Dave’s Monday Blast – January 18, 2021
“And now these three remain: faith, HOPE, and love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13). Humankind has always struggled with the plague of discouragement; it is one of Satan’s favorite tools to prevent us from obeying our Mathew 28 mandate. Scripture provides many examples of leaders who faced discouragement with their circumstances. For example:
Moses: Ministry Failure; John Mark: Rejection by a Christian leader; Nehemiah: The Wall; Peter: Denying the Lord; Joseph: Rejection by his family; Elijah: Personal criticism; and too many others to name here. In his humanity even our Savior faced it. Through these stories we learn of the circumstances that brought this discouragement. Real circumstances, real discouragement. If unchecked, discouragement leads to sin. Only Jesus felt the sting without falling prey to its consequences.
Scriptures demonstrate that discouragement is a powerful enemy to our souls. It can be debilitating. Fortunately, read in context, these Biblical accounts show us the truth of this verse: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest, IF we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9). All of these stories have a God honoring ending. We find leadership and service restored and eternal Kingdom work continues. However, we must never forget the following truths about this disease:
1. It is a universal disease
2. It is a repeating disease
3. It is a contagious disease
4. It is a circumstantial disease
5. It is a deadly disease
What is the pathway we must take to recover from the disease of discouragement?
Next week I want to chat about how we replace discouragement with HOPE. Of course it is an INTENTIONAL process.
