“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10
If there’s anything I’ve learned about discouragement, and I’ve experienced more of it than imaginable and still do regularly, it’s this. Satan wants to get Christ’s followers discouraged so we loosen our grip on and focus on and resolve on and level of commitment to God, God’s Word, God’s will for our lives, and God’s calling for us concerning how He uses us to help build His Kingdom of followers and help and encourage those already following Him.
Satan uses discouragement as a weapon, doesn’t he? And Satan succeeds with this weapon when we allow discouragement to take over and don’t renounce it and renew if necessary and strengthen our grip on and focus on and resolve on and level of commitment to God, God’s Word, God’s will for our lives, and God’s calling for us concerning how He uses us to help build His Kingdom of followers and help and encourage those already following Him.
Satan wants to get Christ’s followers so discouraged we stop cleaving to Christ, we stop cleaving to and living by God’s Word, and we stop living for Christ and to fulfill God’s purpose for our lives. Though Satan has NO authority nor ability to steal Christ’s followers out of the Kingdom of God, while he most assuredly cannot take away from us our salvation in Christ, our belonging to Christ, Satan is able to fight us tooth and nail to maim, harm, hurt, and damage our focus on and level of intimacy with Christ and our effectiveness and ability to fulfill God’s will for our lives IF WE LET HIM.
Satan fires accusations and lies and temptations at us to try to get us distracted from God, to get us to look the other way, to get us to even go the other way, and to get us discouraged so we lose the heartfelt desire, and the energy, and the drive, and the yearning, and the level of commitment to wake up each morning and lovingly, humbly, excitedly, passionately, hungrily, and dedicatedly follow Jesus through the day by the leading of God’s Spirit with the resolve to be filled with God’s Spirit and to be used by God’s Spirit to love others, to proclaim the Gospel message to others, and to fulfill the Lord’s precise and precious Kingdom purpose for us and to in all that we do bring glory to His blessed name.
Feeling discouraged. Don’t stay in the rut. Don’t stay in the pit. Don’t stay in the mire. Don’t stay in the quicksand. Don’t stay in the ick and the yuck where Satan wants you. Cry out to the Lord, dig deep into His Word, be filled with His Spirit, seek His face in prayer, and devotedly follow Jesus as He brings you up out of the pit and God’s Spirit leads you mightily and powerfully and lovingly through this day and all the days to come!