Ezra 4:4 - Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building.
The greatest enemy we face in our purpose is not defeat but discouragement.
Few championship teams complete their season undefeated. In most cases, champions faced a defeat (or several) before going on to win the championship. Defeat is a lesson in the pathway to success. Defeat is momentary, it's only an end to a chapter in time. What happens after a
defeat is the next chapter.
But discouragement is the end of the book. It never starts the next chapter, or plays the next game. Discouragement is an attack on the heart of the person. And it can kill our motivation to keep playing even when we have the ability to proceed.
When Israel went back to build the temple, it was overcoming a defeat of their own history and failure. But that wasn't the challenge for them. The challenge was in the people surrounding them trying to discourage their progress. The problem wasn't the people or what was being said---it was the internal battle of discouragement.
You know you are fighting discouragement when:
- you feel alone in the vision
- you don't want to invest the energy
- you start comparing your life to others
- you limit your support / effort
- you start questioning God
The only answer for overcoming discouragement is to invest more effort. Discouragement is not stopped by ending but by enduring. If we start giving into discouragement on one area, we will default to discouragement in EVERY area of life. Endurance is the only way to win.
Test yourself. What is your endurance level these days? Are delays just extending the time it takes to finish, or causing you to quit trying? Endurance is your own decision and is all done in your heart. Everyone faces discouragement, and everything in life will eventually be tested. Choose to endure...
No comments:
Post a Comment