133 Knocked Down but not Knocked Out!

I love what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:7-9, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. 8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.”

• The treasure that is spoken of in earthen vessels is the treasure of the knowledge of Jesus Christ. We are the earthen vessels; we may be imperfect; some might even say we are “cracked pots,” but the creator of this universe lives in us. Therefore, nothing is impossible with God, and by extension, nothing is impossible for those who are led by the Lord. 

• We may indeed go through hard times, that’s what the apostle Paul means when he says that “we are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed.” At times, we’ve been perplexed because we don’t know how God will perform what he has promised, but by faith, we trust and believe. Therefore, we will not become discouraged. In extreme cases, we may be knocked down, but we are not knocked out! In those extreme cases, we will choose to rise and not waver in our faith in Jesus, the one who has redeemed us and will deliver us! Remember, Jesus is the miracle worker, promise keeper, and anchor of our souls.

The Spiritual Battle

The apostle Paul was aware of the enemy of his soul, Satan, as each one of us needs to be. Even Jesus makes it clear that we have an enemy. In John 10, Jesus describes himself as the Good Shepherd who comes to give life and life more abundantly. At the same time, he describes the thief, and of course, the thief, in this case, is Satan. Jesus says in John 10:10, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Satan comes to steal your joy, kill God’s vision for your life and destroy your hope in Him.!

The Devil’s strategy

The strategy of the enemy is to undermine your faith in Jesus Christ. Remember, the “shield of faith” is your protection against the Devil. Satan wants to create doubt about what the Lord has promised, and he used the same tactic in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve (Genesis 3).

The importance of faith

Our salvation and every other promise found in the Bible is appropriated by faith. Every promise was provided to us because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross. Our faith is not in the promises but in the one who provides the promises, Jesus. In other words, our faith is not in faith itself but in Him!

The writer of Hebrews defines faith for us, Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hope in God’s promises is central to receiving from the Lord. Anything that undermines that hope is an attempt by the enemy to try and cause us to doubt the Lord and shatter our faith.

Faith in Jesus is so essential that it says in Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” The book of James tells us that no one should expect anything from God if they waver in faith and wallow in doubt.

Disappointment and Discouragement

These facts alone should make you aware of how Satan will try to undermine you- he will attack you in the area of your faith in the Lord! This is Satan’s strategy; I call it the two “D’s”, disappointment and discouragement.

1. Disappointment: the feeling of sadness or displeasure caused by the nonfulfillment of one’s hopes or expectations
2. Discouragement: feeling the loss of confidence or enthusiasm; to cause to lose hope.

Let’s look at each one of these:

Disappointment

Every day we are plagued and challenged to face obstacles and issues: at work, in our finances, in our health, raising children, in relationships, in marriage, or even controlling our mind and its negative thought patterns. Everyone is susceptible at times. Maybe a friend betrayed you in the past, or perhaps you are disappointed with the job that you excitedly embraced a year ago; it could be that someone may have walked out of your life forever, or a loved one may have been disappointed by sabotaging your expectations, or maybe even some of your finest long-term dream may have tumbled down and shattered irreversibly.

While everyone experiences disappointment in life, it is important to realize that it is an emotion and that emotion does not define you. It’s a feeling, and feelings come and go. The danger is not to recognize that the enemy of your soul is a liar, and he wants to drag you down to the next stage, and that is discouragement.

Discouragement

Discouragement means you are losing hope and beginning to not trust in the Lord! 

It is a ‘choice’ that we make in how to respond to disappointments, it’s in that battlefield of the mind that we must be aware of.

If we are feeling discouraged, then it means we have subconsciously decided to blame our disappointment on our circumstances and wallow in pity and negativity. It’s a choice! A deliberate choice. We can either choose to cave in and have a pity party by being discouraged or we can consciously and deliberately decide to shake that disappointment off turn to the Lord with joy and expectation.

The bottom line is we cannot do away with disappointments in life. However, we can shake off the negativity that comes with discouragement. We can shake off self-pity and worry and all the other accompanying disappointments that can afflict the human mind. As the Lord said to Joshua when he took over the leadership from Moses, “Be strong and courageous, or another way of saying it might be “be strong and don’t be discouraged!” Joshua maintained his courage by following hard after the Lord.

II. Discouragement differs from disappointment. When our expectations aren’t met, we feel disappointed, Whereas discouragement produces a  feeling of hopelessness. We can choose to remain without courage (discouraged) or determine to work through our feelings and overcome them. Remember, courage is not the absence of fear but taking action despite the fear!

III. The Causes of Discouragement

1. Inability to please others
2. Physical or verbal abuse
3. Unanswered prayer
4. Lack of proper recognition
5. Strongholds
6. Financial pressure
7. Health problems
8. Unexplained adversity
9. Feelings of worthlessness

IV. Blindness caused by Discouragement

1. Lies from Satan. He is an accuser and an opposer of God’s people. Fear, unbelief, bitterness, self-pity, and condemnation are all based on Satan’s lies.
2. Not recognizing that the battle is spiritual
   1. 2 Corinthians 10:4… We don’t wrestle with flesh and blood… READ
3. Not recognizing your weakness AND then not calling on Him!
   1. 2 Cor 12:9 “9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
4. Not maintaining your Spiritual Armor
   1. Ephesians 6:14-18… READ  
5. Specifically: Neglecting His Word!
   1. Putting down the shield of faith – “Faith comes by hearing…” Rhema and Logos
      1. When we lose sight of God’s ways or God’s resources in Christ, we remove our spiritual protection.
   1. Neglecting the Sword of the Spirit –
      1. When we are not reminded of His promises, we easily forget the truth and fall for the Devil’s lies.      

V. The Cure for Discouragement

1. Recognize pride in your life. Some put their trust in themselves and pursue relationships, accomplishments, or possessions instead of a relationship with the Lord.
2. Look within yourself. Ask the Holy Spirit, “Why am I discouraged?”
3. Look back. Don’t dwell on hurtful things in the past. Instead, think about God’s faithfulness to deliver you.
4. Look up. God has the authority, power, and ability to rescue you from harmful attitudes.
5. Look ahead. Focus on what the Lord is doing now in your life. Be encouraged by what He has planned for your future.

VI. Biblical examples of Discouragement

1. Rachel could not have children. One day, she burst out to her husband, Isaac, “Give me children, or else I die!”(Genesis 30:1). 
   1. Rachel’s discouragement came from her disappointment in a situation she had no power to change instead of trusting God to change the situation. 
2. When the Israelites heard that the Canaanites were giants and lived in fortified cities, they “lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night” (Numbers 14:1). 
   1. Their discouragement came from comparing a difficult situation to their resources instead of God’s resources.
3. When the Israelites traveled in the wilderness, the Bible says, “The soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way” (Numbers 21:4). 
   1. In this case, they were discouraged because they focused so much on their difficulties that they lost sight of God’s promises and provisions. 
4. After a major victory, Elijah fell into discouragement when Jezebel threatened his life. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” 3 And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.” (1 Kings 19:1-3)
   1. Elijah was physically and emotionally exhausted.
   1. Elijah took his eyes off the Lord and put them on his enemy.
5. David was about to be stoned by his own men when they were distressed about losing their wives and possessions. (Ziklag, 1 Samuel 30…)
   1. David’s low point came through experiencing rejection and misunderstanding from those he loved. 
   1. We have the good news that he didn’t yield to discouragement, but rather “David encouraged himself in the Lord his God” (1 Samuel 30:6). Following the Lord’s instruction David and his men were able to restore all of their families and possessions. 

In conclusion,

All of us experience disappointment when things don’t go the way we expect or want. The danger is in falling into discouragement for any length of time. It is in those moments of discouragement that we need to place our focus on Jesus our savior and deliverer. His promise is that He will never leave you nor forsake you. You are never alone because He is with you.