that’s just been a real comfort to me as I see other people’s lives. I mean, we’re hearing the stories of very, very hard things. I look at you guys and I think, How are you all doing it? How are you staying faithful? How are you having joy? How do you have hope? Because I can’t imagine!

But I know that it’s because God’s grace has sustained you. And no matter what I face in the future, no matter what awaits or whatever scary thing happens, God’s grace will sustain me. He holds faster to us than we could ever hold to Him, and that is a true comfort when I think about my fears.

Dannah: That’s Laura Wifler, along with Kristin Wetherell, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, and Betsy Gomez. To hear more, visit ReviveOurHearts.com and look for the series, “Trusting God’s Goodness in the Face of Fear.” It’s linked in the transcript of this program, too.

Well today we looked at the theme of discouragement throughout the Old Testament. Over and over again we see, “Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged.” But what does the New Testament have to say? That’s what Nancy’s gonna show us tomorrow. 

Please be back for Revive Our Hearts.

This program is a listener-supported production of Revive Our Hearts in Niles, Michigan, calling women to freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ.

All Scripture is taken from the NKJV unless otherwise noted.

*Offers available only during the broadcast of the podcast season.