Breaking The Chains Biblical Recovery Ministry

Do Not Be Discourged

“The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you;

He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

(Deuteronomy 31:8)

Right before the Israelites were to cross the Jordan into the promised land, Moses spoke to the Israelites and informed them that he was old and was informed by the Lord that he was not going to cross the Jordan with them. Instead the Lord was going to cross over ahead of them and destroy the nations so the Israelites could possess the land. Joshua was also to cross over ahead of them as well and he summoned Joshua in front of all the Israelites and gave him the following message:

Deuteronomy 31:7-8

"Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the LORD swore to their forefathers to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

Moses knew that Joshua and the Israelites would come across many obstacles and situations while securing the land that the Lord was giving them and gave words of encouragement to Joshua and the Israelites. Moses knew they would come across enemies that would not want to give up their land easily and would put up a fight to keep it. They would learn what happens when one person is disobedient to the Lord’s commands and how it affects all of them causing the Lord to turn away from helping them which in turn causes some of their men to die in battle. Only when the person was removed amongst them and the Lord’s commands obeyed did the Lord continue helping them. Joshua experiences what happens when he does not go before the Lord with everything and therefore is deceived by strangers. All of this and more can bring discouragement not only to the people but to their leader, Joshua, as well.

When the Lord sets us free from our addictions and issues, he gives us commands and rules to follow to help keep us safe so we don’t fall back into the hands of our adversary, Satan, and become bound again. All we have to do is follow these commands and God will go before us fighting our enemies (addictions, temptations, people, Satan, etc). Our job is to stand firm on the foundation of Christ and defend our freedom through the word of God and prayer. This means we must be in constant contact with God on a daily basis and bring all things to him…concerns, problems, decisions, etc. He will then guide us in the right direction. But many times as we go through the desert and into the land of prosperity, we are faced with many obstacles by our adversary that may cause us to become discouraged. Sometimes it seems like no matter which way we turn there is an obstacle in our path and we are unable to move forward. This may cause us to think “what’s the use, I might as well just give up” or “This is just too hard, God isn’t helping me”.

Be careful not to allow discouragement to set in because this is exactly what the enemy wants…to make us think he is more powerful and that we can’t succeed. How many times have you tried to become free from your problems only to have them face you over and over again? How many times have you set out to do a ministry or something for the kingdom in helping other people and you are faced with one obstacle after another which brings discouragement and leaving you wanting to just give up? Has there been a time where you had received exactly what you prayed for only not to feel the joy that should come with it because yet another problem arises? These and more are all ways the enemy tries to cause discouragement in our lives, stealing our joy.

We have to remember we serve a great and powerful God, we just have to believe and trust in him. The enemy likes to deceive us and what is deception? Trickery. He is very good at tricking us into seeing things a certain way causing us to feel discouraged in our recovery and work for God. The word of God states:

John 8:32

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

When you begin to come across obstacles in every direction, go to God even before discouragement sets in and ask him to expose the lies and reveal the truth of the situation. First ask God to show you if there is any sin in your life that is causing the obstacles to be in your path. If not, then target your prayers asking God to remove the obstacles in your path. Trust in God to help you move forward and he will do just as he did with Joshua and many others in the Bible…he will go before you, clearing the path and then help you defeat the obstacles that try to jump in the way.

Isaiah 41:10

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

 copyright ©2010 Breaking The Chains Biblical Recovery Ministry