The Spirit of Discouragement

It never ceases to surprise me how quickly I can shift from fully confident and at peace in a situation, to suddenly being buried alive in a plague of misgivings, sometimes in a matter of just moments. Most of us have probably been there, humming down the highway, making good time and carelessly pondering life and all of its quirky nuances with little concern over what lies ahead. The sun is sunny, the sky is radiant blue, and the birds all seem to chirp in unison as they flutter about. Then suddenly it happens. Yes “it” and we’re not talking horror flicks here, though “it” can be a little horrific at times. “It” is that toxic device that has the power to break our hopeful perspective of life. It’s that insidious or insensitive incident that doesn’t change much physically, but “it” changes a lot emotionally and spiritually.

So how does that happen? How can we be so easily thrown off by someone’s thoughtless comment or that random detour sign on the road? Often it’s just life and that dark cloud will pass as swiftly as it came, though it may still cause a bit of frustration. As the Bible says, the rain falls on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45). The context of the verse is a bit more profound, yet it suggests there are blessings of God that fall upon those who follow God and those who don’t, therefore it only stands to reason hard times will also come to us all. Despite this truth, there are seasons of our life that lay us wide open to spiritual attack and some tough times, particularly by a spirit of discouragement. Maybe you don’t believe in the supernatural aspects of God and the forces just beyond our sight, but not believing in the spirit realm doesn’t exempt us from attack. The spirit of discouragement is always lurking and eager to find vulnerable individuals to toy with, especially those embarking into new adventures God has called them to. If our work is meaningful to God, the enemy will oppose it and a spirit of discouragement is an excellent way to trip us up and possibly even stop us before we can make any real progress.

I can personally attest to how effective discouragement is at derailing our efforts. It’s been about a year and a half since I felt God prompting me to start a blog, yet I’ve made minimal progress largely due to lengthy bouts of discouragement, where I allowed myself to believe I had no time, nothing worthwhile to share, my writing was boring, and I had no connections or followers from which to build a blog. It’s a bunch of half truths that snowball into a full blown lie. The lie then fuels my discouragement and voila, I’m stashing my calling on a shelf with that hook rug I never finished. The real truth is, if I believe God is who he says he is, I can rest assured the master creator of our universe is more than capable of building a blog regardless of my skill or connections, and he can do it despite my shortcomings and the intentions of the enemy. God doesn’t call me to results; he calls me to obedience, and until I make obedience my focus and cling to Jesus when the rains fall, the tire goes flat and the money runs short, I will remain prey to the enemy and his onslaught of discouragement. It’s not a mind over matter thing; it’s a faith thing and I must choose to live out my faith in obedience and try to relax as I wait for God to work out the details of what he has called me to do.

If you’re taking the time to read this I ask that you consider following my blog. I’m not Jesus so the command to “follow me” doesn’t require a major commitment on your part, but it’s possible by following me, someone who really needs understanding or inspiration may be more likely to take the time to read what God has so patiently taught me over the course of years, so maybe they won’t have to learn everything the hard way like I did. If you’re on a computer scroll down to the blue “follow me” button on the right. On your phone it is way way way at the bottom below the listing of articles. When we work together to put light and truth into the world, that effort makes a difference.