Recently, I was flicking through Facebook when I saw a photo of a friend. She was pictured doing exactly what I had been believing to achieve for years.
Although I was genuinely delighted for her, I felt deeply discouraged. It made me feel like a fool: “I bet she never cut out pictures and put them in her dream book!” (Yes, that’s right, I did and I have the book to prove it!)
Her success made me doubt myself. I wondered why I was always falling short of my hopes and expectations. I got into the presence of God and started to pray, telling the Lord how I felt.
The spin doctor
Almost immediately, I felt a check in my spirit: I was listening to the lies of the spin doctor. The devil whispers worthless fabrications into our ears. He spins the stories of our circumstances to paint a gloomy picture.
The Holy Spirit reminded me that God shows no partiality (Acts 10:34). What He does for one, He will gladly do for another. The very picture that God showed me to encourage me, the devil used to drag me down.
As I sat in His presence I apologised. I had allowed myself to be deceived by the devil and pulled into a state of discouragement. So I started to encourage myself in the Lord instead.
Do it again!
I declared boldly, “Father, you are always faithful! Thank you for my sister’s great success. I rejoice with her. And I see it as a sign that my breakthrough is around the corner.”
In the Hebrew, the root meaning of the word testify is actually “do it again!” We are instructed to tell other people when God is good to us because it creates an atmosphere for more miracles.
Every time a brother or sister shares their glory story, after we have celebrated their miracle, we can respond to God, “Do it again Lord!”
Faithful Father
I don’t know how long you have been waiting for God to fulfil His promises. Maybe things have happened around you that have discouraged you. Perhaps satan the spin doctor has been warping the story.
Remember, although Abraham waited 25 years, he became the father of faith and had his son. Despite suffering terribly for 13 years, Joseph’s dreams came to pass and he was promoted to Prime Minister.
Don’t let the enemy tell tales about you your circumstances. While you are praying and believing, God is at work behind the scenes setting the stage for your success.
We deal with discouragement at Healed for Life. Along with other issues like insecurity, identity, regret and guilt, God takes us on a journey to restoration and new happiness. Find out about the next conference near you.
