This is another opportune time to encourage ourselves in the Lord. A lot of things are happening in this world that is difficult to understand. Many are distressed, frustrated and discouraged with their lives including unbelievers and Christians alike. Discouragement is the opposite of encouragement. The church is the family of God on earth and Jesus Christ is the Head of God's family. As believers, we are all related as brethren through Jesus Christ. John 20:17. So, the church should serve as a rallying point for encouragement in the Lord. Every believer has a role to play in encouraging one another. Just as it is in a family, there are elders and youths and babies but everyone plays his or her own role to support one another, likewise in the church, we all have a role to play in encouraging and supporting one another. The elders have the experience and wisdom while the youths have the vibrancy and energy to get things done. They all complement one another even as the babies need protection and milk to survive and grow. Be an encourager, don't be a discourager.
From the Bible verse above, David had become a liability to the people he was leading, due to the calamity that befell him and his followers, the people had lost hope in him and they were even planning to kill him and do away with him . The people thought David was a liability but David did not allow their thinking to define him. David knew he was an asset. David knew he carried something from God. David was aware of God's anointing and covenant upon his life. Though it looked like everything had been lost, their wives, children, money, properties etc but David reminded himself of the Lord his God who is the Creator of the entire universe. Psalm 89:20-22. I don't know how bad your situation may be looking now but I want you to know that God is able to turn that situation around for your good. Over that matter you are going through, what do you see around you? Which kind of people are you surrounded by? Are you surrounded by people that have lost hope in you, who look down on you thinking that you are down and finished. I want you to be aware that God is with you and as long as God is with you, you are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ our Lord. As Christians, we are not fighting for victory; we are fighting from a position of victory. Our victory has been predetermined already in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:37
David knew that the issue was a spiritual matter whereas his followers were focusing on the physical realm, wailing and apportioning blames. David understood that the enemy was only out to frustrate him and derail his destiny but he decided he was never going to allow the enemy to succeed in discouraging him from God even when it looked like all had been lost. What have you lost? What has the enemy robbed you of that wants to discourage you from God? This is not the time to blame yourself or allow yourself to be discouraged. Instead of blaming yourself for your past mistakes, wrong decisions and associations, it is time to encourage yourself in the Lord. Instead of looking backwards, it is time to look forward by the word of God. This is the time to look inwards and find a reason to trust God over the matter. If you look very well, you will surely find a reason to trust in God and His word. Despite everything that had been lost, David found a reason to encourage himself even when there was nobody around to encourage him. One of the reasons why many Christians are discouraged is because they cannot find a reason to continue to trust in God. When they look around, all they can see are trials and challenges but they fail to look closely into their lives to see the amazing things that God has already done for them. It's like the story of the widow in 2Kings 4:1-7, the widow could only see the problems in our life as she cried to the prophet. She believed that she had nothing at home, in her life. She saw the small jar of oil in her house as nothing. But even that small oil she had, who gave it to her? It’s God that gave her that little oil but she was not appreciating it until that moment before the prophet. She did not experience the miraculous power of God until she recognized and appreciated what God had already given her or deposited into her life. The oil will not flow until you appreciate the Giver of the oil. She had the oil inside her house but she was discouraged and lamenting. Many of us are carrying something from God but we despise what we carry. We see it as nothing. God is waiting for you to look inwards and appreciate what He has done in your life no matter how little it may look to you. Appreciate God for what He’s done, for where you are presently, appreciate God. Stop lamenting and complaining. God has a purpose for depositing that little gift inside you. Learn to appreciate that little gift from God and see it grow big. You need to look inward and start to discover and appreciate what God has positioned into your life. There is something God has deposited in you though people around you may not recognize it. There's something glorious which you carry. You need to discover it and start to appreciate God for it. David knew he carried something on that day though the people around him could not see it. Peter knew he carried something when he boldly declared in Acts 3:6 " Silver and gold I have none, but such I have I give to you, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk" Peter understood that even if he did not have any money to give to the lame man, he had something more special than money which is the name of Jesus Christ. The reason why the name of Jesus Christ is special is because Jesus Christ is alive. Only the name of the living carries power. When officers come in the name of a living king, there is power but there’s no power in the name of a dead king.
Encourage yourself knowing that you have Jesus in your life. If you have everything and don’t have Jesus, then you don’t have anything. You are lost. But if you don’t have anything but have Jesus, rejoice and be encouraged in your salvation in Christ. Saul, before his conversion thought he had everything in life but he did not have Christ in his life. He was from a noble Jewish family, he was well educated, he was religious and he persecuted the church thinking he was fighting for God but all those things came to nothing after Paul received Christ into his life. Philippians 3:7. Everything he thought he had gained in this world, Paul counted them as loss for Christ.
No wonder Paul said forgetting those things that are behind, he presses forward towards the mark of the prize of his calling in Christ. That is the challenge before me and you today. Are you looking back at past mistakes, disappointments, relationships or other worldly things or are you pressing forward in Christ.
Thank you for reading
I love you all 💙 💙 💙