“How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily?”
There is an old fable about a sale that Satan had on all of his great sins, Adultery, lying, envying, etc. were going at bargain prices and the demons were buying them up. One demon looked up on the top shelf and said, “I like all of the merchandise, but the one thing that I really want is the silver wedge I see on the top shelf, but there is no price on it.” Satan replied to him that “this wedge is not for sale. It is the wedge of discouragement and if I can get people discouraged all of the other sins will follow.” This is only a fable, but it tells the truth about discouragement. In my own life, I can’t remember a good thing that happened while I was discouraged. I think that I have matured enough not to let discouragement happen often, but it continues to raise its ugly head from time to time. I imagine that you know what I’m writing about. Think back: How many good things have happened in your life when you have given in to discouragement? When we feel discouragement coming on, we need to take it immediately to the Lord in prayer and , if possible, solve the situation that is causing the discouragement quickly. Satan loves to get hold of our discouragement and play it in our lives for all it is worth. What causes discouragement? I am not a psychologist, but I think that I know the genesis of discouragement. It begins when we start to feel sorry for ourselves. I have often said that every minute, every hour, every day that we feel sorry for ourselves is wasted time. In these moments, we are so focused on ourselves that we cannot see beyond ourselves and our "piteous" condition. It is very easy to go off on a “pity party.” When we are having such a party, we are actually feeding on our own junk. In Psalm 13 David was on a real journey into self pity. He wrote: “How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? forever? How long wilt thou hide thy face from me? 2. How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? How long shall mine enemy be exalted over me.” David’s first mistake was when he thought that the Lord had forgotten him. Do you ever feel lthat God has forgotten you, or hidden Himself from you? Well, you can end that worry now. God will not hide from you. He will not forget you, nor will He hide Himself from you. His next mistake was that he was taking “counsel in his own soul.” This is what I mean when I say “eating our own junk.” When we are down and try to counsel ourselves, we make a big mistake. All we do is justify our own self-pity and convince ourselves that we have every right to feel sorry for ourselves. It has been said that “a person who has himself or herself for a lawyer has a fool for a lawyer.” I will add that a person who has himself or herself for a counselor has a fool for a counselor. Stop feeding yourself on your own junk and you will begin to get out of your self-pity and discouragement, and you will become productive again. David began to come out of his self-pity and discouragement in verse 3 when he asked God to “consider and hear me…” In other words he prayed an honest prayer to God. That’s right. When you are discouraged, pray! He also wrote “lighten mine eyes.” This means that David knew that he needed to look at his situation in a different, more positive way. David concluded the thirteenth Psalm in verses 5-6: “But I have trusted in thy mercy, my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. 6. I will sing unto the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me. ”David’s faith came to his rescue, and ours can too. Satan wants us discouraged, but God does not, and will help us come out of our self-pity and will help us out of discouragement. God will convince you, as He did David that you do not have to be discouraged and He will put a song in your heart. If you are discouraged, go to the Lord, and share your burden with a trusted Christian friend. Remember, you do not have to be discouraged. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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September 2021
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