Discouragement

It’s going to be a great week or at least I hope that’s the way you’re looking at it. I want to write about being discouraged. I think we could all say that we have at one time or another  been discouraged. When we become discouraged we face life with fear instead of faith, worry instead of wonder and cowardice instead of courage. Too many times we allow the enemy to use a wedge of discouragement to drive between us and the Lord.  Vince Lombardi said “fatigue makes cowards of us all.” Physical exhaustion leaves us wide open to discouragement; discouragement leads to self pity and if we are not real careful we become defeated.  We need a cause and a purpose; we need to be motivated and just keep going. Remember a man by the name of Elijah?  In I Kings 17 and verse 1 we read And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. Do you know what? It didn’t rain for 3 ½  years. The sad thing about it is when it did rain we find Elijah running from a woman named Jezebel. In I Kings 19 and verse 2 Jezebel threatens Elijah and he runs; threats are designed only to intimidate. What did this woman named Jezebel actually do to try to kill Elijah? Nothing! She just said “I’m going to take your life.” The threat worked, threats work every time we let them.   Elijah gets discouraged, feels defeated and then feels sorry for himself and then depression sets in. Listen to the words of a depressed man  1Kings 19:3  And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth toJudah, and left his servant there. 1Kings 19:4  But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. 1Kings 19:5  And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. The first things Elijah does wrong is he gets all by himself. When you’re by yourself there is no one to say a word of encouragement.  The next thing he does is he makes a dumb request that he might die; Elijah is feeling sorry for himself.   God didn’t change Jezebel  because Jezebel wasn’t the problem the problem was with Elijah not Jezebel .  The problems in our lives sometimes are not other people but ourselves so therefore God deals with us as He did with Elijah. He used a small still voice not something big. God may use something small to help you out of your discouragement; have you been listening for something small or looking for God to come across in a big way? Listen for the small voice for the small voice may be your answer. Enjoy the week for there will never be another week like this one.