Discouragement

I know that this is a sad day for many believers, to wake up with their hopes and prayers not answered the way they wanted them to be answered.  I want to encourage all of you today not to give up hope, for these feelings will pass if you get your eyes on the Lord and keep them there.  If you are familiar with the Word you know that God has a plan and it will be fulfilled in His time.

God said this in Jeremiah 29:11 about the Israelites when they were exiled and taken to Babylon for seventy years because of their rebelliousness and sinful ways.  “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’”  God’s plans are always good for His faithful people regardless of who they are, but there are always consequences for sin and usually it affects more than just the person that sinned.

Satan’s plan is altogether different than God’s plan.  Satan’s plan is to kill, steal and destroy.  God’s plan was that we might have life and have it more abundantly.  The problem is we short circuit God’s plan when we sin, and are rebellious and conform to the world, when we should be transforming our minds to be more like Him.  

In the Old Testament King Solomon built the Temple for God and when he finished building the Temple, he prayed a prayer of dedication.  When God answered his prayer, which may have been months later, this is part of what He said, it is found in 2 Chronicles 7:14, “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.”  Sometimes we can get very discouraged when we pray and the answer doesn’t come for a long period of time, but remember God isn’t strapped into our time table, be assured He will answer when He is ready, in His time.  

Many pastors are guilty of bowing down to the god of popularity and watering down their sermons; they seem to be more interested in making people laugh than they are about the condition of their souls.  Then they wonder why their people don’t repent, they need to wake up and realize that their people are too busy laughing, but in the end the responsibility will be on them.  When believers refuse to repent and the nation sins against the Lord, God is not going to take that lightly, His judgment will fall and that nation will be destroyed in the end, that is what I think is happening today.

If you think of the end time scenario in the Word, you know that God’s judgment is unfolding and we can expect things to get far worse before they get better.  The sins in our nation are stacked up higher than our heads and the only hope for the nation now is, as it always has been, the Lord and the church.  So we have no one else to blame for the situation we are in, but ourselves.  We are all guilty in some way or other and until we admit that and turn from our sins, things will go from bad to worse like they are.

The good news is that God is still in control and He loves us.  His Word is still true today, it says in Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” 

We don’t like to be chastised, or corrected, but when God does it, it’s for our own good.  We also don’t like persecution but it is inevitable if you are a believer.  We better face reality, the time for fun and games is coming to an end and the true believers in the church had better awake from their slumber and truly repent.  Those that are just playing church, better repent also and turn from their wicked ways because the things that can be shaken, will be shaken and if you are not attached to the vine, you will fall away like the chaff and be burned with unquenchable fire, along with all the other wicked people that mock God.

My hope is that the true born-again believers will be encouraged by remembering these words spoken to Peter from Jesus in Matthew 16:18, “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” 

Here are two other verses that should encourage you.  Isaiah 59:19 says, “So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun; when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.”   And also this one in Isaiah 54:17, “No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is from Me, Says the LORD.”

When you woke up this morning and heard what you considered bad news, think about this, the world may be stacked up against you, but if you have been born-again know this, “Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.”  Jesus said that He overcame the world and so can we with His help.  The Word also says this, “The righteous shall live by faith.”  So don’t be discouraged today by what you see and hear.  God is still in control and nothing takes Him by surprise; get your mind off the things that have transpired and get your mind on the Lord, for He, not man, is our only hope.  Glimpse at people and gaze at the Lord, for that is where our victory lies.

The best thing I think you can do is to start praising and thanking the Lord for what He has done, and what He is going to do, on your behalf and also  for who He is, and let Him change your whole perspective.  Remember the joy of the Lord is your strength.  And don’t stop praying for the leaders of our country, they are not beyond God’s reach.  I hope this has been an encouragement and help.  God bless and have a super day!!