(46) Remember Your Calling in Christ

As we continue to consider how to get victory over discouragement with others, I believe it would be helpful to be reminded of our three keys to victory over any discouragement: fear, focus, and faith. We must fear God in that we have a deep reverence for Him and passion for honoring Him. We fear dishonoring Him before others. We must remain focused on God, the principles of His Word, and the big picture of His sovereign plan and eternity. We must have faith. Faith that God is indeed in control, has a perfect plan for our lives, graciously supplies all the strength we need to honor Him in every circumstance of life, and will work these circumstances for our good and His glory. We will continually return to these three keys as we further discuss gaining victory over discouragement with others.

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if someone happens to have a complaint against anyone else. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also forgive others. (Colossians 3:12-13 NET)

We begin with an issue of focus. Paul reminds us in these verses to focus on who we are in Christ. He reminds us that we are “the elect of God” or “chosen of God” depending on your translation. He also describes us as “holy and dearly loved”. These descriptions are humbling and exalting at the same time. They emphasize God’s call of the believer from the mass of lost humanity to be His specially loved people. This is true for every believer, even the ones who cause us the most discouragement. When we are discouraged with another believer, we need to remind ourselves of these truths. We must focus on these truths and we must also fear dishonoring these truths.

Paul reminds us of what we have in common. We are all saved by grace, brought into relationship with God as part of the same family. When struggling with discouragement with other believers, we need to focus on our high calling as God’s people and fear dishonoring our calling. We must have a holy fear of not showing the character of Christ before our brothers and sisters and the unbelieving world. Remember, Jesus said one of the distinguishing marks of believers in the eyes of the lost would be our love for one another.

Paul also says we are “holy”. This means we are set apart to live exclusively for God’s purposes and for His glory. It means maintaining moral purity and living out the character of Christ in our relationships with others.

I know for me, many times my discouragement with others is self-centered. I am discouraged because they have let me down, made mistakes that frustrate me, or in some cases have hurt me in some way. I’m discouraged by this when my focus in on my comfort and how I want things to be. But, being called out of the world and called to God means we no longer live for ourselves, but “for Him who died and gave His life for us” (2 Cor. 5:15). This is an exclusive calling we’ve been called to. Living exclusively for God, His purposes, desires, and glory, means I am not living for mine. When people get me discouraged by their behavior because it makes me uncomfortable, I need to remind myself that I am not here for my comfort. I am here, exclusively, for God’s glory. I cannot let them get me down or impact my behavior in any way that I dishonor our mutual calling in Christ.


Next: (47) Remember Your Calling in Christ - Pt. 2