Episode Summary: 

If you’ve ever struggled with discouragement, and we all have because life is full of disappointment and disillusionment, then this episode is for you. In honor of National Day of Encouragement, my co-host, Rev. Jessica Van Roekel and I talk about How to Find Biblical Encouragement for Your Everyday Life.

Discouragement can rob us of joy, peace, and a sense of purpose. Encouragement is more than a feeling - it’s a powerful tool to propel us toward hope and confidence even when life feels less than happy. Today we’re going to talk about how to find biblical encouragement for your everyday life.

Quotables from the episode:
In 2007, a group of young people at the National Leadership Forum at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas saw a lack of encouragement as one of the main obstacles that people face. While dedicating a day to encourage others is noble, we can experience encouragement every day when we turn to the Lord and receive his encouragement. The challenge to receive biblical encouragement is when we know God’s promises but don’t see him working. This topic is close to my heart because I’ve seen firsthand how knowing God, and his promises have encouraged me in the face of difficult and seemingly unchanging circumstances. I know many of our listeners and viewers struggle with discouragement, and my prayer is that today’s conversation will bring encouragement and hope.
Knowing God’s names helps us learn to trust him. When we trust him, it’s easier to experience encouragement in our every day. Psalm 9:10 says, Those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
Relationships are an area where we can experience extreme discouragement. Personality differences can create division. Unforgiveness leads to rifts. It can feel discouraging to desire a healing in a relationship, but every effort is rejected. We’ve talked about the temptation to judge God’s goodness based on humanity’s failures. If our in-person relationships are broken, and we don’t have a vibrant or growing relationship with God, we grow discouraged because we were made for relationship.
Friend, if you’ve found yourself in a place of discouragement—especially when you're facing relationship struggles—you are not alone. As a neuropsychologist, I’ve seen how deeply our relationships impact not only our emotional well-being but also our brain health. God designed our brains for connection. We were created in His image, a God who is relational by nature, and He wired us for fellowship—with Him and with each other.
When our relationships are strained, whether due to misunderstanding, unmet expectations, betrayal, or emotional distance, our brains register it as a threat. That triggers our stress response—what we often call “fight, flight, or freeze.” Over time, if that stress continues unchecked, it leads to anxiety, depression, trouble sleeping, and a foggy, overwhelmed mind. Our thought life becomes a battlefield, and discouragement sets in.
But here's the hope: God doesn’t leave us to navigate this alone. He sees every tear, hears every unspoken word, and knows the condition of our hearts and minds. Psalm 34:18 reminds us, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Our healing begins when we bring both our brain health and our relational wounds to the Great Physician.
Practical steps include tending to your thought life—taking every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5), practicing forgiveness to unburden your heart, and choosing truth over lies. Sometimes that means setting healthy boundaries or seeking wise counsel. And always, it means leaning into the One who offers peace that transcends understanding.
Your brain can heal. Your heart can mend. And your relationships can be restored—if not with others, then certainly with the Lord, who is the source of all true comfort and strength. Discouragement may visit, but it doesn’t have to take up permanent residence.
Knowing God as Abba leads us to know God as a wonderful Father. (Galatians 4:6)
He is the Alpha and Omega – Jesus was in the beginning as the Word of God and he is God’s final word for all eternity. (Revelation 21:6)
As Adonai, we recognize his leadership in our life. He is our Lord and Ruler. (Ezekiel 16:8)
El Chay, or Living God, reminds us that the entertainments, enticements, and other distractions are not worthy of worship. (Psalm 84:2)
El Roi, The God Who Sees, encourages us with God’s mercy, grace, and comfort. We are not invisible to him. (Genesis 16:13)
Jehovah-Jireh, The Lord our Provider, tells us God is our provider, and it is the same Hebrew word as Moriah, the region where God sent Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. God may ask us to give something up, and he gives us himself in return, and becomes all we need. (Romans 8:32)
Jehovah-Nissi, The Lord Our Banner, paints the picture that we live under God’s banner. It was the name revealed when Moses erected an altar to commemorate the defeat of their enemies. It encourages us that we live under God’s victory. He goes before us and comes behind us to make us victors in life’s battles. (Exodus 17:15)
The Lord Our Healer, or Jehovah-Rapha, encourages us because God heals our hearts in the here and now. (Exodus 15:26)
The Lord is Peace, Jehovah-Shalom, our security, sufficiency, and serenity. (Judges 6:24)
Jehovah-Tsuri, the Lord our Rock, helps us remember God is permanent, faithful, protective, a firm foundation, a hiding place and shelter. (Psalm 18:2)
Knowing the names of God gives us insight into his character, which encourages us when we face different situations where we need to rely on a different aspect of God’s character. For example, if someone feels discouraged because of life’s chaos, remembering God is Jehovah Shalom encourages their heart because God is their serenity.
God is a covenant making and covenant keeping God. The primary promise of the covenant is the Lord’s promise to “be God to you and to your offspring after you.” The goal of God’s covenant with humankind is to bring salvation, not just to one nation, but to the entire human race. This covenant was eventually fulfilled through Jesus Christ as his followers began to spread the good news about him throughout the world.
God made a covenant with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the Israelite nation, David, and finally the whole world through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Covenants, or promises, are conditional because they are based on the agreements of two parties. God cannot go back on his promises, but we can refuse the comfort of the promises when we fail to take God at his word and allow doubt to lead us to sin.
Because of God’s covenants, we have promises like the promise of his presence.
Isaiah 41:10 says, “Do not be afraid for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” (NLT)
Deuteronomy 31:8, “‘Do not be afraid of discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.” (NLT)
Isaiah 43:2, “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.
Joshua 1:19, “This is my command – be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Those are wonderful reminders of God presence. I know I’ve needed to believe them by faith because sometimes what I see, and what I feel don’t match up with what I know to be true.
I also cling to the promise of Victory found in:
John 16:33, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
Exodus 14:14, “The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.”
2 Corinthians 12:9-10, “Each time he said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, persecutions, and troubles I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Isaiah 40:29, “He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.”
God promises to guide us:
Psalm 32:8, “The Lord says, I will guide along the best pathway for your life. I will advise and watch over you.
Psalm 37:23-24, “The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.
Psalm 23:1-2, ‘The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.
Not only does God promise us his presence, victory, and guidance, but he also promises rest, life, peace, and forgiveness:
Rest: Matthew 11:28-29, “Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Life: John 3:16, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
Peace: Isaiah 26:3, ‘You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you.”
Forgiveness: 1 John 1:9, “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleans us from all wickedness.”
Our faith grows when we plant our feet on God’s promises.
(Psalm 34:18) He is close to the broken hearted and rescues those who are crushed in spirit.
(2 Cor. 4:8-9) We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
(Isaiah 54:17) “No weapon that is formed against you will succeed; And you will condemn every tongue that accuses you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their vindication is from Me,” declares the LORD.
I think it starts with looking at the end of Hebrews 11, knowing the stories of those who have gone before us, remembering the past so we can encourage ourselves in the present and build hope for the future.
Hebrews 11 opens with this verse: Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. The next several verses list people who lived by faith and received what God promised and those who died without receiving things promised and yet, they are commended for having faith. It’s faith in the promise maker which matters.
Looking at our circumstances for “proof” of God keeping his promises leads to disappointment. Remember, faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen.
Sometimes, we need to cling to other’s people’s stories when our stories are littered with doubt and disappointment. One story which encourages me when I am feeling discouraged is Mary, Martha and Lazarus when Lazarus became ill and died. That story reminds me that things are not always as they seem, but God always has a plan and he sees the end from the beginning.
he bible is full of encouragement and doesn’t sugarcoat the difficulties people of faith faced. If Job can lose his entire fortune, family and health and still remain faithful to God—believing him to faithful and true—then I can look beyond my circumstances and see that God is bigger than what’s right in front of me. I can take the magnifying glass off of the things in my life that discourage me and point my magnifying glass to the God who breathes stars and breath in my lungs.
I am encouraged by Abraham, when he looked the impossibility of his reality (too old to have children) and yet remained believing that God would fulfill his promise. I’ve been in situations where I couldn’t see a way forward and following Abraham’s example encourages me so much.
Knowing God intimately is a great first step toward experiencing biblical encouragement. Understanding his heart and loyalty toward us is key. Second, we can remember to look beyond what we see to what we know to be true. Sometimes feelings follow an act of faith. Take Hebrews 11 to heart.

Recommended Resources:
Reframing Rejection: How Looking Through a Different Lens Changes Everything By Jessica Van Roekel
Sacred Scars: Resting in God’s Promise That Your Past Is Not Wasted by Dr. Michelle Bengtson
The Hem of His Garment: Reaching Out To God When Pain Overwhelms by Dr. Michelle Bengtson, winner AWSA 2024 Golden Scroll Christian Living Book of the Year and the 2024 Christian Literary Awards Reader’s Choice Award in the Christian Living and Non-Fiction categories
YouVersion 5-Day Devotional Reaching Out To God When Pain Overwhelms
Today is Going to be a Good Day: 90 Promises from God to Start Your Day Off Right by Dr. Michelle Bengtson, AWSA Member of the Year, winner of the AWSA 2023 Inspirational Gift Book of the Year Award, the 2024 Christian Literary Awards Reader’s Choice Award in the Devotional category, the 2023 Christian Literary Awards Reader’s Choice Award in four categories, and the Christian Literary Awards Henri Award for Devotionals
YouVersion Devotional, Today is Going to be a Good Day version 1
YouVersion Devotional, Today is Going to be a Good Day version 2
Revive & Thrive Women’s Online Conference
Revive & Thrive Summit 2
Trusting God through Cancer Summit 1
Trusting God through Cancer Summit 2
Breaking Anxiety’s Grip: How to Reclaim the Peace God Promises by Dr. Michelle Bengtson, winner of the AWSA 2020 Best Christian Living Book First Place, the first place winner for the Best Christian Living Book, the 2020 Carolina Christian  Writer’s Conference Contest winner for nonfiction, and winner of the 2021 Christian Literary Award’s Reader’s Choice Award in all four categories for which it was nominated (Non-Fiction Victorious Living, Christian Living Day By Day, Inspirational Breaking Free and Testimonial Justified by Grace categories.)
YouVersion Bible Reading Plan for Breaking Anxiety’s Grip
Breaking Anxiety’s Grip Free Study Guide
Free PDF Resource: How to Fight Fearful/Anxious Thoughts and Win
Hope Prevails: Insights from a Doctor’s Personal Journey Through Depression by Dr. Michelle Bengtson, winner of the Christian Literary Award Henri and Reader’s Choice Award
Hope Prevails Bible Study by Dr. Michelle Bengtson, winner of the Christian Literary Award Reader’s Choice Award
Free Webinar: Help for When You’re Feeling Blue

 

Social Media Links for Host and Guest:

Connect with Jessica Van Roekel:

Website / Instagram / Facebook

For more hope, stay connected with Dr. Bengtson at:

Order Book Sacred Scars / Order Book The Hem of His Garment / Order Book Today is Going to be a Good Day / Order Book  Breaking Anxiety’s Grip / Order Book Hope Prevails  /  Website  /   Blog  /  Facebook / Twitter (@DrMBengtson)  /  LinkedIn  /  Instagram / Pinterest / YouTube / Podcast on Apple

 

Co-Host:

Jessica Van Roekel is a worship leader, speaker, and writer who believes that through Jesus, personal histories don’t need to define the present or determine the future. She inspires, encourages, and equips others to look at life through the lenses of hope, trust, and God’s transforming grace. Jessica lives in rural Iowa surrounded by wide open spaces which remind her of God’s expansive love. She loves fun earrings, good coffee, and connecting with others.

 

Hosted By: Dr. Michelle Bengtson

Audio Technical Support: Bryce Bengtson

Your Hope-Filled Perspective draws on Dr. Michelle Bengtson’s almost 3 decades of clinical expertise as a neuropsychologist to help her listeners regain hope, renew their minds, and transform their lives. With a perfect balance of clinical expertise, compassion, and vulnerability, Dr. Bengtson and her guests purpose to share Biblically-based hope-filled perspectives for real-life issues, struggles, and concerns. Voted #2 in 2022's Podcast Magazine's Top 50 Moms in Podcasting.

Your Hope-Filled Perspective with Dr. Michelle Bengtson podcast

<p>Your Hope-Filled Perspective draws on Dr. Michelle Bengtson&rsquo;s almost 3 decades of clinical expertise as a neuropsychologist to help her listeners regain hope, renew their minds, and transform their lives. With a perfect balance of clinical expertise, compassion, and vulnerability, Dr. Bengtson and her guests purpose to share Biblically-based hope-filled perspectives for real-life issues, struggles, and concerns. Voted #2 in 2022's Podcast Magazine's Top 50 Moms in Podcasting.</p>