1 Corinthians 16:9 For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.
Paul here is telling the Corinthians that a door had been opened to him, but inside that door there were adversaries who were not going to allow him to enter easily or do what he had prayed to do.
Sometimes we tend to think that if God is opening a door, if God is in this, then everything is going to work out for us. We assume we will not have difficulties or that we will have no anxiety and no failures. But what we have to understand is that since the pages of Scripture to this day, God's plan for His people has always involved facing giants, when one has wanted to do things right for God.
Deuteronomy 9:1-3 Hear, O Israel: Thou art to pass over Jordan this day, to go in to possess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fenced up to heaven, (giant cities) A people great and tall, the children of the Anakims, (giant people) whom thou knowest, and of whom thou hast heard say, Who can stand before the children of Anak! Understand therefore this day, that the LORD thy God is he which goeth over before thee; as a consuming fire he shall destroy them, and he shall bring them down before thy face: so shalt thou drive them out, and destroy them quickly, as the LORD hath said unto thee. (giant God)
But today I have good news: just as there will always be giants who will RESIST us doing things for God, God is also with us to HELP us defeat those giants! And although the giants represent a legitimate threat to each of our lives, they don’t to God! God is greater than the greatest of the giants that we may face.
1 Kings 19:1-8 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time. And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee. And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.
Today's devotional comes from what Elijah was facing in his own life. In the previous chapter he had won a great victory, defeating 450 false prophets and turning the heart of the people back towards God—but now here we see him battling the giant of discouragement. All we have to do is read how Elijah expresses himself, to know that he is struggling with discouragement. If you want to find out how someone is doing, just hear him speak. It doesn't take much in the various sentences Elijah says to let us know that he is bummed.
The very definition of discouragement describes someone being without breath, without desire, and without effort. What a great giant discouragement is! Someone has said that discouragement is no respecter of persons.
Discouragement can come to us at any time, and none of us are exempt from facing discouragement. Discouragement can paralyze our faith and cloud our focus. Many today live discouraged with life in general. Suicide is said to rank high on the list as the leading cause of death, especially among young people. Parents get discouraged with their children, and children get discouraged with their parents. Husbands and wives get discouraged with their marriages.
But while the giant of discouragement is something very serious in the lives of the children of God, discouragement has never destroyed anyone—only those who have listened to it, like Elijah. Discouragement can be used as the devil's tool to drive us to despair. It is said that one day, Satan organized a Yard Sale, wanting to get rid of several of his tools that he had used throughout history. There were tools such as envy, deception, malice, sensuality, enmity, thoughtlessness, and many other tools that Satan had used successfully at very low prices. But of all the tools, he had one piece marked at a higher price than all the others: this was the tool of discouragement. "So,” one interested and intrigued person asked, “why do you ask more for this tool than the others?" “Well,” said the Old Tempter, "this tool has always been the most useful to me. If you look closely, you will see that it is more worn than the others, since this has always served as a wedge to put anything I want into the minds of men, when all other means have failed me.”
The Tempter went on, “I have been able to use this tool on practically every human being.
1. I keep them from their walk with God, in order to successfully destroy them.
2. Once I stop them from walking with God, I discourage them from serving God.
3. Then I put in them other desires that make their flesh happy, such as money, material things, the pleasure of the world, and so many others, until I see that Christian ruined.
Only those who fight me and hold onto God, realizing where He has led them, have I not been able to destroy. But I will wait for the day when I can destroy them.” If there is one thing we must be careful about today, it is discouragement. What can we learn from how God helped Elijah to defeat the giant of discouragement and thus continue being faithful to the Lord?
#1 God sent spiritual help/motivational help (personal encouragement).
I Kings 19:5 And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.
The first thing God did after Elijah ran away, was send an angel to feed him and encourage him. When you are discouraged, you do not need to walk away, you do not need to disappear. What you need is to get together with people who have the courage to help you get back on your feet.
Revelation 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.
The angel was an encourager, a spiritual man, a pastor.
Ephesians 4:11-14 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
God has sent you a pastor for this: to encourage you and to help you in discouraged times.
Romans 15:1 We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
2 Timothy 4:5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
#2 God provided food to encourage spiritual strength (spiritual mood).
1 Kings 19:6 And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.
As someone once said, you are only as strong as your walk with God.
Jeremiah 15:16 Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.
#3 God sent Elijah back to Lord's house (the encouragement to serve).
1 Kings 19:8 And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.
In the end, God strengthened Elijah so that he would once again be enchanted be consumed with the things of God. Some Christians are discouraged because they want to be. If God's help is the church, then serving God should be something we naturally want to do.
Nehemiah 8:10 Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.
Psalm 73:17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.
The fact that we don't get involved means we are discouraged. And as long as we do not get involved in God's work we will continue to be discourage.
I have seen this in many believers who return to church still discouraged, without wanting to get involved, which only hinders them from coming out of their discouragement.
What’s the message today?
1. Listen to the Encourager God has sent you.
2. Learn to feed yourself with God’s Word.
3. Get back and serve God in His ministry.
