I know often times in life things don’t work out exactly how we wanted them to; our plans don’t pan out the way we expected. In those times, it is easy to get discouraged and easy to give up, but I want to urge you to not give up. Disappointment does not equal failure. Hearing a “no” does not mean you will never hear “yes”. If you give up now, you forfeit your promise. The enemy wants to steal, kill, and destroy. He wants to steal your joy and your hope. He wants to kill your dreams and passions. He wants to destroy the purpose God has for you. The enemy wants nothing more than to see you discouraged. To discourage means to dissuade or hinder; to deprive courage or confidence.  The enemy wants to take away your confidence in your purpose. He doesn’t want to see you fulfill the things God has destined for you. Just as he met Jesus in the wilderness to try to persuade Jesus that He didn’t need to fulfill the will of God after Jesus fasted for 40 days, the enemy wants to persuade you to not fulfill the will of God as well. He doesn’t want you to reach your promise land. He wants you to see closed doors as missed opportunities, not as provisions of God. He wants you to think you aren’t good enough, like you can’t fulfill your purpose, and that you don’t have the experience or resources needed to succeed. He will do anything to get you to quit. Discouragement is one of his tactics to get you to quit and unfortunately, a lot of us fall for it. But the good news is, we don’t have to.

Just as Jesus overcame the enemy’s tactics, so can we. All we have to do is fight back with the Word of God. That means we must first KNOW the Word and have it in our hearts. I would encourage you to memorize, study, and meditate on Scripture. It is the sword we use to fight back the enemy.

Knowing the Word of God also helps strengthen our faith and our confidence. There are thousands of promises in the Bible that still stand for us today and the Word of the Lord does not return void. If we remember these promises, we won’t believe the lies of the enemy when he tries to discourage us. God has promised you a future and a hope. His plans for you are good and not harmful. Don’t let your faith waiver because of your circumstances. Stand firm on the Word of God. Fight the enemy back. You already have the victory. You just have to believe it!

I pray this encouraged you. When you feel discouraged, pray. If you don’t know the words to say, just say Jesus. He will give you peace. He is the ultimate encourager. He will lift you up.

xoxo Disa B.