Do not be disheartened.....

Confession time!

I have been struggling lately in my walk with the LORD. It’s not that I don’t believe in Him or believe His Word, but I found myself “chomping at the bit,” so to speak, in wanting to move forward from my current surroundings. Those surroundings being quite dry, barren, scarce in sustenance, hot during the day, freezing at night, uncomfortable…….you know, a desert place. I mean, who wants to be there! And nothing bites worse than knowing you’re in a desert place and that you are unable to get yourself out it.

*No wonder my Sunday school teacher has been pulled to Psalm 23 lately.

But that’s not the big secret confession. My confession is that I have been overwhelmed to the point of throwing my hands up and saying “That’s it! I’ve had enough!” I was ready to take my ball and leave. No more work. No more church. Done! But try as I might, I couldn’t walk away.

And that’s where this little cloud came from.

I call it a “funk” or a “rut.” I was ready for change, but more or less on my terms. I was tired of waiting on God. It seemed that the more I prayed, the worse things appeared. The more I declared His word, the harder life became. The more I cried out to God, the more I felt alone.

And I was in this state when He showed up.

It was a normal day. Things were agonizingly slow at work (again) and my mind was all over the place. Finally lunch time hit. I warmed up my food, closed my office door, and began praying over my lunch. Thanking God for His provision I blessed the meal and I heard quite clearly “Do not be disheartened.”

There I found myself in the presence of the LORD!

His Spirit washed over me, prompting tears to well up in my eyes. I felt God’s presence right there in my little office, in the middle of my work day. I felt as if He placed His hands on either side of my face, like a parent does a child, to bring me comfort and encouragement.

It was so sweet, so amazing……and exactly what I needed.

Immediately I knew what He meant about being disheartened. It is the same as being discouraged or dismayed. What I didn’t know was the depth of the meaning of these words.

*Study note:  If in doubt on the meaning of a word, for goodness sake look it up!

The general definitions of the words discourage, dishearten, and dismay are as follows: 

To discourage means:

•  to make (someone) less determined, hopeful, or confident
•  to make (something) less likely to happen
• to try to make people not want to do (something)

To dishearten means:

• to cause (a person or group) to lose hope, enthusiasm, or courage
• to cause to lose spirit or morale

To dismay means:

• to cause (someone) to feel very worried, disappointed, or upset
• to cause to lose courage or resolution (as because of alarm or fear)
• to upset, peturb

Hhhmmm……this looks a bit familiar…..like a battle plan from someone we should all be well aware of…….

It’s from our enemy Satan! This has his fingerprints all over it!

“your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8)

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.” (John 10:10)

Just in case you didn't know, Satan is our enemy. He thrives in discouraging, disheartening, and dismaying God’s people. If he can make you less determined to follow God, leading you away from God’s calling, and oppressing you to the point of surrender to his schemes, then he has fulfilled his purpose. The scriptures list Satan’s job description. He is a devourer, a thief, a murderer, and a destroyer. He is also a liar, and John 8:44 says he is the “father of all lies.” He is out to cause us to lose hope in God and to lose our morale. Our enemy delights in causing us upset through fear tactics that he has refined through time. And all with one purpose…..to turn us away from God.

You may have heard that Satan doesn’t have any new tricks, and that’s true! But the methods with which he uses to execute those tricks in our lives can be hard to pinpoint and impossible to rebuke without God’s help and without knowledge of His word.

And that is why discouragement is such a doozy. Discouragement leads one to give up, to walk away, or to stop fighting. If we follow in those steps, we are turning ourselves away from God, thus turning away from His help. But if we chose to follow God’s word despite our feelings, He is faithful to help us. He can bring revelation of the enemy’s tactics, just as He did on my lunch break. He can give us the strength, power, and will to overcome our flesh and put our enemy where he belongs....under our feet!

So now that we have revealed the instigator, let’s reflect on his method of execution. How does this plan of Satan’s get traction in our lives?

* This is where the revelation really came in for me.

Discouragement comes from us trying to do something in our own strength, in our own power, and in our own will.

But wait a minute; we know that our strength, our power, and our will is not able to take us forward on the path God has purposed for us, right?

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13)

“Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

“Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’” (Isaiah 41:10)      

“for the Lord your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.” (Deuteronomy 20:4)

“And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

“But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

Yes, most of us know these scriptures and quote them constantly, but many do not live them. Which I myself have been guilty of.

I am guilty of trying to do things in my own strength, power, and will. And that is where the temptation comes in. I find myself wanting to fix things that cannot be fixed by man, meddle in stuff that is none of my business, and change my circumstances according to my desires.

Anyone else guilty!?

So the temptation comes through my un-reliance on God.

It’s not like I am some power hungry, controlling witch who wants everything to be my way because my way is perfect. Far from the truth! I am an imperfect human who struggles with patience, humility, commitment, and confidence. Often my “hands-on” approach to life is an attempt to feel grounded; when in reality it does the opposite. Because the “steadiness” I seek in the flesh is waywardness in the spirit. It is a search for comfort and complacency. And it is a constant battle between my flesh and my spirit!

And guess what? My enemy knows it!

It's in those times of my life that I face the most discouragement and frustration. It’s when I am in this “funk” that I start to wonder if God is hearing me. I begin to feel overwhelmed by life, like I’m drowning. So I cry out to Him to save me and He does. He always does; because He is merciful, gracious, and faithful. Even when I am not!

Listen, my God calls me to believe in what I cannot see. He calls me to climb out of a perfectly floating boat to walk on raging waters. He calls me to love in the face of hate, forgive in the face of hurt, and speak life in the face of death. He calls me to wander in the desert for days on end relying totally on Him. He calls me to do all these things trusting in Him and believing His word.

And here I am discouraged because I tried (yet again) to do that which man cannot do without God’s help. I don’t want to go through this cycle anymore! I want to be changed! I want to be a mature Christian who doesn’t walk around the same mountain for 

forty years!

In my yearning for more of God, my weaknesses are revealed. I rejoice in that! I rejoice because now I know what is in me that displease God, thus I can lift it up to Him and ask “Change me GOD!” And there He begins to shed light on those dark places. My desires change. I begin to want those things that make me look more like Him.

I want to be consistent because He is.

I want to be faithful because He is.

I want to be longsuffering because He is.

I want to be more like Him, no longer Kelly but Kelly in Christ!

And guess what it is going to take for this to happen? Right on! It is going to take a choice. A choice to believe God’s word over my flesh’s demands.

I’m going to have to choose to be consistent, even when I do not feel like it.

I’m going to have to choose to be faithful, even when no one else is.

I’m going to have to choose to be longsuffering, no matter how long it takes.

I’m going to have to choose to follow Christ, even as the world seeks to crucify Him 

over and over.

Only this time, I chose to go in the strength, power, and will of my God through His Holy Spirit! Is anyone else out there with me on this!?

So pray with me,

Lord, here are my weaknesses! I hand them over to You because I love You! God, You are my all in all! You are my hope! You are my strength and my power! You are my salvation! My peace, my joy, my comfort! You, God are my help! You are my Father, Creator, Deliverer! You are my anchor, my shield, my strong tower! You are my everything and I adore You! In the face of the discouragement I have felt, I chose to turn to You! Like David I chose to encourage myself in the LORD! (1 Samuel 30:6). I chose to believe the scripture in Jeremiah 29:11 which says “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” I chose to be a prisoner of hope! I chose to follow You Lord! You have brought me this far, and your word says that in You I can have this confidence, that You who began a good work in me will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ’s return! (Philippians 1:6)

So I thank you LORD for all that You do and all that You are! In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Signed,

A work in progress……..