Psalms 40:1-3 Chapter 40 1 I waited patiently for Jehovah; And he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. 2 He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay; And he set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. 3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: Many shall see it, and fear, And shall trust in Jehovah.

Discouragement is a common problem. As we saw yesterday, it may start with a divided mind but can easily turn into blaming others and wallowing in anger. Sadly, its effects don’t stop there.

For one thing, if you regard the one who disappointed you as the cause of all your troubles, you might distance yourself or even end the relationship. On top of that, when disappointments are allowed to build up without resolution, your sense of self-worth could be damaged. This could deliver a blow to your ministry and interactions with others, since no one likes being around critical, negative individuals.

A dangerous drift in your spiritual walk is the ultimate consequence of discouragement. God will seem distant, uncaring, or perhaps even absent because you’ve built such high walls around yourself. Things that were once cornerstones in your life—like worship, Bible study, and prayer—easily fall by the wayside. Before long, you will be surrounded only by your disappointments and negativity, unable to see anything of positive value at all.

Discouragement can eat away at a believer’s relationships and productivity. Don’t allow disappointments to build up and take such a toll on your life. Psalms 40:2 2 He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay; And he set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. is a wonderful reminder that the heavenly Father can lift you out of the “miry clay” and “set [your] feet upon a rock making [your] footsteps firm.” Let your discouragement motivate you to turn to the Lord, the one who can “put a new song in [your] mouth”—a song of praise to Him (v. 3).

Bible in One Year: Proverbs 22-25 Chapter 22 1 A `good' name is rather to be chosen than great riches, `And' loving favor rather than silver and gold. 2 The rich and the poor meet together: Jehovah is the maker of them all. 3 A prudent man seeth the evil, and hideth himself; But the simple pass on, and suffer for it. 4 The reward of humility `and' the fear of Jehovah `Is' riches, and honor, and life. 5 Thorns `and' snares are in the way of the perverse: He that keepeth his soul shall be far from them. 6 Train up a child in the way he should go, And even when he is old he will not depart from it. 7 The rich ruleth over the poor; And the borrower is servant to the lender. 8 He that soweth iniquity shall reap calamity; And the rod of his wrath shall fail. 9 He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; For he giveth of his bread to the poor. 10 Cast out the scoffer, and contention will go out; Yea, strife and ignominy will cease. 11 He that loveth pureness of heart, `For' the grace of his lips the king will be his friend. 12 The eyes of Jehovah preserve `him that hath' knowledge; But he overthroweth the words of the treacherous man. 13 The sluggard saith, There is a lion without: I shall be slain in the streets. 14 The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: He that is abhorred of Jehovah shall fall therein. 15 Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; `But' the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. 16 He that oppresseth the poor to increase his `gain', `And' he that giveth to the rich, `shall come' only to want. 17 Incline thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, And apply thy heart unto my knowledge. 18 For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee, If they be established together upon thy lips. 19 That thy trust may be in Jehovah, I have made `them' known to thee this day, even to thee. 20 Have not I written unto thee excellent things Of counsels and knowledge, 21 To make thee know the certainty of the words of truth, That thou mayest carry back words of truth to them that send thee? 22 Rob not the poor, because he is poor; Neither oppress the afflicted in the gate: 23 For Jehovah will plead their cause, And despoil of life those that despoil them. 24 Make no friendship with a man that is given to anger; And with a wrathful man thou shalt not go: 25 Lest thou learn this ways, And get a snare to thy soul. 26 Be thou not one of them that strike hands, `Or' of them that are sureties for debts. 27 If thou hast not wherewith to pay, Why should he take away thy bed from under thee? 28 Remove not the ancient landmark, Which thy fathers have set. 29 Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; He shall not stand before mean men. Chapter 23 1 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, Consider diligently him that is before thee; 2 And put a knife to thy throat, If thou be a man given to appetite. 3 Be not desirous of his dainties; Seeing they are deceitful food. 4 Weary not thyself to be rich; Cease from thine own wisdom. 5 Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? For `riches' certainly make themselves wings, Like an eagle that flieth toward heaven. 6 Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, Neither desire thou his dainties: 7 For as he thinketh within himself, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; But his heart is not with thee. 8 The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, And lose thy sweet words. 9 Speak not in the hearing of a fool; For he will despise the wisdom of thy words. 10 Remove not the ancient landmark; And enter not into the fields of the fatherless: 11 For their Redeemer is strong; He will plead their cause against thee. 12 Apply thy heart unto instruction, And thine ears to the words of knowledge. 13 Withhold not correction from the child; `For' if thou beat him with the rod, he will not die. 14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, And shalt deliver his soul from Sheol. 15 My son, if thy heart be wise, My heart will be glad, even mine: 16 Yea, my heart will rejoice, When thy lips speak right things. 17 Let not thy heart envy sinners; But `be thou' in the fear of Jehovah all the day long: 18 For surely there is a reward; And thy hope shall not be cut off. 19 Hear thou, my son, and be wise, And guide thy heart in the way. 20 Be not among winebibbers, Among gluttonous eaters of flesh: 21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty; And drowsiness will clothe `a man' with rags. 22 Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, And despise not thy mother when she is old. 23 Buy the truth, and sell it not; `Yea', wisdom, and instruction, and understanding. 24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; And he that begetteth a wise child will have joy of him. 25 Let thy father and thy mother be glad, And let her that bare thee rejoice. 26 My son, give me thy heart; And let thine eyes delight in my ways. 27 For a harlot is a deep ditch; And a foreign woman is a narrow pit. 28 Yea, she lieth in wait as a robber, And increaseth the treacherous among men. 29 Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? Who hath complaining? who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes? 30 They that tarry long at the wine; They that go to seek out mixed wine. 31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, When it sparkleth in the cup, When it goeth down smoothly: 32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, And stingeth like an adder. 33 Thine eyes shall behold strange things, And thy heart shall utter perverse things. 34 Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, Or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. 35 They have stricken me, `shalt thou say', and I was not hurt; They have beaten me, and I felt it not: When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again. Chapter 24 1 Be not thou envious against evil men; Neither desire to be with them: 2 For their heart studieth oppression, And their lips talk of mischief. 3 Through wisdom is a house builded; And by understanding it is established; 4 And by knowledge are the chambers filled With all precious and pleasant riches. 5 A wise man is strong; Yea, a man of knowledge increaseth might, 6 For by wise guidance thou shalt make thy war; And in the multitude of counsellors there is safety. 7 Wisdom is too high for a fool: He openeth not his mouth in the gate. 8 He that deviseth to do evil, Men shall call him a mischief-maker. 9 The thought of foolishness is sin; And the scoffer is an abomination to men. 10 If thou faint in the day of adversity, Thy strength is small. 11 Deliver them that are carried away unto death, And those that are ready to be slain see that thou hold back. 12 If thou sayest, Behold, we knew not this; Doth not he that weigheth the hearts consider it? And he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? And shall not he render to every man according to his work? 13 My son, eat thou honey, for it is good; And the droppings of the honeycomb, which are sweet to thy taste: 14 So shalt thou know wisdom to be unto thy soul; If thou hast found it, then shall there be a reward, And thy hope shall not be cut off. 15 Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the habitation of the righteous; Destroy not his resting-place: 16 For a righteous man falleth seven times, and riseth up again; But the wicked are overthrown by calamity. 17 Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, And let not thy heart be glad when he is overthrown; 18 Lest Jehovah see it, and it displease him, And he turn away his wrath from him. 19 Fret not thyself because of evil-doers; Neither be thou envious at the wicked: 20 For there shall be no reward to the evil man; The lamp of the wicked shall be put out. 21 My son, fear thou Jehovah and the king; `And' company not with them that are given to change: 22 For their calamity shall rise suddenly; And the destruction from them both, who knoweth it? 23 These also are `sayings' of the wise. To have respect of persons in judgment is not good. 24 He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous; Peoples shall curse him, nations shall abhor him: 25 But to them that rebuke `him' shall be delight, And a good blessing shall come upon them. 26 He kisseth the lips Who giveth a right answer. 27 Prepare thy work without, And make it ready for thee in the field; And afterwards build thy house. 28 Be not a witness against thy neighbor without cause; And deceive not with thy lips. 29 Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me; I will render to the man according to his work. 30 I went by the field of the sluggard, And by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; 31 And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, The face thereof was covered with nettles, And the stone wall thereof was broken down. 32 Then I beheld, and considered well; I saw, and received instruction: 33 `Yet' a little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep; 34 So shall thy poverty come as a robber, And thy want as an armed man. Chapter 25 1 These also are proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out. 2 It is the glory of God to conceal a thing; But the glory of kings is to search out a matter. 3 As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth, So the heart of kings is unsearchable. 4 Take away the dross from the silver, And there cometh forth a vessel for the refiner: 5 Take away the wicked `from' before the king, And his throne shall be established in righteousness. 6 Put not thyself forward in the presence of the king, And stand not in the place of great men: 7 For better is it that it be said unto thee, Come up hither, Than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince, Whom thine eyes have seen. 8 Go not forth hastily to strive, Lest `thou know not' what to do in the end thereof, When thy neighbor hath put thee to shame. 9 Debate thy cause with thy neighbor `himself', And disclose not the secret of another; 10 Lest he that heareth it revile thee, And thine infamy turn not away. 11 A word fitly spoken Is `like' apples of gold in network of silver. 12 `As' an ear-ring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, `So is' a wise reprover upon an obedient ear. 13 As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, `So is' a faithful messenger to them that send him; For he refresheth the soul of his masters. 14 `As' clouds and wind without rain, `So is' he that boasteth himself of his gifts falsely. 15 By long forbearing is a ruler persuaded, And a soft tongue breaketh the bone. 16 Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, Lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it. 17 Let thy foot be seldom in thy neighbor's house, Lest he be weary of thee, and hate thee. 18 A man that beareth false witness against his neighbor Is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow. 19 Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble Is `like' a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint. 20 `As' one that taketh off a garment in cold weather, `and as' vinegar upon soda, So is he that singeth songs to a heavy heart. 21 If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: 22 For thou wilt heap coals of fire upon his head, And Jehovah will reward thee. 23 The north wind bringeth forth rain: So doth a backbiting tongue an angry countenance. 24 It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, Than with a contentious woman in a wide house. 25 `As' cold waters to a thirsty soul, So is good news from a far country. 26 `As' a troubled fountain, and a corrupted spring, `So is' a righteous man that giveth way before the wicked. 27 It is not good to eat much honey: So `for men' to search out their own glory is grievous. 28 He whose spirit is without restraint Is `like' a city that is broken down and without walls.