Pray & Change

Matt.5:^43-44 (ERV) “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies. Pray for those who treat you badly.”

Schedule your leisure, practice encouragement, bask in encouragement and pray for the source of your discouragement. I actually enjoy doing this. As it is popularly said, hurting people hurt people.I say to God, ‘Lord please heal this person’s hurt that is making him or her act like an idiot.’ Do you really pray that? Well as comic relief, sometimes I do. I say, ‘Lord this person is behaving like an idiot just heal his or her pain so that he or she can go.’ When I pray for others it changes me. When I pray for the source of my discouragement it changes me, it changes my heart.

The fifth way to limit discouragement is to change from internal to eternal. I go from ‘it is all about me’ to ‘it is all about God’. Most of the times when I get discouraged, mostly I am thinking it is about me and that becomes a source of discouragement. But when I understand that it is all about God, I am not discouraged. If you check, most of the time, we are discouraged because we think it is about us. I say to my colleagues, before you come to the office, stand in front of the mirror and say to yourself ten times – it is not about me! Then you can come to the office. It is not about me. It is all about Jesus. It is not about you. It is all about Jesus. Tell yourself that, then head to the office and you would be fine. You would not be discouraged.

When challenges come your way; when people talk to you anyhow, when people behave obnoxiously, you know it is not about you. But it is all about Jesus. And because it is about Jesus, it really doesn’t matter because it is going to work out for your good at the end of the day. Because it is all about Jesus, it really doesn’t matter what you face and what you go through. It is going to work for your good.

Joel 2:^{8 &11} (Voice) “…Together—they are unstoppable as they break through the defences and do not break off the attack. The Eternal One shouts commands from the front line of His army….” Didier Drogba and Jamal Blackman were both UEFA Champion league champions. They both got the gold medal. They were both on that team in 2012 that won, in the penalty shootout. One sat on the bench from the beginning of the league to the end. His hand did not touch the ball except during training. And one scored the decider goal that buried the opponents. And at the end of the day, they both got the gold medal. What I am saying is simple, if you are a child of God you are on the winning team. It does not matter how discouraged you are, it is all about Jesus!

Prayer: Jesus, in my life, let it always only be all about You, in Jesus Name. Amen!