How to Stop Feeling Defeated & Teach with Hope Instead

There are so many things that can discourage us as teachers and a lot of the advice we're given for how to deal with it is not super helpful, but praise the Lord in Christ, we can have real hope. We can face the day with that hope and experience supernatural joy and peace, even when things are really hard.

Teaching is Hard Right Now

Teaching is not easy right now. Honestly, it's never been easy, but in the last few years  it has gotten so much more difficult. In light of that, can you relate to any of these situations that so many teachers are facing?

Maybe you have so many kids with multiple needs that it feels impossible to meet them all. You probably have students that aren't interested in learning, yet you're still being judged by test scores and graduation rates.

In addition to that, you might be experiencing low teacher morale and negativity all around you from other discouraged teachers. Perhaps your workload feels never ending and just more and more being piled on. Or there's unrealistic expectations that you could never ever meet or never ever complete everything that you're asked to do. You might feel so tired and exhausted, you're not sure you can keep going.

Are you dealing with parents that are unkind and demanding or feel like your voice is lost when you try to bring concerns to administration?

At the end of the day you might be struggling with feelings of not being good enough or ineffective because of the way things are going in your classroom, and that can all add up quickly to a heavy load. 

Discouraged Teachers Are Ready to Quit

Some of you might even be thinking about quitting on a regular basis. You might find yourself losing patience with students, struggling to bring enthusiasm to your teaching. There is a chance you come home from work frustrated and feel like you have nothing left to give to your family.

Perhaps you know that trusting God is important and you want to trust him and feel at peace. But maybe these things almost feel cliche or impossible and instead you find yourself struggling with anxiety and worry. 

So what is the answer? What is going to renew our hope and help us stop feeling defeated?

Let’s talk about what is not going to work, and then we'll talk about what is the real answer. 

What Doesn’t Work: Self Care

There are at least two things that won’t work. The first one is self-care.

So many discouraged teachers are sick of being told to practice self care, as if that's going to solve everything. There's a few reasons why teachers are frustrated with self care and why it doesn't really work. The first problem is that you might not have the time or the energy for it.

So many teachers are saying, "I am so tired of being told, take time for myself, by the people who are piling on so much work that I don't have time to take care of myself.”

While self care can help when we're struggling, and give us a little bit of a pick-me-up,  it's not going to really address the real issues underneath. If you're really struggling, it can be like putting a band-aid on a gunshot wound. It's going to stop a little bleeding, but it's not addressing the real issue. To sum up, we're missing some bigger things here if self care is all we're doing. Therefore, we're not just going to say practice self care.

What Doesn’t Work: Waiting for Circumstances To Change

The second thing that doesn’t work is waiting for circumstances to change. This can be tempting.

For example, trusting in our circumstances can sound like this: “If my admin would just support us, I wouldn't be so frustrated.” Or it can sound like this: “If my students actually wanted to learn, I'd be able to enjoy teaching.” What that means is, whenever we say “if <insert whatever you want to change> then I would be happier, more fulfilled, more calm” then we know that we are trusting in our circumstances.

And if we are putting ourselves at the mercy of our circumstances, then this is not trusting God. Trusting in our circumstances is not a good approach because it leaves us stuck and waiting for things to change so that we can feel better. As a result, our hope and our joy and our peace are dependent on our circumstances.

So if our circumstances aren't going well, then we're stuck, we're miserable, and we're defeated until something changes, because we're just a victim of that and waiting around until something changes. But thankfully, this isn't what God says. 

What God Says

God says, joy is a fruit of the Spirit, right? So think about this. If joy is a fruit of the Spirit, it is not a fruit of our circumstances. The same applies with peace. Peace is a fruit of the Spirit, not a fruit of our circumstances. 

So the answer for discouraged teachers is not going to be found just in self care. It's also not going to be found in waiting around hoping our school will change or our admin will make a different decision. The answer to our frustration is found in a source that is so much greater than ourselves. It comes from God.

Because of this, the amazing truth is that if you are in Christ, He is able to give you peace and joy no matter what. So that means if He has called you to teach and if you're teaching right now, then that's where He has you for now. Even if it's only for now, that is where He has you. He is able to give you supernatural peace and joy. It doesn't come from ourselves. 

And when we are living in that reality, we are able to be calm even when things are crazy. We're able to have hope even when things look bleak. That is because we don't have to be worried even when we don't know what's going to happen. 

What if I'm Still Discouraged?

Maybe you've experienced this joy and peace at different times in your life. But maybe there have been other seasons where you have not felt these things. As Christians, experiencing joy and peace is something that can ebb and flow because at certain times we are not really connected to the Lord. We're not experiencing it because we are really stressed about all the things happening. So what makes the difference?

Discouraged Teacher, Know God

First of all, we need to know God. By ourselves we are not in good shape. We are sinners, we are separated from God, but God sent Jesus to die for us. When we trust in him, he becomes our Father and he takes our sin and he gives us his righteousness. 

But this is so important to recognize because when we are in Christ, when we accept him and we are his child, then he is our father. That is the relationship that we have with him and out of that relationship comes the joy and peace we need.

Trusting God in Discouragement

Secondly, after knowing we are His child, then we must trust Him with what He is doing. Sometimes we might say we trust God, but we haven't actually taken that belief and applied it to our present reality. As a result, we must actually sit down and pray it through.

We must actually choose to trust God because when we are actively trusting that the God who is our Father and who loves us is in control over every situation we face, then we don't have to worry. Even if things seem really bleak, we can have hope. 

Rely On God

Thirdly, we must rely on God. This goes beyond just trusting that he's at work. It's also realizing we are not on our own out here. 

Whatever we’re facing, whether it's disruptive students or interpersonal issues, other discouraged teachers,  or just a broken system, we’re not on our own. We don't have to face it on our own strength. In addition, we don't have to step in that classroom and teach or try to discipline on our own strength. 

God is with us and we need to rely on him every single day for wisdom in navigating situations, for energy when we’re exhausted, for patience when we’re about to lose it, for love when we’re annoyed and frustrated, for creativity to solve issues or find a better way to teach something or to motivate students.

Encouragement From God's Word

James 1:5 talks specifically about wisdom when we don't know what to do: "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God who gives generously to all without reproach and it will be given him."

2 Peter 1:3 says, "His divine power has given to us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his glory and goodness." So he will give us what we need. 

2 Corinthians 9:8 says, "And God is able to make every grace overflow to you so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work."

So the bottom line is when we are God's child and we are trusting in him and relying on him, our outlook changes, even if our circumstances are exactly the same. We can face the day with hope because we know he's in control and he's with us. Because of God's care we don't have to feel defeated because we know he's on our side. We can have joy even when things are difficult because he is producing that fruit in us, despite our circumstances.

How Do Discouraged Teachers Live This Out? 

How do we actually trust God when we're tired, when we're exhausted, when we're overwhelmed by all the to-dos, when we're frustrated because so many things are going wrong? How do we remember to rely on Him? Especially when, if we're really being honest, we're used to relying on ourselves. 

We have a new program called Hope Renewed that is designed to help teachers  stop feeling defeated and face each day with hope that you can read about below: