DOMINION OVER DISCOURAGEMENT (1)

“Wait on the Lord; be of GOOD COURAGE, and He shall STRENGTHEN your HEART; wait, I say, on the Lord!” – Psalm 27:14

Believers in Christ must learn to exercise DOMINION over DISCOURAGEMENT, being one of Satan’s most used darts: “Wait on the Lord; be of GOOD COURAGE, and He shall STRENGTHEN your HEART; wait, I say, on the Lord!” (Psa.27:14). The devil finds this dart to be quite effective; hence it is at the top of the list of his favourite tools. The word discouragement comes from the root word courage. The prefix dis- means “the opposite of.” So discouragement is the opposite of courage. The discouraged person has lost the motivation to commence, continue and press forward, or complete: The mountain seems too steep, the valley too dark, or the battle too fierce! Psalm 31:24 says, “Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your HEART, all you who hope in the LORD”!

Discouragement is when one loses God’s perspective. The devil orchestrates circumstances to discourage us. With this dart Satan attempts to get us to take our eyes off of Jesus. He tries to get our eyes on people, circumstances, and things, knowing that people will disappoint us, circumstances will frustrate us, and things will fail us. This dart most often is designed to attack the emotional areas of our lives, the adversary’s goal being to get anger, fear, and worry to replace joy, peace, and love.

In many portions throughout Scripture, God commands His people to take courage:

When God selected Joshua to replace Moses, He declared: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go” (Jos.1:9, NIV). The Lord based this command upon His previous promise to Joshua: “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Jos.1:6, NIV). He knew Joshua was going to face some tough battles, and didn’t want His servant to become discouraged. Prior to his death, Moses had also encouraged Joshua: “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged” (Deut.31: 7b-8, NIV).

King Hezekiah in trying to encourage the people of Judah against the threat of Assyria’s military onslaught, said: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him. With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LOD our God to help us and to fight our battles” (2Chr.32:7-8a, NIV). The result: “And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said” (2Chr.32:8b). Courage and confidence can be boosted by the right words!

The key to overcoming and defeating the dart of discouragement is to remember God’s promises and apply them. When we know the Lord, we can stand upon the promises He has given us in His Word. Such knowledge kept the apostle Paul pressing forward, preaching the gospel, eventually ending up in a Roman jail from where he wrote, “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phi.3:14). Paul could press on through persecution, rejection, beatings, and discouragement because his eyes were on the ultimate prize: hearing the words “Well done!” from his Lord and Saviour (Mt.25:23; Rev.22:12).

We easily get discouraged when we seek affirmation, applause, or reward from those around us. If our service or obedience is based upon immediate gratification, we may be setting ourselves up for discouragement. David knew this and rather than depend on man, he consistently encouraged himself in the Lord: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (v.1). He had learnt to turn life’s battles over to the Lord (1Sam.17:47).