Yesterday was one of those rare rotten days—discouragement showed up at every turn. I’ve learned that discouragement can come from anywhere, whether it’s pure exhaustion or life’s bigger heartbreaks. Sometimes, it takes just a small thing to throw our whole perspective off balance; as Mr. Scrooge said, “a slight disorder of the stomach makes them cheats. You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese…” But in real life, whatever the source, discouragement fills our minds with pure propaganda—one-sided and often false.

Perhaps the most important thing in times of discouragement is to recognize when you’ve, in the vernacular of poker, gone on tilt. Losing a particularly sizable pot when you expected to win can make even the best card players go on tilt—losing their composure and starting to play erratically. And when players do this, they often compound a bad situation into one that is even worse.

After losing a tough hand—or suffering a bad beat, as it’s called in poker—players need to get up from the table and take a break before they re-enter the game.

We need to do the same thing when we’re discouraged. Go outside and take a walk. Get in the car and drive somewhere. And, in the process, we need to talk to our heavenly Father—tell Him exactly how we feel and hold nothing back.

The Bible tells us that Moses talked to God like a man talks to his friend. You might be tempted to think, “Well, that was Moses,” but we must recognize that in Christ, we are sons and daughters of God—and we are friends. God is the kind of friend you can tell anything to. He can take it, and He’s not going to do like me and overreact. God is patient, loving, and very kind.

Through prayer and the encouragement of His word, we can gain a more realistic perspective—just like the prophet Elijah did.