Nobody is immuned against discouragement in life; it is something that can happen to anybody but what is important is your attitude and reaction to people and God in the moments of discouragement. Your persistence will weary your resistance. If you refuse to give up, you will go up in life. Anyone who will fulfill his or her God-given mandate, dream, vision or project must learn how to overcome the spirit of discouragement. 

The enemy uses disappointment, failure or defeat, dispiritedness, distraction, oppression, depression, disconnection and frustration to sidetrack believers. And once these combined friends of the enemy get hold of you, then your spiritual car will slow down completely to a total disillusion and abandonment or retirement! 

Discouragement is usually defined as lack of courage, a state of mind which is marked by fear of failure and loss of hope. Discouragement is one of the powerful weapons commonly used by the devil to keep the children of God from fulfilling their purpose. Discouragement is failure to live by faith because it usually leads to doubt, and inability to view circumstances around us from divine perspective. Discouragement is therefore a sinful state of mind that is unable to adjust to disappointments and unfavorable circumstances in line with the Word of God and promises. 

Read these scriptures: 1 Samuel 30:1-8; John 14:1, 2 Timothy 1:6-7, Proverbs 24:10 

In the above scripture in 1 Samuel 30: 1-8, we see David and his men riding into Ziklag, filled with excitement at the thought of seeing their loved ones again. And, getting close to Ziklag to realize that some calamity has befallen the city, they were shocked and grieved to see that their loved ones have been taken away and their property burnt down. 

And suddenly, the joy and excitement they came back with disappeared. The peaceful atmosphere was broken, and the spirit of discouragement has taken over. Read 1 Kings 19: 1-10; 2 Kings 1. Nobody is immuned to discouragement but we fight to overcome it daily. 2 Timothy 1:7. Even the great prophet Elijah had to run away from a woman called Jezebel after calling fire from heaven.  

And Elijah was even seeking for death to take him rather than facing Jezebel. In 1 Kings 2, He had called fire from heaven and captains and their soldiers died. But discouragement came to him because he was a man. 

WHAT IS DISCOURAGEMENT?

-Discouragement is a loss of confidence or enthusiasm and a temporary setback.

– It is a state or condition of losing some desired goal or expectation. 

-Discouragement is an attempt to prevent something by showing disapproval or creating difficulties.

– Discouragement is one of the weapons of the enemy to distract you from what God wants to do in your life. And once you are discouraged, you will lose your original focus and begin to focus on temporary issues.

-Discouragement reduces a person’s confidence in his or her own belief or waters down the faith of the person (dilutes).

– It can reduce your speed, productivity and the release of your destiny potential in life and make you are mediocre. 

– Discouragement can kill the discouraged if care is not taken to stop it very fast. 

– Discouragement is the weapon of the devil and his cohort in these last days to short circuit or dwarf the purpose of God in the lives of children of God if care is not taken to stop it. Read Ephesians 6:12: 

I want you to know that discouragement is a spiritual battle whether you see it or not, believe it or not. Human courage, good intentions and emotions alone cannot fight the spirit of discouragement. You need the help of the Holy Spirit to overcome it. Some of the commonest forms of dispiritedness manifest: Grief, negative confession, self-pity, resignation, confusion, fearing, wrong thoughts and lack of ability to fight or begin again (Begin again). 

The period of discouragement reveals the strength or weakness of a person (Proverbs 24:10).  It is the way you handle dispiritedness that will determine whether you will come out of it or not! There are characters in the Bible who I cherish their courage in the midst of their discouragement times …

This text is an extract from the book “ SPIRITUAL PREGNANCY AND HOW TO GIVE BIRTH ” written by Victor Charles OKAFOR.
We invite you to read the following article “SPIRITUAL MATERNITY WARD“.