Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. Matthew 24:28.
“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22:31.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God says:
Today I want to talk with you about discouragement. Discouragement will render you unfruitful and keep you from doing the work I have given you to do to fulfill your destiny. The joy of the LORD is your strength.
When you are joyful you are strong. When you are discouraged you are weak. A strong spirit sustains a man through trials but a depressed spirit dries up the bones.
I want you to be aware of the tactics of the devil for although he is a defeated foe (so he is not strong), he is crafty and his tactics are subtle.
One of the primary ways Satan attempts to stop your destiny and to destroy your effectiveness for My Kingdom is to tempt you to discouragement.
Never tolerate discouragement. Get rid of it the minute it rears its ugly head in your life. You can reject discouragement. You will only be discouraged if you yield to it.
The only way to effectively fight discouragement and root it out of your life is by My Word, the Sword of the Spirit. My Sprit on you and in you and My Word in your mouth and your heart.
You resist it by talking faith instead of discouragement. By focusing on Me instead of your problems and seeing Me as a problem solver. Nothing is too hard for Me. Nothing is impossible for Me. And all things are possible to those who believe. I will never leave you or forsake you and I will make all things work out good for those who love Me and are working for My purposes. I have an assignment for you, a life of good deeds prepared in advance and I will see to it that you accomplish it if you will just keep going in faith, which brings peace, hope, and trust.
Discouragement is a lack of encouragement about the future. It is a loss of hope, that is, a loss of joyful, confident expectation of good things to come.
What generally causes discouragement? Things do not go the way you thought they should go and suddenly you feel lost. But remember that it is through faith and patience that you inherit the promises. You need to put up your shield of faith.
Discouragement makes you weak. It makes you a broken person—unable to forge ahead because you see nothing to go ahead for.
The devil wants to sift you as wheat. Sifting wheat forces it through a sieve and breaks it into pieces. He wants to break and shatter your life so that you cannot do your Kingdom assignment.
The devil tried it with Peter. But My Son had prayed for him that his faith would not fail.
Discouragement happens when you feel everything is over. But you do not know what is just around the corner! My plans for you are peace and prosperity, not disaster and woe, a future filled with hope. Never let your faith in My Word fail.
Peter never thought he would, but he denied My Son. When he realized what he had done, he became discouraged, a weak and shattered man that thought his future was over, that wept bitterly and wished he were dead. He believed Jesus was gone, that he had failed Him when He needed Peter most, and that he would be fleeing for his own life. He had denied Jesus, something he never envisioned himself doing. He was disappointed in himself and his future held nothing in his sight.
That was the way it looked but he did not know yet what was just around the corner—the resurrection of My Son and His appearance to Peter, walking with Jesus as the risen Lord for forty days, and then Pentecost Sunday, but that was only the beginning of Peter’s own ministry that would be filled with miracles and power. That he who had denied Me in fear three times around a fire in a courtyard at midnight to a few servants would be preaching to thousands of people on Pentecost Sunday and see the fruit of his preaching convert 3,000 people that day! That Peter would witness boldly before the priests and Pharisees, be thrown in jail, and an angel get him out! No, the book of Acts had not been written yet so he did not know what his future held.
But My Son had prayed for Peter that his faith would not fail. And it did not. And it is faith that will get you out of discouragement and keep you moving forward with joy. Knowing that it may look like everything is over, but if you have faith, it is only just beginning the glory. I am very good at getting you out of the pit. And how do I do it? I send My Word to heal you and deliver you out of your pit.
And before closing, I want to explain a Scripture that applies here that you may have found hard to understand. It is this “where the carcass is there do the vultures gather.” My Son said that once in the context of the endtimes to His disciples but I am applying it here to discouragement and depression.
When you yield to discouragement and depression, you give up your dreams and your hope. They die. A carcass is dead. No life. Joy and hope are gone. It is around this that the demons (vultures are predators that eat dead things) to finish the work of demolishing your dreams and shattering you until all that is left is a few dry bones.
Depression, discouragement, darkness, sadness, no hope—around these the devil and his demons gather. Like the vulture they devour dead matter. To eat up all that had life.
If your light is darkness, how deep will the darkness be! Do not peer into the dark (discouragement) but rather look into the light (joy). For in My light, you see light.
I love to give light. “Let there be light” are My first Words in the Bible. Let the sun of righteousness with its healing rays rise in your hearts to dispel the darkness of night. Keep your eyes fixed on the light, as a lamp in a dark place, until the morning star rises in your hearts and you come to perfect day. That is faith.
Jesus is the light of the world. He is My Word made flesh. Keep your eyes on Jesus and keep running to your high calling in Him. Forget what lies behind and do not let any hurdle stop you. With My help you leap over a wall!
Countless servants and friends of Mine have faced trials that looked insurmountable to them– like all was over and done with no hope of any future—and, through faith in My goodness and patience (staying consistently constant in times of trial) have come out victorious. Remember David at Ziklag? That was the worst day he had ever had, all looked over and lost, he felt forsaken and alone, but then He remembered Me and that I had always been faithful, and he encouraged himself in My Word (faith) and realized I was bigger than any problem no matter how insurmountable it appeared. And he asked Me what to do. I told him to go after the enemy and recover all. He did and not only recovered all but got more than he had before, which he then shared with others. His worst day became one of the best days of his life. So do not get discouraged, I will do the same for you. But you have a part too, just as David did. He spoke in faith and encouraged himself! He refused to yield to discouragement. You can do the same.
And look at My dear Mary, the mother of the Word made flesh. She had a Word from Me and yet Joseph wanted to divorce her and she was about to be a public scandal with the possible punishment of being stoned to death. She could have given in to discouragement, but she did not. She did nothing but praise Me for the mighty wonderful work I had given her and was doing in her. She knew I would watch over My Word to perform it. And she was right. My angel spoke to Joseph and then I took her out of Nazareth for a number of years. When she returned with Joseph and the child Jesus after their sojourn in Egypt, no one remembered about it.
Never take your own life out of despair. Your miracle is just around the corner. Wait for the vision, keep running with it, it will not disappoint even if there seems to be delay. Judas made a terrible mistake. He failed to understand My mercy and the glorious future that was still possible for him. The vultures devoured him. Peter and he responded very differently to discouragement. Keep going forward in faith and you will not be disappointed.
Submit to Me (faith), resist the devil, and he will take flight. Give the vultures nothing to gather around. No dead dreams, no dead visions, no dead hope.
My Word is a light to your path and a lamp to your feet. It is sweeter than honey dripping from the comb. It is life to all who find it and health to all your flesh. Use the sword of the Spirit and the shield of faith. I have given them to you.
I love you. Be strong, be courageous, and be of good cheer! The joy of the Lord is your strength. Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. Vultures eat dead things. Choose life that you and your descendants may live. Never yield to discouragement and depression. Your miracle is just around the corner. Do not miss it!