DISCOURAGEMENT
The tempter came to him…
Matthew 4:3
The story goes that Satan decided to
retire and held a closeout sale. Tables were lined up as far as the
eye could see displaying the weapons he’d used to destroy the lives
of untold billions. People were amazed to see so many ‘tools’
for sale. Each had a tag with its name and sale price:
malice-$100;
division-$150; strife-$200; envy-$250; jealousy-$450; greed-$500;
deceit-$550; lust-$750; lies-$780…there
seemed to be no end of the evil he had perpetrated.
In the center of the auditorium was one
‘tool’ all by itself; a small, wedge-shaped item. It was
priced much higher than any of the other tools.
When asked why it was priced so much
higher than the other tools, Satan replied, “That is the one I used
most. When I could not penetrate their defenses with any other tool I
used it. That one tool ruined more lives than all the others
combined. With it I only needed to find the smallest of cracks…a
light tap and its work was done. Once it accomplished its work I was
able to use other tools to reap total destruction!” The people
stared at the tool in awe!
The tag read, DISCOURAGEMENT-$10,000!
†
Discouragement is to sin what marijuana
is to heroin. It is the gateway by which Satan gains entrance into
our lives. He whispers, “This situation is bleak and hopeless.”,
and hundreds of other lies in an attempt to drive us deeper into
our misery. If we give him a toehold he will go for a foothold. If
successful, he next invites us to allow him to set up a stronghold,
followed by a fortress. But the operative words are, attempt,
invites, give, and allow. In other words, he cannot
succeed unless we help him.
Failure and disappointments are
inevitable. Discouragement is an option. As today’s text plainly
reveals, Satan can only tempt us to cooperate because he does
not have the authority to do otherwise; Jesus took that back on
Calvary.
When things don’t go the way we
expected or planned we are momentarily open to the enemy’s lies.
It’s up to us, like it was with Jesus, to close that door.
Prayer
“Holy Spirit, when the
tempter comes help me resist his efforts. Lift me out of discouraging
situations, and help me rise above them. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”
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