DELAYED, NOT DENIED
Memorise: “But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul” (Hebrews 10:39)
Read: John 2:1-5
Pastor e. Adeboye
“Now the just shall live by faith. But if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul” (Hebrews 10:38-39).
Another mission of discouragement is to make you quit. Have you started something good for God’s Kingdom, yourself or family but have stopped? The Lord will strengthen you to continue in Jesus’ Name. God loses interest in quitters: that means, every quitter or discouraged person makes God want to throw up. The discouraged are loathsome, lukewarm or tasteless to God. It is dangerous to be located in discouragement!
Many backsliders went back because they were discouraged. The shame and disgust associated with a heinous vice like rape has made some of its victims, sometimes Christian sisters, to turn their back on God. Be encouraged beloved. Don’t give up!
Every arrow of discouragement shot into your life and working against your destiny and progress is coming out now in Jesus’ Name. Whatever happens, never be discouraged. In Luke 9:62, we learn that discouragement makes you unfit for Heaven. When discouragement lingers in your life, it robs you of Heaven. Reject, resist and cast out every spirit of discouragement assigned to you.
Cover yourself in the blood of Jesus. The just lives by faith. Discouragement robs you of every iota of faith and turns you into an unbeliever. According to Hebrews 11:6, without faith, it is impossible to please God. That means, whatever a discouraged believer does, cannot please God, because whatever is not of faith is sin (Romans 14:23).
That you have prayed several times without an answer does not mean your answer will not come. Delay is never denial. According to today’s reading, at the wedding in Cana of Galilee, the Lord initially refused to help after the wine ran out. But it was to allow them exhaust their abilities, and to test the patience of Mary.
After her persistence, the miracle came. If she had not persisted and expressed faith in His ability, water would not have turned to wine. God wants you to persist in your call.
Luke 18:1-7 says you ought to pray, or persist in that project until success is achieved. As long as the answer or breakthrough has not come, continue to persist. There is a place for delay in the Christian race. Don’t give up. You are not a quitter but a winner.
Delay is a heavenly tool for fine-turning Kingdom Citizens to remain within the divine mandate on earth and qualified for Heaven. Ask that delays will work in your favour.
