It is easy to listen to discouragement but hard to stop. Discouragement is different from a bad report. You may have had a bad doctor’s report or a bad day at work. There may be fresh problems. The challenges of life are not the same as discouragement. Discouragement is a spirit and can only be dealt with spiritually. Discouragement has the potential and the spirit of death in itself to keep us from our destiny.
When Moses arrived with a word of hope and promise from the Lord, the people “did not listen to him because of their discouragement and cruel bondage. ” (Exodus 6:9, NIV) Their spirit of discouragement kept them from hearing their future destiny. It kept them from receiving the gift of God that was given through Moses. It kept them from the joy that was their strength. It kept them from hope and expectancy.
There was a season in my life where I was very discouraged. Everything I had tried to do for good ended up as a failure. I was falsely accused and betrayed. I felt much like Israel that I was in bondage. I became discouraged. The discouragement wiped life from me. I struggled to find purpose to life because of the discouragement. I could not hear or listen to people around me who told me that “it would not stay this way”. Discouragement had attached itself to my life and covered my ears so I could not hear and placed a weight on my back that made everything I tried to do each day immensely difficult.
Because discouragement is a spirit, it must be cast away, it must be rejected. It cannot stay in your life without your permission. You can make a choice to reject discouragement and to dwell in the promises and hope of God.
All through Scripture, God speaks that we are not to be afraid or discouraged. “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you… ” (1 Chronicles 28:20, NIV) For the Israelites, God kept working on their behalf even though they did not listen at first. Their discouragement stole their joy in the midst of God’s activities. And yet, God did not leave them. God delivered them through Moses into their inheritance.
I needed to learn that God did not leave me alone in my difficult trials. God never has forsaken me. His words and His promises are true. He is always working, even when I cannot hear the words of hope.
There will always come a moment when the one who is discouraged must make a choice to listen to the messenger of God and the hope of God. For Israel that moment came when in Exodus 11 after all the plagues. Moses had a word from God for the people to move forward. It was just a word, but it needed to be believed and obeyed. When Israel listened to the Word of God, they found freedom and deliverance.
I too needed to listen to the messengers God placed in my life. I needed to believe in the Love of God and that His purposes for my life could not be stopped. As I did listen and receive the words of hope, I found joy and peace became my companions.
If you are discouraged, listen to the words of God. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ” (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV) As you listen and believe, you will find the power to cast away discouragement and to begin to walk into your destiny.
HOPE! BELIEVE! EXPECT! TRUST! FAITH! JOY!
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