A Wail for the Discouraged

Call for the Wailing Women: A Wail for The Discouraged

There will be no Wailing Women Workshop for this month. Instead, we will support the Church Of God In Christ 111^th Holy Convocation

One of the great tools the Enemy has in his arsenal is not a physical weapon at all; it’s discouragement. If he can get you to become discouraged, he has accomplished a great feat. Discouragement can make you lose your purpose and zest for life. It makes even the simple things in life tedious and mundane. It becomes the whisper inside that won’t allow you to think about the good things about your life, but rather all the failures and regrets.

Discouragement and disappointment are normal emotions we all experience even as Christians, and they can sometimes debilitate and get the best of us. The Bible speaks of some people who experienced discouragement. Job is a notable one. With all the terrible life circumstances that accosted him all at once, one can understand why he became extremely discouraged. Job’s wife and friends, while they meant to try to help, seemed to make it worse for him. They did not understand what he was going through or how to help him.

David is another person who found himself discouraged when his wives and children were taken prisoners from Ziglag. Having his comrades turn against him probably made him feel worse. He undoubtedly was already blaming himself for all their misfortunes and having them remind him of it just increased his frustration. But, David is to be commended because he decided to “encourage himself in the Lord.” He decided not to give in to his feelings of failure. He collected himself, prayed to the Lord for an answer to his dilemma, and quickly acted to regain what he once had.

When we fall into a state of discouragement, we may begin to feel that no one understands our plight or has ever experienced what we are going through. We may even feel distant from God and others. We tend to isolate ourselves as to not infect others with our ill feelings. When we hear the Word of Lord it seems foreign to us and we cannot seem to connect with it because we don’t feel that it applies to us. It’s like there is another voice inside your head rebutting everything good in your life. It will recount to you everything that has gone wrong in your life and you find no contentment in anything you do.

In my Christian walk I have found myself many times in this state. It is something that I must continually fight against. Discouragement will eat away at your faith. This is why the Bible says that you have to fight for your faith (1 Timothy 6:12). The toils of life can give harsh blows to your faith which lead to discouragement. When you are discouraged it is easy for doubt to set in. The good news is that although this is one of the Enemy’s tools, the Lord has given us several tools to combat discouragement. Prayer, scriptures, and loving friends and family members that encourage us and pray for us until encouragement is able to rebuild itself back in us are some of those tools.

This month let us take up a wailing for the discouraged. We cannot allow them to fall into that emotional abyss. We will pray and fast on their behalf until discouragement is broken in them and they are reminded of how precious they are to us and most of all the God. Let’s continue to let them know that we love them and need them in our lives!