PUT AWAY DISCOURAGEMENT
by Ronnie Mutina
Should the world, ‘discouragement,’ be a bad word? I have often wondered if it should be a bad word. I have found that it is so easy to be discouraged in this negative world. People having desires to do a different job often get discouraged because they can’t or won’t be hired without previous experience in that field. A lot of the employers forget that they had to start somewhere and learn, even if they didn’t have a college degree, and conveniently forget. Of course discouragement doesn’t just stop in the job world.
The word, "dismayed," is another world for discouraged. I often find myself becoming discouraged, or dismayed, at the fact that I am not being allowed to do what God has called me to do, because people stand in judgment of me. Sometimes it gets to the point that I feel like the Lord has left me in the wilderness, and maybe even forgotten about me. This is discouragement! My wife asked me, last night in fact, did I believe that when God called a preacher, that it could be for a short period of time, and then the calling is gone. She also asked me, "Do I believe that God calls a man to preach just to punish him, by not allowing him to do what his heart desires?" My answer to that, under my breath, was, "Okay, stop beating me!!!" Truth is discouragement is a tool of Satan. Even Christians allow Satan to use them to discourage people. They don’t just do it to preachers, who have been divorced because their ex wife or wives decided they didn’t want to be part of this man’s life any longer, but they do it to other people who have real problems. Should people judge men who have had things happen to them that they didn’t have any control over? Should people stand in judgment over people who have problems with drugs, alcohol, or even other things?
The answer is a resounding, "NO!" I have often seen, in churches, that we as Christians are becoming more Pharisaical in our lives. Are you offended? We should be! If we look at God’s Word, the Bible, we find that Jesus dealt with the Pharisees about their true religion. He told them, in Matthew 15:3, "Why do ye also transgress the commandments of God by your tradition?" Then in verse 8, Jesus said, "The people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their hearts are far from me." I guess I should not leave out verse 7, where HE called them hypocrites.
I heard just this morning, that the county I live in is the third highest in under aged smoking in the region. Now, granted smoking is being picked on, but we need to understand something. While we are down on drug users, alcoholics, and other problems people may have, we still want to smoke cigarettes as adults, and yes, children, and there is nothing wrong with it. Nicotine is a drug, but it is accepted in the world, because it is legal. A side note to parents, ‘It’s okay to let our kids dip, smoke, or chew tobacco, after all, I do. What gives me a right to say no? First of all, you say no, because it is sin, just as drinking, over eating, etc. We don’t want anyone to preach to us about that, but let’s look down on a person who has a drug problem or alcohol problem. I guess I could take it a step further and say, it is okay for us to have problems, but don’t let the preacher have a past. If he does, then he is not qualified.
I guess I’ve made this a more personal devotional because it’s a way to bleed off discouragement. Why should we discourage people by telling them they are not qualified to serve God in any capacity, unless they meet our criteria? God qualifies the man, not man. One of the biggest differences between God and man is this; God forgives and overlooks, while man does not.
Unfortunately this causes discouragement to many, and because it is discouragement started by individuals, it becomes sin to the individual who did the discouraging in the first place.
In Isaiah 41:10, we are told, "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed (discouraged); for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." That is a sermon in itself. We can find in the book of Hebrews where HE said, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Heb. 13:5). We know this, yet we feel like God is overlooking us at times, don’t we? As Christians we need to get closer to God in our lives. There are several ways to do this;
SEEK YE FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS
A. First of all, you need to be saved! To do this, you have to ACKNOWLEDGE that you are lost, as God’s Word says you are, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God," and we must acknowledge that HE IS GOD. Second, you must BELIEVE that Christ died for your sins according to the scripture and that he was buried and rose again on the third day, according to the scripture. Third you must CONFESS you are a sinner and you need Christ as you personal Savior. "For with the heart man believeth unto to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
B. If you are really seeking God, as on of HIS children, you will have to put your self – righteous attitude to the side. This would be under the heading of pride, which God hates.
C. To truly seek God you have to acknowledge, as Paul did, that you are the chief of sinners, and you are no better than anyone else. ‘FOR ALL HAVE SINNED AND COME SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD."
D. You can’t look down upon someone else simply because they have problems.
SEEK HIS WILL
A. So many times people go with what they believe rather than what God’s Word tells them to do.
B. To seek HIS will, we must stay in constant communication with HIM. PRAY WITHOUT CEASING.
C. To be discouraged is tough, but if we seek God’s direction it can detour the effects of the discouragement.
FOLLOW HIM
A. If we truly follow HIM, we will find that we will quit being like Peter, who was looking around at other people to see who was the betrayer, and start being like John who had his eyes on Christ the whole time.
B. If we turn our eyes upon HIM, then we know we can’t be a discouragement to others.
C. If we follow HIM, HE won’t lead us in the wrong direction; therefore, we make right decisions that are not Pharisaical.
ENCOURAGE DON’T DISCOURAGE
A. Remember the question the Pharisees asked Jesus? "What is the greatest commandment of all?"
B. His answer was simple; "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second commandment is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandments greater than these."
C. How can you say, "I love God," and not love your neighbor? It’s impossible to do!
D. If you really love your neighbor, you will not discourage him by being a judge.
E. Don’t hold things over people’s head simply because they have a spot on their record, because if you aren’t perfect either. The same God that forgave you, has forgiven that person too.
F. To discourage people by making them ‘unqualified,’ in your eyes, doesn’t do anything but allow Satan an upper hand in that person’s life and your life too.
We really need to do as we are told in God’s Word. In 2 Chronicles 7:14, we are shown how to seek God’s will in our lives and keep for discouraging people. "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked way; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." Humility is the key to staying close to God. It also leads us by never allowing us to forget where we came from and how we got here.
May the Lord keep us from serving the world and keep us from being a discouragement to others. AMEN
