Remove The Poisonous Darts Of Discouragement

KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Chapters: Ezra 4-6
Message: Remove The Poisonous Darts Of Discouragement

Hello My Friend,

Discouragement, To extinguish the courage of; to dishearten; to depress the spirits; to deject; to deprive of confidence. I swear, they were not kidding when they came up with the definition of discouragement, my goodness, we certainly do lost our confidence. It seems like the second you set out to do something, those poisonous darts of discouragement are thrown at you to try and stop you. How many times do we give up on something cause we have gotten discouraged, even convincing yourself that it was some crazy idea God never intended? Discouragement is the biggest tactic of the devil to get us to quit, it is right up there with distorting our image of ourselves. We can overcome discouragement, and we can pick where we started, we just cannot do it without Christ. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” - Philippians 4:13.

“I can do all things through Christ!”, that is what the mind says, but with every dart of discouragement thrown at you the heart starts to say, “I cannot do this!”. We all get discouraged, the most confident person can be stopped in their tracks by one dart of discouragement. We can learn to overcome discouragement and get back to do what God intended for us to do through Ezra. When Ezra and the Jews left Babylon to help rebuild Jerusalem they got off to a great start, the foundation of the temple was laid, and they rejoiced that God made it all possible. When the leaders of the land got wind that they were rebuilding the temple they did everything to discourage them, including send a letter to king Darius to stop the work at once, and for a time it did.

“The letter which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read before me. And I commanded, and search hath been made, and it is found that this city of old time hath made insurrection against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made therein. There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, which have ruled over all countries beyond the river; and toll, tribute, and custom, was paid unto them. Give ye now commandment to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not builded, until another commandment shall be given from me. Take heed now that ye fail not to do this: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings? Now when the copy of king Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power. Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.” - Ezra 4:18-24.

“Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem.” The world, and honestly, many Christians can put a halt to anything we do, especially if God’s hand is in it. We can turn discouragement around and even regain that confidence to keep going by giving it all to Jesus. When your heart slows down, sing to Jesus, He will get it pumping again. When your spirit is lifeless, praise Jesus, He will liven it. When you give up, cry to Jesus, He will give you hope again. When your courage is gone, read the words of Jesus, He will encourage You. “Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh. Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.” - Luke 6:21-23.

Now, after a while, and with some encouragement from the prophets, the people realized it was more important to follow what God says than them. They sent a letter to the new king, Cyrus, and got back to work in the mean time. When asked why they we continuing the work after being told to stop, they gave the answer we all need to give when being told to stop.

“Be it known unto the king, that we went into the province of Judea, to the house of the great God, which is builded with great stones, and timber is laid in the walls, and this work goeth fast on, and prospereth in their hands. Then asked we those elders, and said unto them thus, Who commanded you to build this house, and to make up these walls? We asked their names also, to certify thee, that we might write the names of the men that were the chief of them. And thus they returned us answer, saying, We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and build the house that was builded these many years ago, which a great king of Israel builded and set up. But after that our fathers had provoked the God of heaven unto wrath, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house, and carried the people away into Babylon. Now therefore, if it seem good to the king, let there be search made in the king's treasure house, which is there at Babylon, whether it be so, that a decree was made of Cyrus the king to build this house of God at Jerusalem, and let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter.” - Ezra 5:8-12,17.

“We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth,” While we are subject to complying with the laws of man, we must remember, that if it goes against the word of God, we have a right to challenge the matter. God will fight for us, remember, it is His battle, not ours. When God calls us to do something, we must do it, of course, we are going to get obstacles, but we must not let them discourage us. Now, keep in mind that God will never tell us to do something that goes against His word. As someone who teaches the word of God and serves Him as a missionary, the devil is always trying to stop me, even using me to discourage me. We must realize that when we set out to do something for God, even if it is getting a new job or finding a godly spouse, the devil is going to try to discourage us. Remind him that we are the servants of the God of heaven and earth and get back to work. “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,” - Ephesians 1:18,19.

Now, we when get discouraged and drum up the little bit of strength we to keep going, that is when God shows up. The king not only returned a message saying they could continue rebuilding the temple, they told them not to hinder them, and give them everything they needed to get the work done. “Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in his place. Moreover I make a decree what ye shall do to the elders of these Jews for the building of this house of God: that of the king's goods, even of the tribute beyond the river, forthwith expenses be given unto these men, that they be not hindered. And that which they have need of, both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs, for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the appointment of the priests which are at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail: That they may offer sacrifices of sweet savours unto the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons. Also I have made a decree, that whosoever shall alter this word, let timber be pulled down from his house, and being set up, let him be hanged thereon; and let his house be made a dunghill for this. And the God that hath caused his name to dwell there destroy all kings and people, that shall put to their hand to alter and to destroy this house of God which is at Jerusalem. I Darius have made a decree; let it be done with speed.” - Ezra 6:7-12.

“let it be given them day by day without fail:” You know, something amazing happens when we remove those poisonous darts, God blesses us. Just this morning God reminded me while I was reprimanding myself for what seemed like a wasted year (last year) that I was the one who hindered myself. You see, I am a natural born creator, I love to make things that people enjoy, but when a creation of my was broekn my heart broke. Instead of picking up the pieces, I left them there and started doing other things to try and compensate. While God always provides without fail, He never intended for me to just do anything, He wanted me to pick up those pieces and give them to Him, and do what He intended for me to do. Often, the devil does not have to go far to throw those poisonous darts, in fact, he can go right into our heart and pull them out, as that poison seeps through us. Discouragement can destroy us, and it does take valuable life away, but God has something for us to heal us, grace. In the midst of the broken heart, spirit, body, and soul, God’s grace is all we need to remove those poisonous darts. “Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” - James 4:5,6.

Jesus Christ Revealed: Today, Jesus is revealed through the great stones used in building the temple (5:8). Jesus Christ is the lively Stone which the builders refused and He has become the Cornerstone of our faith. “If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,” - 1 Peter 2:3,4.

Today's Prayer: God, It is so easy to allow the poisonous darts of discouragement take hold of us and take the life out of us. Lord, You are our hope, You are our ointment that heals the broken heart, mind, soul, spirit, and body. I will not let people or circumstances discourage me from doing what You call me to do, I am going to walk by faith with hope knowing that You are with me and that Your grace is enough for me. Lord, give me Your power of grace, fill me and mend all the broken pieces. When the devil starts to throw those darts or rips into my heart and tries to pull them out, stengthen me and pull me away from his grip. I can do all things through Christ for He us my strength. In the name of Jesus, I ask these things, Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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