Discouragement is an all too prevalent and crippling weapon the enemy uses against us, God’s children. All you have to do is turn on the news and you will feel the fear and discouragement creeping in to your thoughts. Have you felt discouraged? These are three causes of discouragement and fear.
First, what does it mean to be discouraged? And how does it lead to fear?
Here is the definition of Discourage from Dictionary.com:
*to deprive of courage, hope, or confidence; dishearten; dispirit.
*to dissuade
*to obstruct by opposition or difficulty; hinder*to express or make clear disapproval of; frown upon
Don’t miss that first definition: “To deprive of hope… confidence…. dishearten… or dispirit”.
Essentially this means to lose our faith and hope or to quench the Spirit in us. Without the Holy Spirit, fear and discouragement ensue.
We see discouragement in all walks of life. Discouragement is an equal opportunity destroyer and here are three causes to be on your guard against.
1 Corinthians 13 (NLT)
13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
There are three causes of discouragement and fear.
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Losing faith in God.
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Satan is a clever deceiver and he wants you to lose faith in your Father God who created you and loves you unconditionally. He thinks if he can separate you from God, he can destroy you. This is one of the reasons God tells us to control our thoughts. If we let the enemy have control of our thoughts he can steal our peace and joy and possibly your life through his falsehoods.
Romans 8:6(NLT)
6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.
The truth is, NOTHING can separate us from the love of God but the enemy lies to you. (Romans 8:38-39)
Notice the Bible says you need to let the Spirit control your mind to have life and peace. The Holy Spirit is an important first step that you cannot skip if you want to control your thoughts. We are powerless against the fear and lies without the Holy Spirit. We receive the gift of the Holy Spirit when we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and name Him as Lord of our life.
If Jesus is not Lord of your life, stop NOW and pray. Pray and ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins and come into your life and be your Lord and Savior. It’s as easy as that. God makes salvation simple. It is a gift. We only have to receive it. Take that step of faith now.
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Losing hope in God
When we lose our faith in God, we lose hope.
Satan wants you to believe there is no way out and there is no hope. The enemy will make you feel things will not work out and you will fail. He will repeat these lies to you to increase the urgency of your fear. You will begin to accept lies as truth because of the repetition. With just one whisper, he can cause your heart to race, sweat to break out, and fear and trembling in the midst of your peace.
Today, we refer to this feeling as a panic attack or anxiety. This heart palpating, mind-numbing fear is not new to our generation. The enemy whispers lies into the ears of every person who ever breathed a breath on this earth. He even tried it with Jesus in the wilderness.
However, Jesus fought back with the Word of God and we should always follow His example in dealing with this adversary and his lies. One very familiar verse to remember is Romans 8:28. God will always make everything work together for good for those that love him. Even evil things that are life altering and not meant to be part of His plan for you, God can use for good.
Romans 8:28 (NLT)
28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
Genesis 50:20(The Message)
Don’t you see, you planned evil against me but God used those same plans for my good…
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Losing love for God
Satan wants you to lose your love for God. If you lose love, your faith will be crushed; you will no longer have anything or anyone in which to put your hope.
1 Corinthians 13 is called the love chapter because it explains what love is to look like in our lives. The world has perverted love and made it into something God never intended it to be. We need to put the effort in to seeking God to understand love because He IS love.
1 John 4:8 (NLT)
…God IS love.
To know love we need to know God.
God is the greatest force in our lives. He IS love. That is why God says love is greater than even hope or faith (1 Cor. 13:13) because it is WHO He IS.
Without love, fear and discouragement run rampant in our lives debilitating our faith and hope.
Jesus said, “I am…the Truth” (John 14:6) and He will guard your heart and mind if you let Him.
Philippians 4:7 (NIV)
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
That urgent heart stopping fear satan instills in us, making us feel life as we know it will end, is not real. God is THE cure for anxiety, fear and discouragement. He is The Great Physician.
James 4:8(NLV)
8 Come close to God and He will come close to you.
Click Here for part 2 on our weapons against discouragement!
I am praying for you daily that you will not lose faith, hope or love for God and God will help you to stand firm again the enemy’s lies. As always, I am so thankful you are here and I hope God uses this to encourage you!
Love,
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The Message (MSG)
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Thank you for sharing your gift of “gab” with all of us! I am always ready to read and enjoy reading your posts. I can’t wait to read about the Three Weapons.
Thanks for the encouraging words and for being a faithful reader! Love you, Shawna
Thank you, my sister! I needed that!
I love you brother! Praying for you as always.