HOW TO OVERCOME DISCOURAGEMENT!
--A Life-giving Lesson to Juan!--Good for Us All!--By Maria
Maria #153 DO 2750 1/91
1. Praise the Lord, Juan, I really love you! Did you know that you're a real encouragement to me? You're a very big blessing! You've been such a wonderful sample of yieldedness and obedience and willingness to change. I feel that you're one of those real big miracles that we can look at and say, "We know the Lord can do miracles, because look what He did for Juan!" I look at you and I think, "If the Lord can do what He did for Juan, such a big miracle in his life, then certainly He can do it in anyone's life!" Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever, and His life-changing power is the same, and if we avail ourselves of it, we can all have it, it's not limited to just one person, but anyone can have it if they really desperately want it badly enough.
2. In saying this about you, Juan, I'm of course giving all the glory to the Lord and the credit to Him. But I also know that you had to make the decision to yield, you had to choose to change and obey, so at least in that respect, you do deserve some credit. Of course, we all know that unless the Lord does the miracle, even our willingness, our yieldedness and our obedience aren't enough to make the big turn-arounds that are often needed. The Lord has to do the miracle. It takes us doing what we can do, then He has to do the big miracle that only He can do.
3. You mentioned that you'd been discouraged recently because you thought you were blowing it a lot. Well, I've been very happy with you and your progress! I've been very reassured by the things the Lord is showing you and the decisions you're making. We haven't heard about anything that we've had any problem with. In fact, we've been very happy with the way things are going. So I feel that your discouragement is definitely a lie of the Enemy, and I would advise you to just refuse to accept it, to not be discouraged! I don't know if it will work if I just tell you, "Don't be discouraged," just like I told you not to worry. I sometimes think you have more faith in what I say than I do!
4. When I first told you, "Don't worry, Juan," I don't know how much faith I had that you would just stop worrying. But you did stop, and that's such a miracle to me! It's so miraculous for me to see that you can trust the Lord that much, that you can trust my word as being the Lord's Word, and you can have that much faith that if I tell you to stop worrying, you will actually stop worrying! I hate to say this, I hope I don't discourage your faith, but to me, that's almost incredible!--Miraculous!
5. That's why I'm a little concerned about telling you things, I want to make sure that it's never anything that's too difficult for you. But on the other hand, the Lord says that nothing is impossible with Him, and "all things are possible to him that believeth!" (Luke 1:37; Mark 9:23). So because you have such great faith, if the Lord is using me to tell you things, then anything that I tell you is possible.
6. Your faith encourages me, it really encourages me, and it helps me to see that that's the way we all should be with the Lord. If He says something, we should just have complete faith that He can fulfill it in our lives. You really are a big encouragement!
7. So do I dare say it?: Do not give in to discouragement! Discouragement is really a terrible thing. I don't allow myself to be discouraged much. Of course, my personality is different than yours, and discouragement is not one of my major battles or weaknesses; neither is worrying. And I know that for you who do have those tendencies, worrying and discouragement can be real torture. But you can have just as much victory over worry and discouragement as I do.--You'll probably just have to fight harder for it since these things are your natural weaknesses.
8. You don't have to let the Devil have that inroad, you really don't! Because if we have a will--and we all do, the Lord's given us that will--we can just cut the Devil off at the pass. We don't have to allow him to continue to use that tactic in our lives where he brings things up to try to get us down and discouraged, and then gets us to listen to his discouraging message. He can usually get his little first word in, his first little word of discouragement, but it's at that point that we can cut him off right away. He can tempt us, but we don't have to yield to it. You do not have to yield to either worry or discouragement!
9. You can do the same thing about discouragement that you did with your worrying.--Just don't allow yourself to become discouraged! It's like that with everything, we can say "no" to the Enemy's devices. We can say "no" to anything that's negative because we know that all negativity--all worry, fear, discouragement, condemnation, bitterness and criticism--is from the Devil! And if the Lord tells us not to fear--which He does; if He tells us not to be condemned--which He does; if He tells us not to worry--which He does; if he tells us not to complain or grumble--which He does; if He tells us not to be bitter--which He does; if He tells us not to be critical--which He does; then we can do what He says, and we don't have to yield to anything negative! We don't have to yield to discouragement!
10. So just because it's a big tendency or even weakness in our lives, or it's a habit that we've formed over the years, that doesn't mean that we have to continue to do it! We can stop it. If the Lord in His Word says we can, we can! So after saying all this, I've preached myself the Word and I now have the faith that you can stop being discouraged!
Fixed-hearted Faith Versus
Double-minded Discouragement!
11. When I found myself being hit with discouraging thoughts the other day, I had to stop and really pray about it, but after I had prayed for a while I was still being barraged by these depressing feelings. So what I then did was claim the Word. I said, "Lord, You promised that if we will cast our burdens on You that You will sustain us, and that You will never suffer the righteous to be moved!" (Psa.55:22).--In other words, moved like the "double-minded man who is unstable in all his ways" (Jam.1:8).
12. If our mind isn't completely fixed on the Lord, if we're wavering between listening to the Lord and the Devil, going back and forth between listening to what the Lord says to us and His encouragement, and then the Devil's lies and fears and worries and discouragement, then we're definitely double-minded, and therefore we're definitely unstable, and therefore we're definitely not going to receive anything from the Lord!--At least not in that respect, on that subject, on whatever thing or issue we're wavering about. If we're wavering back and forth, how can we have the faith and the positiveness that we need to trust the Lord?
13. So being discouraged and fearing and worrying is all being double-minded. The Lord says He'll keep us in perfect peace if our mind is stayed on Him (Isa.26:3), if we set our affections on things above, fix our hearts on Him (Col.3:1,2). Like David said, "My heart is fixed, O God!" (Psa.57:7). If our minds are stayed on Him, our hearts are fixed on Him, our affections are set on things above, then we're really going to be attached, we're going to be connected to Him, we're going to be glued to Him, and we're not going to be able to constantly be wavering back and forth between the Lord's Word and His faith, and the Devil's lies and his fears.
What to Do When Discouragement Begins!
14. So it is possible to live above worry and above fear, and above discouragement! Of course, you're still going to have those first little "fiery darts" of temptation, the Devil's going to try to whisper them in your ear. But you don't have to entertain them! It doesn't have to keep going on. You'll still have those initial thoughts, you'll have those moments, the momentary battles, that's just the temptation.
15. As soon as you realize you're being tempted to become discouraged, if you'll beat the Devil back with the Word and refuse to give place to him at that point, then you'll have the victory and you won't have to worry, you won't have to be discouraged! It may take a few minutes, it may even take a few hours, to fight the battle.--But that doesn't mean you've "given place" to it (Eph.4:27). As long as you're fighting it in the spirit, as long as you're desperate not to give in to it, then you're not giving place to it. You're doing what the Lord says, you're being obedient, and you know you're going to get the victory.
16. But if you don't put a stop to discouraging thoughts by really resisting and fighting them and giving no place to them when you're first attacked with them, and if you yield to that discouragement, it's going to be a much greater battle and harder fight for you to pull out of it and get the victory. You may think it's really a big battle and tough fight just to resist and get rid of those initial feelings, but you'll find that if you don't fight discouragement or worry or fear initially, if you give the least place to it, it can then get a hold on you and gain a foothold in your life. The battle you have to fight in the beginning is nothing compared to the one you'll have later of trying to get out of deep discouragement once you've let yourself fall into it!
17. So when I tell you not to be discouraged, what I'm saying is to fight that discouragement from the beginning and don't yield to it! Of course, we can't help but have those negative thoughts sometimes, and we can't help but have those initial feelings of depression sometimes; they're feelings that we're bound to get. The Devil can just fire them at us sometimes through nothing we've done, through no fault of our own. The Devil is allowed to bring a feeling of discouragement or depression over us sometimes, but we do not have to accept it. We do not operate by feelings!
18. We go by fact, faith in the fact of God's Word! So what we need to do when the Enemy attacks us with those negative feelings is just fight it with the Word! Fight that oppression in the power of the Spirit with the Word of God, and don't let it overcome you! Don't give in to it! Don't say, "Oh, well, I guess it's because I've blown it, I've done something wrong, so I deserve to feel discouraged." Forget it! God damn the Devil!
19. Of course we've done wrong things, of course we've made mistakes! So what?! Don't allow that discouragement! That discouragement is from the Devil, so fight it! Of course we're all wicked and sinful and full of faults! And if you've already made a mistake, you're just going to make things worse by getting discouraged over it! Two wrongs don't make a right, and it's certainly not going to help matters one bit for you to pile one wrong on top of another by allowing yourself to be lured into the Enemy's trap of discouragement!
20. So whenever you feel like, "Oh, I deserve to feel discouraged. After all, I must have blown it. In fact, I'm always blowing it, so I really deserve to feel discouraged, I deserve to feel condemned," rebuke it! You do not deserve to feel condemned and you don't deserve to feel discouraged! You're not to give in to those feelings! We walk by faith and not by sight, and not by feelings! (2Cor.5:7).
21. So I'm now telling you, do not be discouraged! And when you get that initial feeling of discouragement sometimes, you don't have to give in to it.--Just fight it from the beginning! As soon as you start to feel discouraged, as soon as you start to worry, just hit the Devil in the face with the Word and slam him back! Get on the attack and you'll put him on the run! Just don't give place to those feelings; they're of the Enemy! Anything negative like that is of the Enemy!
22. So maybe I should reword what I'm telling you a little more accurately and say, "Don't stay discouraged!" We can't really help but get some of those initial feelings sometimes, but we don't have to stay in that place, we don't have to give place to the Devil.
23. It's also good to remember that "One can chase a thousand, but two can put ten thousand to flight!" (Deut.32:30). Whenever you feel that you're getting hit with those initial feelings of discouragement, if you can't get the victory over them pretty quickly, within a few minutes or a few hours at the most, then you'd better go to some spiritually strong person and ask them to pray with you, to help you fight in prayer against that attack of the Enemy. This is something you should do any time you're discouraged. "Confess your faults (or trials and battles) one to another, and pray one for another that ye may be healed!" (Jam. 5:16).
Mama's Testimony of
Overcoming "Lying Vanities!"
24. The Lord let me go through that little time of discouragement the other night so I could better understand these kinds of battles. I just had to fight it with the Word; that was the only thing I could use. I couldn't reason it out and I couldn't even pray it out. I had to claim the Lord's Word. I just had to give it all over to the Lord and let Him take care of it. And when I woke up in the morning I felt so much better; all the load was gone and the discouragement was gone and all the pressure was gone.
25. I'd felt so pressured. They were feelings of pressure, feelings of discouragement that were really "lying vanities." It really wasn't so bad, I didn't have that much to do, I wasn't really that pressured! And actually, no matter how many things we have to do on our "to do" list, we don't ever need to feel pressured like that, because the Lord has said His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Mat.11:28-30). So that pressure and that discouragement are lying vanities. In our walk with the Lord, we don't have to get under pressure, we don't have to give in to discouragement.
26. Then I got that verse, "They that observe lying vanities (worthless or empty falsities) forsake their own mercy" (Jonah 2:8). If we look at the mountains of obstacles or problems that seem to be in our way, and we allow ourselves to believe that something is just too much, too big, we're allowing ourselves to get pressured through looking at these problems instead of looking at the Lord and His power. If we allow ourselves to get pressured like that, if we allow ourselves to get discouraged, we are observing lying vanities! And if we do that, it says we then "forsake our own mercies." In other words, we're forsaking the offer of the Lord's mercy and the Lord's help, the Lord's faith, the Lord's grace--which is all-sufficient, and the Lord's miraculous power that can free us from the Enemy's discouragement!
27. Dad has made it very clear in Letters like "My Yoke Is Easy" (ML #169) that the Lord never puts us under unbearable pressure, for His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Mat.11:28-30). But when others put us under pressure, either with unrealistic expectations or deadlines, or just too much work, that's another story.
28. People can go to the Lord and He will give them sufficient strength to bear the loads He has given them. They can also resist and be freed from any pressure that the Enemy might try to put them under. But when their leadership puts them under too much pressure, sad to say, there's often not a whole lot that they feel they can do about it.--Which is why we who are shepherds and leaders have to be very prayerful and careful to do our best to be sensitive to the needs and capabilities of those we are responsible for, so that we don't overpressure them or give anyone more than they can bear.
29. Of course, many times we ourselves are the ones who put unrealistic expectations or deadlines on ourselves, or take too much on our own shoulders. Whatever the case, if you ever do feel that you have been put under undue pressure in some way, then you should let your shepherds know about it, and try to find the Lord's solutions. "Let your requests be made known!" (Phil. 4:6). We are to "bear one another's burdens" (Gal.6:2), but when the burden seems too heavy, then it's not the Lord's yoke or burden, so you know that He has a solution.--Which He'll surely reveal to you if you pray and counsel together. Of course, once you've earnestly prayed and "cast your burden upon the Lord" (Psa.55:22), you may discover that even though a task or burden seemed much too heavy or difficult for you alone, that His grace is indeed sufficient for you, and His strength is made perfect in your weakness, and that He will give you the power, inspiration and solutions that truly lighten the previously heavy yoke and make it much easier for you to bear (2Cor.12:9).
Moving the Mountains!
30. When we turn away from looking at the Lord and we begin to look at circumstances and look at supposed problems, supposed mountains, then we can't even see the Lord any more because we're so busy looking at the mountains! When actually, the Lord says if you have your eyes on Him and have just a little tiny faith as a grain of mustard seed, you can say to the mountain "Be removed," and it will be cast into the sea! (Mark 11:23).
31. Looking to the Lord and His Word is what gives us that kind of faith. Then all of a sudden, the mountain is gone! When we're looking at the Lord we can't even see the mountain any more, and actually, it really isn't there! It was just "lying vanities" in the first place! "All things are possible to him that believeth" (Mark 9:23). "For with God, nothing shall be impossible!" (Luk.1:37). "According to your faith be it done unto you!" (Mat.9:29).
32. We live in a world of the spirit! We live in a miracle world! We live in the supernatural! So the obstacles and problems we encounter can't stop us; they don't even exist when we have the faith! In other words, there are no mountains in our way, nothing is in our way! We're God's supernatural children, we're filled with the Lord's Holy Spirit, we have Jesus and we're crucified with Him; nevertheless we live, yet not us, but Christ liveth within us! (Gal.2:20). And all power is given unto Him, and therefore unto us! (Mat.28:18). And He can make the mountains melt away, so that the things that be are as though they were not (Rom.4:17).
33. Most of the mountains in our lives are usually fears and worries and condemnations and discouragements and jobs that we think have to be done. But for us, fear should not even exist, worry should not even exist, it has no place in our lives! So when these kinds of mountains build up, they really are "lying vanities!" They shouldn't even exist, they shouldn't be there. They don't make any difference with the Lord. They're not real to the Lord, they're just the Devil's lies!
34. Of course, the pressing work we have to do, the urgent business and emergency situations that come up and must be tended to, these things are real, they are there and they are problems and they do need to be dealt with. But the pressure we feel because of them is something that shouldn't be there. We don't have to have that. Again, that is a lying vanity. Because the Lord says His yoke is easy and His burden is light, and if we leave it with Him, if we "cast all our cares upon Him," then how can we have any cares left? (Mat.11:28-30; 1Pet.5:7).
35. I'm reminded of the little song:
"Why should I be discouraged?
Why should the shadows come?
Why should my heart be lonely
And long for Heaven and Home?
"For Jesus is my portion
Unfailing Friend is He!
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me!
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me!
"I sing because I'm happy!
I sing because I'm free
For His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me!"
36. And there's another little song that goes:
"When your fears grow mountain high
And would block your pathway,
Wait, oh wait upon the Lord,
Believing while you pray.
"Then your eagle wings will grow,
Upward, upward, up you'll go!
Over, Hallelujah, over,
With the mountains far below!"
37. In other words, when you're looking from way way up above, down at the mountains, they just look like little specks, and that's what they really are. They're no longer obstacles, they're not even mountains any more. They don't present any problem to you any more when you've gone to the Lord in prayer, and when you've claimed His Word and His promises. It was just lying vanities that made them seem like such big mountains in the first place. So, praise the Lord! TYJ!
Love,
Mama
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family