THE ENEMY IS A LIAR
Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses: "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread." So the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD that He take away the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people. Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live." So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived. Numbers 21:4-9
The Lord says in Jeremiah 32:27, . "Behold, I am the Lord; the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?". . Our Almighty God is able to change any bitter situation in our life. So we are not to lose heart, no matter what negative situation we are facing. The enemy loves to use discouragement as a way of stopping God’s people from believing that God will do what He has promised to do. Discouragement makes God to be a liar in stating indirectly that He cannot do what He has said to do and is an attack of His character and integrity. And that is why the Lord gets upset by it. The bible records for our profit and instruction:
Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of livestock; and when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, that indeed the region was a place for livestock, the children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the leaders of the congregation, saying, "Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Shebam, Nebo, and Beon, "the country which the LORD defeated before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock." Therefore they said, "If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Do not take us over the Jordan." And Moses said to the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben: "Shall your brethren go to war while you sit here? "Now why will you discourage the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD has given them? "Thus your fathers did when I sent them away from Kadesh Barnea to see the land. "For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, so that they did not go into the land which the LORD had given them. "So the LORD'S anger was aroused on that day, and He swore an oath, saying, 'Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and above, shall see the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because they have not wholly followed Me, 'except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the LORD.' "So the LORD'S anger was aroused against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the LORD was gone. Numbers 32:1-13
Yes, discouragement, distress and defeat come from the devil, not God. God gives the total opposite of courage, joy, and victory because He wants His people to have the very best in all things. He tells His people, ‘Do not fear or be discouraged.’ His word is true:
"So we departed from Horeb, and went through all that great and terrible wilderness which you saw on the way to the mountains of the Amorites, as the LORD our God had commanded us. Then we came to Kadesh Barnea. "And I said to you, 'You have come to the mountains of the Amorites, which the LORD our God is giving us. 'Look, the LORD your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as the LORD God of your fathers has spoken to you; do not fear or be discouraged.' Deuteronomy 1:19-21
After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, it came to pass that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, saying: "Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them-the children of Israel. "Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. "From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. "No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. "Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. "Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:1-9
Yes God has given His people great and wonderful promises such as He has given to Joshua that are theirs if they will only believe and accept them for all that is in heaven and earth belongs to them as heirs of the kingdom, since it already belongs to Jesus. And hence it now belongs to them by faith! In times of trouble and discouragement we need to meditate and stand on the promises just like king David did. The bible records for our profit and instruction that he spoke to himself about God’s goodness:
Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance. O my God, my soul is cast down within me; Therefore I will remember You from the land of the Jordan, And from the heights of Hermon, From the Hill Mizar. Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; All Your waves and billows have gone over me. The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, And in the night His song shall be with me- A prayer to the God of my life. I will say to God my Rock, "Why have You forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?" As with a breaking of my bones, My enemies reproach me, While they say to me all day long, "Where is your God?" Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God. Psalm 42:5-11
Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God. Psalm 43:5
God is on our side and He wants the very best for us. He wants us to succeed and be prosperous but at the same time He needs to change or correct the things that are wrong in us that will cause harm to ourselves or to others. His word is unchanging:
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: "My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives." Hebrews 12:1-8
Yes, in all things we are to look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. We are to lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. We are to live and walk in love and let brotherly love continue. We are not to forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. We are to remember and visit those who are in prison and in hospitals since they are flesh and blood just like our selves. We are to remember that marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. We are to remember that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever and are not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. We are to continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. We are not to forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. We are to obey those who rule over us, and be submissive, for they watch out for our souls. We are to pray for others that God would make them complete in every good work to do His will, working in them what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ. We are to hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And we are to consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, God’s word is unchanging:
Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:19-25
"He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still." "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last." Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.
"I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star." And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. Revelation 22:11-17
WALTER KAMBULOW
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