Defeating the giant of discouragement – Part 1

In a dream, a man found himself in a grocery store tagged: “The devil’s shop,” with so many items on display for sale. He inquired from the store attendant what their most expensive item was and he was told, “discouragement.” The attendant further explained that it was a complete package sold along with ‘anxiety, high blood pressure and suicide’ in that order. He was asked if he needed some, but suddenly, he woke up out of fear only to discover it was a dream. The message was clear all the same.

Discouragement is one of the most powerful tools the devil uses to make you feel bad about yourself. It hinders your progress and stop you from being successful. Right from the Bible times till date, it has made great men and kings to weep like babies. It is not a respecter of any man. From our Bible text, we see that God showed the Israelite their promised land and, so, they sent spies ahead to view the land. When they got there, they saw the land in its beauty and even took fruit as evidence, but when they returned to deliver their report to the camp there was mixed feelings. We must be careful about who we assign certain responsibilities to, their view of situations and how it is reported. God understands where we are coming from and goes ahead to prepare a glorious ending for us, so, we must learn to trust him because he never lies. The spies sent were intimidated by the sight of the people they met in the land, their walled houses and city because the Israelite had lived in tent all their lives. So, they concluded in their mind that they were not able to go into the land. When this was reported, the whole congregation wept bitterly and were discouraged.

The word discouragement has its root from a French word “Descouragier’’ and when broken into two, it spells out “des’’ meaning “away’’ and “courage.’’ Simply put, it means “taking away’’ one’s courage, zeal or enthusiasm. Discouragement also means losing the desire and motivation to continue doing something that brings purpose and satisfaction to one’s life. When the Israelites received the report as presented by the spies, there was no more zeal and motivation to continue their journey to the long expected promised land. God’s promise of their new home became like a scam to them. Often times, we find ourselves in similar situations when we no longer feel like going to church, or you lost the zeal to work for God either because of the loss of something precious or expectations not met.

I pray for a total restoration of your zeal today in Jesus’ name. Discouragement is a spirit and it comes often when you do the right things, but get little or no result. A man who is discouraged can never be successful in life. He remains on one spot and never gets the drive to move forward.

Again, its means to be disheartened, dispirited or dismayed. After the death of Moses, God spoke to Joshua (Josh.1;9) to be strong and put away fear because there were territories to conquer. He understood that Joshua was young and so likely to be despised or intimidated by the people and situation around. In life also, you may find yourself in situations and positions that appear bigger than you, but God says you should be courageous and keep moving in that your business, career, marriage and ministry because He is with you always to give you a glorious end in Jesus’ name.

• Rev. John Okene, Divine Touch Int’l Ministries, Warri, Delta State.
Dtimchurch@Gmail.Com. Prayer Line: +2348135952623