Discouragement

It has been said, “Discouragement is the tool of the enemy.” Although I do not entirely disagree with this statement, I would point out that I have never found solid Biblical proof for this statement. It seems true that Satan would be responsible for any discouragement that may come upon us, especially since Christ would bring us encouragement (see Philippians 2:1).

Regardless of whether or not discouragement is the tool of the enemy, it is certain that truth and honesty are tools of God:

Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O Lord, the God of truth. (Psalm 31:5)

Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. (Psalm 43:3)

These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts. (Zechariah 8:16)

An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips. (Proverbs 24:26)

To be truthful and honest, I am discouraged. It doesn’t necessarily help when people say, “Don’t be discouraged, that is a tool of the enemy!” Well maybe it is, but to combat that tool, I am using two weapons that are clearly from God, truth and honesty.

Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place (Psalm 51:6)

Kings take pleasure in honest lips; they value a man who speaks the truth. (Proverbs 16:13)

I am discouraged, and I need Jesus.

Too often the church acts as if once you have given your life to Jesus, you will never have any problems again. They say, “Don’t be discouraged, you have Jesus” (of course the hidden idea is that if you are discouraged, then you must not have Jesus). Well the trouble with that line of thinking is that it actually subtracts Jesus from the equation. It keeps us from being truthful and honest. It keeps us from coming to Jesus and saying, “Dude, I am discouraged, and I need You!”

Do you think that Jesus is afraid of discouraged followers? No. As a matter of fact, those are the exact people that He came to earth to connect with. He did not come to heal the healthy, but the sick (see Matthew 9:12; Mark 2:17; and Luke 5:31).

God is not impressed when we tell each other, “We won’t be discouraged because that is a tool of the enemy.” He is impressed when we come to Him completely broken in truth and honesty, and say, “God, I am discouraged. I need You. I need Your encouragement. I cannot get through this without You.”

I think that at the heart of this problem is a misunderstanding of salvation. I am encouraged to know that the Bible points out that we have already been saved (see Ephesians 2:8-10), that we are currently being saved (see 2 Corinthians 2:15), and that some day we will be saved (Philippians 1:28). The truth of salvation is three-fold, and this truth is of utmost importance. The error is in accepting Christ and then thinking that it was a magical time in your life which now enables you to grit your teeth and get through anything that comes your way; to put on a cool, happy face even though you are sweltering inside; to live as if you already have Christ and not as if you still, in fact, need Him today, and will still need Him tomorrow. The error is in hoping that some day you will attain a level of super-spirituality which will enable you to live not in complete dependence upon God, but rather as a fourth member of the Trinity. This mentality, by the way, is also a tool of the enemy.

The good news is that God does want us to be encouraged. He does want us to overcome the enemy, but it can only be done in His strength, not our own. Jesus has saved us, but He wants to keep on saving us so that on that great day He will, in fact, save us.

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. (Colossians 2:6-10)

If anyone is discouraged today, as I am, let us together approach the throne of grace, where Jesus Himself is seated. Let us approach with truth and honesty, and let us ask Him for the encouragement we need.

Expect Great Things

There is a popular department store that has the slogan, “Expect Great Things.” It is interesting. I wonder how many customers enter the double-doors of this store expecting great things. What kind of “great things” can a department store really offer?

The slogan “Expect Great Things” was originally attributed to the English missionary William Carey. In Northampton, England, on May 30, 1792, this great missionary to India delivered a powerful sermon urging God’s people to “expect great things; attempt great things.”

Carey was a man who was passionate for the glory of God. Not only that, but he was realistic about who God is and what God is capable of. He was a man who expected great things from God, attempted great things for God, and accomplished great things through God.

The Bible powerfully portrays a God who consistently goes above and beyond the expectations of His people. When the people of Israel simply wanted out of Egypt, God sent ten different plagues –saying to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these miraculous signs of mine among them that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the Lord” (Exodus 10:1-2, NIV).

Later, when the people of Israel were looking for someone, anyone to stand against a giant of a man named Goliath, God sent a ruddy boy named David to strike down the oversized obstacle with a single stone. And if that was not enough, God went above and beyond their expectations by anointing this boy to be a great King over God’s people.

And long after the reign of King David, when God’s people were desperately longing for the Messiah to come and restore the kingdom to its former glory, God went as far above their expectations as anyone could ever imagine by sending His Son into the world to suffer and die for our sins, ushering in the Kingdom of God, and offering all people the gift of eternal life. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him” (John 3:16-17, NIV).

And now James tells us, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind” (James 1:5-6, NIV).

Or as Jesus said it, "Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (Luke 11:11-13, NIV)

God invites us to expect great things from Him. He is our loving Father in heaven. Attempt great things for God, as Moses in Egypt, David in Israel, and William Carey in India have exemplified for us.

I don’t know about the double-doors of a department store, but when you open the doors of a church –expect great things!

Beloved, when you open the door of your heart to God –expect great things…