|
 The
Jews had been defeated by Nebuchadnezzar and, because of their long and extended
rebellion to God, the Lord allowed them to be exiled to Babylon. Yet, now their
appointed time of judgment had passed; it was time for the Lord's promise to be
fulfilled. Indeed, He had assured them,
"After seventy years...I will visit you, and perform my good
word toward you, in causing you to return to this place" (Jer. 29:10 KJV).
Initiated by the fasting and prayer of the prophet Daniel, Israel had entered a
season of divine visitation: men with both integrity and vision were raised up and
financial provisions came. The display of divine grace had created an atmosphere
of awe and excitement among the people of God - He was "causing [them] to return"
to Israel! Yet, how He brought them back was just as miraculous: Israel's God revealed
Himself to King Cyrus of Persia, a gentile king, and actually
"Appointed [him] to build [the
Lord] a house in Jerusalem" (2 Chron. 36:23).
In fact, Cyrus encouraged a national offering for Israel's journey; he restored
the treasures taken by Nebuchadnezzar from Israel, and he issued a royal edict,
legally authorizing the return of the Jews to Israel.
It was a time of great miracles, supernatural provision and fulfilled prophecy.
Yet even as the exiles resettled in Jerusalem and engaged in the work of restoration,
we read:
"Then the people of
the land discouraged the people of Judah, and frightened them from building, and
hired counselors against them to frustrate their counsel all the days of Cyrus king
of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia" (Ezra 4:4-5).
Incredibly, in spite of the miracles, signs and provisions, simple discouragement
neutralized their progress. Unbelievably, scholars say that their work stalled for
nearly 20 years! Beloved, discouragement is an enemy that is both subtle in its
attack and powerful in its ability to stop us. We must discern it when it comes
and refuse to accommodate its influence when it speaks.
How Discouragement Enters
Every person with a vision from God will have serious opportunities to become discouraged
as they reach for the fulfillment of their vision. Indeed, just as Israel was given
a promise from God and provisions to help their return, so the Almighty has given
promises and provisions to us. Your vision may be for your personal transformation,
or it may be a God-inspired desire to see your family or church brought into spiritual
renewal. You may even possess a citywide vision or a holy passion to see your nation
turned toward God. Yet, like the Jews, we can be just as vulnerable to discouragement
and its effects.
How does discouragement gain access to our souls? The answer is simple: We start
evaluating our lives based upon information compiled by our senses instead of assessing
our position based upon the promise and help of God. However, I don't mean we are
unaware of the difficulties of our faith assignment, but that God is good and He
is not hindered by our present limitations.
Consider: when God promised Abraham a child in his old age, the Bible says
he "contemplated his own body,
now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of
Sarah's womb." Abraham didn't deny the
facts of life; without growing weak in faith, he "contemplated" his situation.
"Yet, with respect to the
promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory
to God." He was
"fully assured that what God had
promised, He was able also to perform" (see Rom. 4:19-21).
Discouragement comes when we only look at our circumstances without looking to the
faithfulness and integrity of what God has promised.
Still, discouragement has infiltrated the minds of many. Knowing mankind's vulnerability
to discouragement, Jesus taught His disciples a parable that,
"at all times they ought to pray
and not to lose heart" (Lk 18:1).
The parable concerned a widow desperately seeking legal protection from an adversary,
but she received no immediate help from her judge
(see Lk:18).
In spite of his resistance, however, she refuses to be discouraged from her quest;
she persists until she gains her breakthrough.
The goal of Christ's teaching was to immunize His followers from discouragement;
to "lose heart" is to become discouraged. Jesus assures us that God will hear us
as we turn to Him in persistent prayer.
True Faith Takes Courage
We also need to know Christ is not just our Savior, but He also is the "author and
perfecter" of our faith (Heb 12:2).
In order for faith to mature, it needs situations where faith alone can sustain
us. "Faith" is not merely a proper understanding of doctrinal issues; faith is the
spiritual "substance
of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen" (Heb 11:1 KJV).
We must not only possess accurate doctrines about faith; we must live by faith as
well.
Indeed, there are times when, for faith to develop, we must trust God in spite of
how things appear. Jesus often told people to take courage, for their faith had
saved them (see Mt 9:2, 9:22, etc.).
There will always be times when, against the glaring face of a negative reality,
true faith arises, appropriates courage and locks into the integrity of God's promise.
We must let faith arise in the context of resistance. This is the faith that touches
God's heart.
The enemy comes to dis-courage or remove the courage from our hearts, and thus causes
us to withdraw into unbelief. To win our fight of faith, we must not surrender to
discouragement. Yes, times will come when we will ask God for greater wisdom; certainly,
we will adjust our attitudes and become both flexible and wiser as we process the
faith assignment destiny has set before us. But we must not give up:
"For yet in a very little while,
He who is coming will come, and will not delay. But My righteous one shall live
by faith; and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him" (Heb 10:37-38).
Hall of Faith
The above scripture is part of an introduction to Hebrews, chapter 11, which chronicles
the heroic stories of those who pleased God with their faith. All of them had to
endure the test of time; often the delays seemed so permanent and the odds against
them insurmountable, yet none of these men and women allowed discouragement to dim
the brightness of their faith. The persevering quality of their hearts - the fact
that they stood in the storms of doubt and circumstances and refused to shrink away
from God's promise - filled God's heart with pleasure, and He answered their faith.
Part of the testimony of those with overcoming faith is that they
"conquered kingdoms, performed
acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the
power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became
mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight" (Heb 11:33-34).
I absolutely love this scripture:
"they conquered kingdoms...put foreign
armies to flight." Beloved, a foreign army
with weapons named "perversion," "immorality" and "corruption" has invaded our nation
and sought to occupy our culture. It has eroded the conscience of our society, and
it seeks to carry off our sons and daughters into captivity. We must fight.
You say, "But Francis, I'm weary."
Yes, there are times when we all get weary. But we have the help of God with us.
Consider His promise:
"Behold, My Servant,
whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon
Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations...He will not be disheartened or
crushed..." (Isaiah 42:1-4).
Christ will be not "disheartened or crushed." Why? The Spirit of God "upholds" Him,
and the Spirit of God upholds Christ in us as well. Are you God's servant? Then
turn to Him and find new strength. You may be wounded or struck, but as we abide
in Christ, we too will be neither "disheartened or crushed."
You say, "I live in Florida (or the Southeastern USA or the Caribbean). I've been
discouraged by the destruction from these many storms." Yet, even in the most difficult
times, God is there with you. Have you noticed the names and sequence of the hurricanes
that roared through Florida: Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne? The meaning of these
names reveals a message: Charley- man,
Frances- fr*ee, Ivan- God is good, Jeanne- gracious and merciful.
Together, they say,
"Man (is) fr*ee; God is good, gracious and merciful."
If we look, we will see that, in the midst of these storms, God was good, gracious
and merciful to many. Those who see God standing with them in the storms are fr*ee
indeed.
A number from the USA were discouraged by the first debate between the presidential
candidates. I heard folks lamenting that their candidate "did poorly. He could hardly
speak in sentences." Remember, dear friend, the Lord has used people who were slow
of speech in the past (see Ex 3). The issue is not how clever we are with words,
but whether God will back up our stammering with His power. Let us pray for our
President, and where he has made mistakes, whether in speech or even in administration
of the nation, let us intercede that God will work good out even from mistakes.
Dear one, there is a spiritual war raging, whether it is over the future of our
world or the future of our souls, we cannot shrink back into unbelief. Let us be
strong and of good courage. Let us seek God and find new strength in prayer. And
let us never give in to the voice of discouragement.
by Francis Frangipane
www.frangipane.org
comments@frangipane.org
A service of Frangipane Ministries,
Inc.
Copyright (c) 2004
All rights reserved.
---
SPECIAL THANKS
Thank you to Marge Schinke and Colleen Dinino for their insights in this message.
|
Subscribe to the Elijah
List Here
