“Then the Lord said to Joshua, ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged. Take all your fighting men and attack Ai, for I have given you the king of Ai, his people, his town and his land. You will destroy them as you destroyed Jericho and its king.” (Joshua 8:1 NLT)
When are you most likely to be discouraged? It’s ironic, but many of us are most likely to get discouraged after some kind of high point or spiritual victory. Sounds crazy, but that’s how Satan works.
In the chapters preceding the verse above, Joshua and the army of Israel had annihilated the city of Jericho after following the Lord’s instructions, but in the very next battle they got badly beaten by a much smaller army. But why? Because they’d disobeyed the Lord’s directives!
That seems to be a pattern in our lives as well. We have a mountain top experience, then, because we’re feeling spiritually “invincible” we cut corners. “I don’t need my devotions today, the Lord is feeling so close,” or “I think I’ll go out with my lost friends rather than attend church, so I can witness to them,” never stopping to consider, that’s the time we’re MOST vulnerable to Satan’s attack.
The hours after our “defeat” are critical. Like Joshua, we’re feeling powerless and exposed to the enemy. We wonder about our fitness to fight the army we’re facing, but thankfully, the Lord knows exactly how we feel, why we feel that way, and what needs to happen to put us back on track.
The Lord gave Joshua a strategy for winning the battle with the same army that had beaten them so soundly just hours earlier. I believe the Lord does a similar thing for us. Discouragement is a master at debilitating us and causing us to believe, not only that we’ll lose the battle, but we should actually run in the opposite direction before the battle begins.
The Lord’s strategy was to hold back a portion of the Israelites army, by letting them hide from the enemy in the back of the city, while the other portion of their army feigned fear and fled before the attacking army as their enemy left their city vulnerable, thus allowing the rest of the Israelites to attack and capture the city with relative ease.
What’s the lesson for us? First, defeating discouragement is a “team” effort. Alone we are too at risk of doing something stupid. Our feelings are not trustworthy, but ironically, sound most believable in our weakened state. The reality is, God will supply the right person(s) to walk with us through our “battle,” but it may not be who we would normally go to, or who might normally make themselves available to help us. Why would the Lord do that?
Largely because we’re not the only ones who need to see a victory in our lives. Though the whole army of Israel didn’t personally experience the defeat firsthand, they all experienced low morale and a weakened desire to put themselves at risk for another defeat. That’s why God’s strategy, whatever that may look like in our case, needs to be followed to the letter.
In a community of faith, we rarely fall or fail without our brothers and sisters feeling our pain. In any healthy family there are those who know us well and willingly offer to walk with us through our season of discouragement. The kicker is, too often we’re not in a place where we’re smart enough to accept their help. That’s why we can’t trust our feelings when we’re discouraged.
After many bouts with discouragement the Lord has given me three rules of thumb: first, don’t trust your feelings, second, don’t allow yourself to isolate, and third, stick to God’s plan. You need friends and loved ones to walk with you. Entrust yourself to the Lord and a faithful few you can trust with whatever you’re feeling and whatever is causing you to feel that way.
God always has a strategy if you’re willing to see it and follow it without giving up!
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 