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Daily Devotional – BATTLING DISCOURAGEMENT

By November 7, 2016Daily Devotionals

BATTLING DISCOURAGEMENT

Prayer: Lord, help us take a stand against Discouragement and dress and prepare us for this spiritual battle in our professional lives.

Scripture: Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”  Joshua 1:9  NIV

Discouragement, Murmuring, Gossip, Condemnation and Judgment are the names of the family of patron demons which love to inhabit and haunt the hearts and minds of educators. Praise God that Jesus is a ghost buster and that He dwells in us!

The most powerful of all these destructive spirits is Discouragement. Discouragement sometimes grabs ahold of the wick of our professional candles.  We may feel like we are being spiritually suffocated by the increased burden of responsibility, seemingly irrational decisions being made by those above us in authority, or the general atmosphere of godlessness where we work. We may serve severely troubled students or groups of students who are determined to steal our joy and discourage us.  Many educators are in the midst of these battles right now.

The Lord wants to speak to us right now as He spoke to Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord will be with you.” (Joshua 1:9) He wants to remind us, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

God is telling us, “Get spiritually dressed when you go to work. There is a battle going on and without inquiring of Me and letting Me lead, you are going to lose.  I made you a winner. Get spiritually dressed and start standing for me. In his youth King David had to stand and fight lions and bears to protect himself and his flock. Stand now and fight with the spiritual weapons I have given you.”

Reflection:  Am I discouraged right now in my professional life? What am I doing about it? When have I been the most discouraged in my professional life and how did I overcome this?

Getting Real:  When you get dressed each day for work, dress yourself in the armor of God in prayer. Inquire of God. Ask Him what to do to win the battle against Discouragement and then obey Him.

Copyright Don Clark. Email [email protected]