Greetings again my Brethren. One thing for sure the longer we go in God the greater chance we will get discouraged. What a wonderful thought. They say they will build our memorial statue of us from the stones they throw at us. But discouragement in an internal emotion of the heart we get when we get disappointed at maybe ourself, people, and even in God. I do not think any of us are above discouragement we all will face it time and time again. Like most things in God the discouragement is not the end of the world for us, but what is, is how we handle it. Do we dismiss our part in the discouragement and look for someone to blame or turn it inwardly and use it as an opportunity for self-reflection? Most often other people are blamed and we learn little about ourselves and what God wants to do in areas in our lives that needs to get better. Karen and I just came back from Mombasa, Kenya, what a wonderful time we had with Bishop Jospeh Gatimu and the good folks at Jesus Victory Temple. WOW how they took great care of us from start to finish. I really know God wants to do some new and great things with Bishop Joe and his church. I am sure more to come on this. But when we returned, we were riding high, but I got call from Bishop Joe that brought me down to reality. Apparently, there was a big misunderstanding from some folks in the States that caused our joy to be deflated and discouragement filled my heart. Again, it was not the discouragement that was a big deal, but how I handled the situation. Not going to mention names, but I told someone something, and they told someone, who told someone else, well you know how that games goes. When it got back me, well I got upset, because I know it was NOT true. So, I did the spiritual thing (not really) and jumped the person who started the rumour. Here is where I dropped the ball. You know you can tell anyone anything as long as you tell them in a nice way. Now, I do not regret what I said, but how I said it. I was not nice, but sharp and even maybe angry at times. I did ask the person’s forgiveness before we hug up and texted them my forgiveness after we hung up and they said “no problem,” but it was, that still does not excuse me of my reaction. Make no mistake my friend discouragement can really be a mirror in our lives if we allow God to use it so. In 1 Kings 19, we find Elijah in a similar situation. You know I always find it strange how discouragement comes our way usually after a great time of victory. For us it was a great time of sacrifice and a great time of ministry in Mombasa. I mean just getting there it took: eight hours of flying, a five hour layover in Amsterdam (tired of running for flights), a nine hour flight to Nairobi, a planned four hour layover (that was really only 60 minutes to where we had to run after our next flight), and a one hour flight to Mombasa. Did I mention it was hot? The average temperature was around 90 degrees, then the sun would come up. The older you get the more you despise that word sacrifice, but not so in God. All and in all Bishop Joe and God was very good to us for this we were very thankful. But Brother Elijah, well, he did not react well to his discouragement. After a great victory over 450 men prophets o Baal (see 1 Kings 18:17-36) Elijah says, “Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. 38Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.39And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.
40And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.” (1 Kings 18:36-40) The great victory was complete, the enemy was vanquished, and God was glorified, but in the beginning of the very next chapter we find Elijah discouraged, scared, fearful of Jezebel and on the run. “And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. 2Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time. 3And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. 4But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. (1 Kings 19:1-4) WOW! What happened to Elijah? The same thing that can happened to us we get disappointed even in God as Elijah, which leads to discouragement and then we will do things we thought we would never do or even say things we thought we would never say. We must guard our heart against discouragement by realizing this can happen to us if not careful, never getting over-confident in our abilities and strengths, and meditate on God’s word, both written and spoken, and keep in mind and our heart past victories where He has brought us from possible defeat to victory. In 1 Samuel 30:6, “And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.” The distress and stones are coming your way. Next month we will continue to look at other diverse objects God can use to communicate with us as we look at how God used a prosecutor. Are you there my friend? In tough situations and circumstances? Have you heard His voice? Listen closely and you will. Written by David Stahl
