You CAN Resist Your Discouragement! by Daniel Yoder I believe procrastination is the number one enemy of a Christians life and mission! You know what you’re supposed to do, but you don’t get around to it. You keep putting it off. That’s a deadly enemy. But a close second is discouragement. If satan can’t get you to put off your life mission, he’ll try to make you quit altogether. He’ll neutralize you. “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” Galatians 6:9. If I’m going to fulfill the purpose for which I was made, then I must resist discouragement. Galatians says: “Let us not get tired of doing what is right…” Do you ever get tired of doing what’s right? Sure you do. Because it’s easier to do the wrong thing than the right thing. LET ME ASK YOU A FEW QUESTION! What are the negative consequences of being discouraged? Answer: When you’re discouraged, you’re ineffective. God cannot use discouraged people, because discouraged people are the opposite of people of faith. And God uses people who have faith. When I am discouraged, I’m saying, “It can’t be done.” That’s the exact opposite of saying, “I know God can do it because He’s said he could.” How should we handle failure? Answer: I have a few questions for you. How do you handle failure? When things don’t go your way, when plans don’t happen the way you want them, what do you do? Do you start getting grumpy? Do you get frustrated? Do you start complaining? Do you start throwing a temper-tantrum? Do you have a pity party? Do you finish what you start, or just give-up? How would you rate yourself on persistence? “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” James 4:7. The Bible says you need to resist discouragement. Don’t give in without a fight. Nothing worthwhile ever happens without endurance and energy. When a stone sculptor is trying to sculpt a masterpiece, do you think the first time he hits the chisel with the hammer everything’s going to fall off and it will be a beautiful sculpture? NO! He has to keep hitting it and hitting it, chipping away. And that’s the way life is. Nothing really worthwhile ever comes easy in life. You keep hitting it and going after it — and little by little your life becomes a masterpiece. The fact is, great people are really just ordinary people with an extraordinary amount of determination. Great people don’t know how to quit. I’m sure many of you are discouraged. Some of you are discouraged over your children. Their lives are not going well. Some of you are discouraged about your marriage. It’s not at all what you thought it was going to be. You feel deflated and disappointed. Some of you are discouraged about employment. Some of you are discouraged about your ministry. Or about your finances, or your health, or the economy, of an unanswered prayer. DISCOURAGEMENT IS A CHOICE. I want to say something to you. It may sound mean, but it isn’t It’s the truth. I say this is love. If you’re discouraged, that’s your choice. You have chosen to be discouraged. Discouragement is always a choice. It comes from thinking discouraging thoughts — and you can change your thoughts any time. You have a choice of what you’re going to focus on: either your purpose or your problems, God’s power or your weakness, Christ or your circumstances. It’s your choice. The Bible tells us to choose life. If you choose life, you are going to focus on God’s purpose for your life. “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you,. that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live” Deuteronomy 30:19. Great people fight discouragement. Here’s a tip to help: When you get discouraged, ignore it. Just say to yourself, “I don’t have time to be discouraged right now. I’m too busy fulfilling my life mission.” That doesn’t mean you’re a Pollyanna and pretend that everything’s great. Life is a mixture of good and bad. You can be realistic, but you also need to be optimistic because you are a Christian. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” And “Lo, I am with you always,” God says. He will help you, and he will strengthen you. Faith starts with optimism. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” Philippians 4:13. BE PATIENT AND WAIT FOR GOD’S TIMING. “But these things I plan won’t happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed” Habakkuk 2:3. Some of you have been praying for something specific and you haven’t yet gotten the answer. In Habakkuk 2:3 God says, “These things I plan FOR YOUR LIFE won’t happen right away. Slowly steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient. They will not be overdue a single day.” God’s timing is perfect. God has a plan and slowly steadily, surely the vision is being fulfilled. This Biblical principle is true in your life. God’s delay is not a denial Just because you haven’t had the answer or the miracle yet, that doesn’t mean God isn’t going to do it eventually. It simply means not yet! Maturity is knowing the difference between, “NO,” and “NOT YET,” between a “DELAY” and a “DENIAL.” God says, “Don’t become discouraged. Resist discouragement. Because there are going to be delays in your life.” GOD TESTS YOU AND BUILDS YOUR PATIENCE. “May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other — each with the attitude of Christ Jesus toward the other” Romans 15:5. “We have proved ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, our sincere love, and the power of the Holy Spirit” 2 Corinthians 6:6. You’re going to be tested in your patience by God. The really good news is you’re not just going to be tested once, you’re going to be tested thousands and thousands of times. Because anybody can be patient once. And anybody can be patient twice. And anybody can be patient three times. So what God’s going to do is test you over and over and over. WHY? So He’ll know how patient you are? NO, SO YOU WILL KNOW! God tests you, not for Him to find out what’s inside of you but for you to find out what’s inside of you. He tests you so you’ll know your level of commitment, and He tests you so that you can know His faithfulness. His purpose is to teach you. Some of you are going through some difficult times right now and you feel like dropping out of the race. You’re discouraged because the situation seems unmanageable. Unreasonable. Unfair. It may seem unbearable. Inside you’re basically saying, “God, I can’t take it any more. I just can’t take it any more!” But you can. You can take it some more because God is with you. He’ll enable you. Remember, you are never a failure until you quit, because quitting means you won’t make it to the finish line. Start resisting discouragement NOW, RIGHT NOW! Finish the race God has set before you. YOU CAN WIN! YOU CAN HAVE THE VICTORY! A warrior for righteousness ~ Daniel Yoder. A humble servant of The Living God!
Posted on: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 12:02:30 +0000
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