Thoughts On Feeling Defeated – But yet experiencing Hope that Springs Forth –

Thoughts on Feeling Defeated

Please give this read a chance. It is a culmination of several thoughts from my journal and trying to bring all these thoughts into one central place and thought. I hope you find this helpful, convicting and convincing in your own life.

Thanks for reading

Pastor Calvin Cook June 23, 2025

Scripture: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer… And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:42,47 (NIV)

I am usually a very optimistic, goal setting, expectant visionary type of guy. I dream big and maybe think beyond other’s way of thinking. Sometimes I know I can be overwhelming, for that I am sorry.

As I recently shared, I don’t look at an empty field and see an empty field, I see a garden that can feed people. I don’t look at a person who seems lost and destroyed that are often called out by society, I see a creation of God with a specific plan and purpose. I don’t see empty buildings on a main street; I see a community that can come together and engineer new ways in which to rebuild communities, especially rural ones that would bring life and hope back. I don’t see mounds of clothes or cast away unused goods, I see ministry that could clothe, bring comfort and value to someone’s everyday lives. I don’t see empty churches, I instead see legacy lives that have made that church the center of their lives, where they grieved together, celebrated together, worshiped together and did it all for God’s glory. Now the church has received a name where others who need that same hope and place to call home shy away.

And the communities of believers gathered and devoted themselves to the apostles teaching, fellowship (the holy kind), the breaking of bread, and prayer.

In those moments where I have been able to capture that feeling, my life is immensely changed and challenged because of those gatherings, whether it was in a group of 100 or 1000 or where two or three have gathered.

I wonder if the early church felt defeated before they started. I’m sure they did, because the scripture reflects in several ways in which they longed for something that they wanted back, but yet Jesus directed them in a new way, in a new direction.

Have you ever felt defeated before you even started?

Maybe someone doubted you.

Maybe someone who you thought would support you seemed to challenge you or destroy you with words.

Maybe a door closed.

Maybe you can’t get over past guilt, experience true forgiveness that comes from Jesus.

Maybe life just became heavier than you expected.

Maybe that convicting spirit is to much for our human mind to understand.

Defeat doesn’t always come from what we’ve done wrong—sometimes, it’s what others say, think, or assume about us. That quiet discouragement can crush the soul.

The early church, or as commonly called the Church of Acts, started with nothing. After Jesus ascended, the early believers in Acts could have felt defeated.

They had no buildings. No budgets. No public approval. Even their family and friends who had spent countless hours in the Temple with practicing their religion, turned against them. In fact, what they did have was fear. Threats. Imprisonments. Scattered believers.

But what did they also have?

They had the Holy Spirit.

They had each other.

And they had a devotion that wasn’t based on applause, position, or ease—but on Jesus.

Despite the opposition, the church grew. Despite persecution, it flourished. Despite being overlooked by other religious groups, God was in their midst. And that made all the difference.

Think of David—anointed by God yet dismissed by his own family. When he showed up on the battlefield in 1 Samuel 17, his brother Eliab accused him of pride and belittled his presence. Yet David still stepped forward to face Goliath. Why? Because God’s calling outweighed people’s criticism.

Think of the woman caught in adultery in John 8—surrounded by religious leaders who tried to defeat her with shame. But Jesus lifted her with mercy and said, “Neither do I condemn you.”

Sometimes, people unknowingly or intentionally become tools of discouragement. Their words and actions may make you feel: Unqualified, Overlooked, too broken, Too late

But what if God is calling you to a season, where you are being called to stand boldly, maybe even go it alone. Lately in reading Habakkuk I have realized in the times when we question and challenge God, that is when through us God is going to do more than we can ever ask or imagine, so that we can do our best work for the building of God’s kingdom. We are living in God’s timing. Have we realized that yet?

The believers in Acts didn’t defeat discouragement with strength—they overcame it through devotion and dedication.

They kept showing up.

They kept praying.

They kept breaking bread.

They kept trusting that God was doing something even when the world wasn’t applauding them.

Are we that church today?

Devotion and Dedication destroy the lies of defeat.

The next time someone makes you feel small or the voices around you scream “not enough,” remember the Church in Acts.

Remember Peter, John, Paul, and few thousand others who knew it would be hard but knew it would be worth it. They had no platform, only prayer. No influence, only relationship with God. And through them, revival came.

Yep, it is going to be hard, but it is going to be worth it.

Will you pray with me –

Lord, there are days when I feel the weight of defeat more than the promise of victory. Sometimes it’s because of what I tell myself. Sometimes it’s because of what others have said to me. But Your Word reminds me that I am not alone. The early church started with little but changed the world. David was overlooked but used it mightily. The woman was condemned by many but forgiven by You. Help me walk today not in defeat, but in devotion—because You are with me. Amen.

So don’t quit.

You’re not defeated.

You’re devoted.

And that’s enough.