There’s an old fable that says the devil once held a sale and offered all the tools of his trade to anyone who would pay the price. They were spread out on a table and labeled: hatred, malice, envy, despair, sickness, sensuality – all too familiar weapons that we know well. But on one side lay a harmless-looking wooden instrument marked “discouragement”. It was old and worn, but was priced far above the rest. When questioned why, the devil replied, “Because I can use this one so much more easily than the others. No one knows it belongs to me. With it, I can open doors that are tightly bolted, and once I get inside I can use any tool that suits me best.”
We heard a powerful message on overcoming discouragement in our life and ministry at this year’s International G12 Conference in Bogota. The prophet Samuel was wallowing in deep discouragement as Saul, the man he anointed as King, turned out to be a man filled with pride and self-indulgence. Samuel had placed so much hope and expectation on King Saul to lead God’s people to spiritual greatness being the prophet who pronounced God’s judgement upon him. So when things went awry, Samuel fell into the pit of grief and discouragement.
In 1 Samuel 16:1 we read, “Now the Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.”
The Lord broke Samuel’s curse of discouragement with a powerful question: “How long will you mourn (or grief)?” In other words, “How long will you remain trapped in past discouragements?” Every servant of the Lord will face discouragement. Perhaps the people we serve disappoint us, or a leader whom we trained let us down by falling into sin or give up serving in the ministry. Maybe its our own cell members who grumble in spite of our patience and love towards them, even when they leave the cell or church. When such circumstances occur, we begin to lose faith in the Lord, in ourselves and in the Vision. Today, the Lord says to us, “How long will you mourn for this person, or stay discouraged?” Arise, go and raise another leader, and bless him or her with the anointing of the Holy Spirit. FCBC, we will continue to make disciples, and we will find our 12 and 144. May the anointing of the Lord be with you.
- Senior Pastor Lawrence Khong