This message is for you, if you haven’t found relief from the never-ending disappointment and discouragement that always seems to follow you in life, no matter how hard you have tried to escape it.
It is imperative that you recognize that you are not alone in this experience, even if what you perceive causes you to think otherwise.
Some people’s misery looks obvious to those around them, while other people’s misery is carried within, and not easily identified by outsiders. Either way, it is important to understand that you are not alone in your suffering.
The first question we hope to expose through this discussion, is whether you desire relief from the perpetual discouragement you have been experiencing in life up to this point, or not?
Without possessing a deep desire to be rid of the disappointment and discouragement you have felt, you will undoubtedly continue to experience the same outcome that you have endured until now.
On the other hand, if you are determined to experience life without the baggage of disappointment, then we invite you to enter into this discussion through an honest appraisal of yourself, to reveal what is at the heart of the disappointment and discouragement that you are facing.
We recognize that the face of disappointment and discouragement looks differently to each one of us, yet, at the heart lies the same emotional struggle that keeps us bound and enslaved, through a universal weakness in our flesh. This fleshly weakness is the stumbling block used against us by our adversary. Unfortunately, we tend to be so focused on the emotion that we fail to observe the trap we have fallen into, and therefore the inability to see ourselves out of the trap that has ensnared us.
You may be thinking that the disappointment and discouragement stems from those around you, but we would argue that it actually arises from within each of us, through a fleshly weakness towards Satan’s schemes, and a propensity to sin against God.
This is not just a you problem, but it is a universal problem facing God’s creation, in a fallen world under the weight of sin.
Just like the Israelites, who followed Moses out of captivity as Egyptian slaves, into the wilderness (Book of Exodus), we also, have been given the opportunity to trust God to lead us out of captivity in this world; as well as the sinful adoption of fleshly emotions that Satan entices us to experience through our flesh.
For the Israelites, they struggled with their fleshly appetite for control, and against their dependence on God to provide for their needs. Causing them to fall into Satan’s trap, through their emotions, which stemmed from a lack of faith for God to provide. This fleshly attitude resulted in their desire to return to captivity, as slaves in Egypt (since it offered consistency for the basic provisions they sought after) even if it cost them their freedom. These are the desires of the flesh that we are to surrender, once we commit ourselves to God, as our sustainer and provider. If we fail to surrender ourselves to him in this regard, we will fall prey to returning to our vomit repeatedly, and the captivity we were once enslaved to in our flesh.
“For freedom Christ has seen us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1, ESV, 2001, Crossway).
We are no different than the Israelites in this regard. Most of us would agree, that it does not take much suffering before we begin to complain. Our tendency to complain arises as we give opportunity for the trap to affect us. If we fail to observe the trap, then we will undoubtedly step into it and encounter the painful outcome attached to it, through our lack of spiritual discernment and observation for the weakness we are carrying in our flesh.
But, we do not possess the spiritual ability to safeguard our steps in our own strength, especially, if we are spiritually ignorant and lacking the necessary wisdom offered throughout God’s word.
Imagine yourself wearing dark sunglasses, intended to be worn for the brightest of sunny days. The benefit of those glasses will certainly keep your eyes protected from the intensity of the sun’s glare. But, choosing to wear those sunglasses into the darkness of night will prevent you from seeing what your eyes are attempting to observe, in safeguarding your steps.
If we fail to remove the sunglasses in our life, especially when we are already living in darkness, we will fail to observe what is necessary in our spiritual walk, and find ourselves stepping into Satan’s emotional trap set before us.
This struggle was never intended for you to bear alone, and is the reason that our Lord and Savior came to rescue us out from, through his death and resurrection, which has set us free, if we allow.
We recognize that some of you, have, and continue to experience unimaginable pain and suffering through the weakness found in your flesh. However, this suffering is the trap that Satan is using against you, when you walk alone and do not surrender it to him to carry.
For those choosing to keep their sunglasses on, darkness will prevail. But, for those who choose to remove them, the power of God’s light shining in the day and the night of your life will allow you to see, not only Satan’s traps, but also God’s path around them.
The light is God’s word, and it is through this light that you are able to see with clarity what God desires for your life; and that which sets you free from the bondage you are experiencing through disappointment and discouragement in your flesh.
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2Corinthians 3:17).
When we are living according to Jesus Christ, we enter into a new creation, and a new life, by surrendering our old self which was corrupted by sin.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away” (2Corinthians 5:17).
Our messy life, filled with disappointment, is a direct reflection of our own unstable walk with our Shepherd. The parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), and the parable of the Lost Sheep (Matthew 18:10-14), are reflections for us to observe in ourselves, of those who chose to walk away rather than remain close to their Father and Shepherd; and are at the center of our emotional struggles we experience in our lives. It is through our negligence in listening to God, and our disobedience to remain close to him, that keep us from being protected by the light he would otherwise illuminate around us, for us to see.
The question each of us must ask ourselves, is whether we desire to remain in the dark and continue in our life of disappointment and discouragement, as willing prisoners to Satan’s schemes; or to be set free, through a new life, as a new creation in Jesus Christ?
We can attest to the freedom offered through Jesus Christ, and the new life he provides to those who love him. But, there is personal responsibility for those who chose freedom, found in Christ, by removing the darkness through an acceptance of God’s light into your life.
We have been instructed to, “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them”. “But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible” (Ephesians 5:11 & 13).
There is a spiritual war taking place for your emotional and physical life on earth, as well as for your eternal life for your soul. Our earthly walk is a preparation for our eternal home. You will either remain confined to your prison cell or you will be set free, but it requires a decision from you either way.
For those that trust in Christ, they will seek to remain close to him, while being led through the wilderness, and guard themselves against the trap of emotional discouragement set by Satan. To do this well requires each of us to acknowledge our weakness in the flesh, as well as the strength offered through God’s word to sustain us. We must stay close to him and receive his light, by engaging with his word, and applying it to our lives each day. Recognizing that when we fail to do this we are gradually being led astray, to wonder away from our Shepherd, and once again falling prey to the traps set for us by our enemy.
For “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).
“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place–the Most High, who is my refuge–no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot. “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation” (Psalm 91).
We hope you will see the brightness of God’s light through his love and truth, found in his word; That you will find freedom from the bondage to your flesh, and the weakness from emotional traps set by your enemy, by allowing God’s light to penetrate the darkness that has kept you discouraged. Stay close to him, and fight for your freedom.
In Christ.
