Discouragement is the ugly little sister of depression. It isn’t severe, but it can be debilitating. It usually doesn’t require medication, but it does require attention. And it does drain the joy out of everyday living.

Discouragement comes in all kinds of shapes and sizes and attacks believers and those who have not yet put their faith in Christ. It can hamper the growth and vitality of older folks as well as the youngsters among us.

The Greek word for “discouragement” (Col. 3:21) is a compound word that places a negative particle in front of the word for passion. It literally means to be unable to “breathe hard” or express passion about something.

When we are discouraged, we are stagnant. We can’t “breathe hard.” Our energy is gone.

There is a story out there that I believe is true regarding a recently retired gentlemen who was sitting on his porch in Kentucky when his Social Security check arrived. He went and got the envelope and then thought to himself, “is this what my life is going to be like form now on? Am I just going to sit around waiting for the next check to arrive?”

He was discouraged.

So, he went and started writing down all his blessings. He included the big ones and the little ones. Soon he filled up a yellow pad and noticed that he was the only one in the entire world that knew his mom’s special recipe for fried chicken.

He made a plan and went down to a local restaurant asking if he could get a job cooking the chicken. Soon his dish was the most popular item on the menu. Eventually he opened his own place, and then another one and then another one. It didn’t take all that long for a chain of restaurants to be known as KFC!

Years later he sold them and retired AGAIN!

There are a number of ways to attack discouragement, but listing your blessings is a great place to start. Let’s not allow Satan to steal our joy this week. If there is an ache in your heart and its growing, grab a pad and paper and start recording your blessings. Notice those things that you are good at and go do them with passion!

Who knows, maybe someday they will name a fast-food restaurant after your family!