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No!

(Photo by JuLiEn LoZeLLi)

David Ring was born with cerebral palsy and was orphaned at an early age. Years later, after he became a Christian, he felt the call to preach. People tried to discourage him, saying his slurred speech would never allow him to preach. David ignored them and went on to become a nationally known preacher who speaks to over 100,000 people a year. When speaking about all the obstacles he overcame, David challenges his audience, “I have cerebral palsy. What’s your problem?”

My father Gene Mitchener was also disabled. He spoke all over the country at conferences and hospitals. He once said, “Nature disables us, but we allow people to handicap us.”

Often we let people discourage us. Can you imagine how different the world today would be if more people had given in to discouragement?

“Simon Peter, stop that preaching! You’re just a fisherman.”

“Helen Keller, you’re blind and deaf. You have no business writing.”

“Abraham Lincoln, you’ve lost more political races than you’ve won. Quit trying to become president.”

“Orville and Wilbur, that thing will never fly. Just give up.”

How Not to Give in to Discouragement

  1. Realize You Have Unique Abilities - God has created us each with unique abilities that no one else has. We need to use those abilities, even when they don’t make sense to others.
  2. Understand that Discouragers Are Often Belittlers - Often the people who try to discourage us the most are just trying to belittle our accomplishments. They most likely do this because they haven’t accomplished much themselves and by belittling us they are under the mistaken impression that they now look greater.
  3. Develop an “I Can” Attitude - Usually the only thing really stopping us from achieving great things is our own attitude. We give in to others discouraging us because we don’t truly think we can do it. To truly succeed, we need to develop an “I can” attitude.

Don’t let anyone discourage you. When others say, “No, you can’t,” tell them, “Yes, I can.”

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