It takes guts to live the adventurous life as a follower of Christ! It is not for the faint of heart. He will take you to places and challenging situations that will feel daunting at best. God will often demons
trate his power only after you have learned to rely completely on him. Traveling the road that Jesus leads you on is only safe when you rest in his strong arms, but there are numerous pitfalls and turbulent dangers at every turn that seem to threaten everything. Prayer is no longer a pastime, but a lifeline.
The battle over the heart of our community rages and the souls of our children hang in the balance: values, priorities, and choices, ideologies, philosophies, and strategies to seduce the uninitiated. School has begun for most of our students and despite the efforts of so many, new recruits were trained in the fine arts of foolishness. Alcohol was shared in a Thermos at Libbey Park by high school underclassmen after school, while some young teens learned the smell of pot for the very first time. With all of the efforts to stop victimizations of children, more of it happened this week; fresh wounds that will form new scars. Most of it will go unreported and unresolved. Couples that used to be infatuated with their mutual love are filing for divorce this week. Others are spending hours in sobbing desperation, isolation and loneliness. Some are even contemplating suicide.
Whether one is lost in the pain or has invested their life to bring help to others, there is a mutual enemy and a common tactic used against both. Please hear this: Satan is real and relies on your naiveté about all things evil, and a commonly useful weapon to bring even the most formidable fighter to incapacitation is “discouragement.” If you are discouraged, you are weak and ineffective, and on the brink of possible utter failure.
Discourage: To cause someone to lose confidence or enthusiasm (Oxford Dictionary)
When Moses had died and it was time for Joshua to lead, he was overwhelmed with the task before him. God gave him a singular message, multiple times, that was timely and much needed: “Have I not commanded you, be strong and of good courage. Do not be afraid, not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). While he was about ready to lead God’s people into a new season of promise and prosperity, he was discouraged and fearful by what was before him. But God gave a command! A command? “I can’t help it,” some might say. Others will want some long-term therapy to discuss their childhood. God doesn’t waste time with all that. He says, in essence, “Get moving, man, I will be with you!”
When Jesus was giving parting instructions to his followers, he reiterated this same essential message: Do not be afraid. Do what I have called you to do. I will be with you. This rings true for you and I also. We have work to do; both in our homes, and in our community.
The opposite of discouragement is “encouragement.” If your heart is sinking because of the growing cancer that you see killing the souls of people you care about, take courage and do something about it. Don’t look for your help in the all the wrong places, go right to the source. After all, only Jesus can make good on the promise to never leave you nor forsake you.