"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary, as a roaring lion, walks about seeking whom he may devour."
The second tool of the devil that I want us to deal with is discouragement. Just as I had no doubt that we had all dealt with doubt, I know that all of us have dealt with discouragement at some point in our call to serve the Lord. It can sneak upon us, handcuff us, and cause us to slip away from our desire to effectively serve the Lord. This is one of the devil's most effective tools because it does not seem like sin at the time. I remember years ago talking with a preacher who had left the ministry. The best I remember, one of the main things that called him away from his call was that he gave a party at his home for the church, but no one came. I agreed that this was tough to take, but not tough enough to tell God that he would not honor His call to serve Him. I hope and pray that he overcame that discouragement, for it was from the devil to hamper him to fulfill his call to the ministry. I have to pause and not be overly critical of this brother, because discouragement has hampered me at times. I think that you know what I mean. We need to recognize the temptation of discouragement. Discouragement will cause us to quit when we need to keep going. Things will surely happen that will discourage us, and we will have to recognize its presence because the devil will sneak it in on us. Perhaps you are dealing with discouragement in your life today. It is not an unusual thing, but you have to deal with it by faith, and ignore, or overcome, the urging of the devil. Discouragement is contagious. Our discouragement can cause discouragement in other people. There is nothing more alarming to me than a church that is floundering because the members have become discouraged over some issue. The Lord is not in charge of the hearts and minds of the people who allow discouragement to call them away from doing what God wants them to do. As a general rule, what those churches need is a recommitment to the Lord instead of to their institution. I do not mean to be judgmental, but to offer warning that we need to be careful about discouragement in the Lord's work. All of us have to fight it, so let's all fight on and do not let discouragement win the day. I hope and pray that you are glad that you read this, and that you will not let discouragement cause you lose the joy of God's call on your life - whatever that call entails. Selah Bro. Joe
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
All
Archives
September 2021
|