Do you want to learn the way to end periods of discouragement? It is also the way to move into the fullness of the Lord. For some time I have known that there is a connection between encouragement and activity; the people who are the most depressed are probably those who are the most idle. Have you ever noticed that after doing nothing for a few days you feel discouraged? There is always a connection between your activity and the mood that you maintain. When you become discouraged, counteract that with activity.
I learned early in this walk with God that I was not always able to break through into great victories of the Lord by spending long hours on my knees in prayer. Often I paced the floor, calling upon the Lord about situations which I knew had to change. I was often able to throw off frustration and discouragement by lifting weights. This vigorous physical activity always affected me, and it broke irrevocably the mood that had settled over me.
We are under demonic assault because we are in the conclusion of the battle of the ages. A final chapter of the Church age and the beginning chapter of the next age are being written. In this present conflict, naturally we will engage the enemy more frequently. At times the battles will be so persistent and bitter that the believer, human as he is, will not know how to draw on the grace of God to sustain himself. When weariness comes upon him to a point of deep discouragement, he must know how to alleviate it. Ephesians 2:10 emphasizes that we were created in Christ Jesus for good works. We must sense that the works which we are to enter into are the fulfillment of our destiny. They also are the means by which we break through in growth, into the walk of mature sonship.
It is necessary that worship and faith be in everything you do. These two elements cannot be separated, or the works will become so laborious and tedious that you will be discouraged. Likewise, if you do not work, you will be discouraged. There has to be this combination, so that you can enter into the labors that God sets before you with real faith. Do not regard them only as work; let them become an expression of your burden and faith for the prophets that God is raising up in this hour.
This vision for the school of prophets is very necessary. Let us be diligent to teach hungry men and women how to become efficient ministers of the Word of God. There must be more opportunities for them to come together for teaching and training. A thousand prophets will learn things that they never would know as quickly otherwise, because someone imparts to them, sets them on the path, and demands of them a dedication and discipline to the Lord’s service. This is the way they can come into maturity.
The Scripture teaches, “It is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth” (Lamentations 3:27). When someone has a true desire to walk on with God, we should not wait until he has a full revelation before we encourage him to combine the revelation he does have with diligent action. The diligent worker is never far from more spiritual breakthroughs. But the one who is slow to do the will of God is further from breakthroughs than he realizes, for he must first break through moods and other obstacles in order to become obedient. The lazy person is always tired; the person who does not tithe can never afford to.
Your capacity to do the will of God increases as you are in motion. You grow after you have reached your extremity, and you must reach out and snag the honeycomb in order to finish the day destroying Philistines (I Samuel 14). When you reach a point where weariness would overtake you, appropriate His rest. Do not be discouraged with work, or try to avoid or evade it. When you have worked to a point of discouragement, lift up your heart to the Lord and draw from Him something that you have never had before! When you expand your capacity to appropriate God in your need, you grow.
It is possible for every serious sickness to reach a crisis in which one either dies or recovers; yet the processes that normally are left to time can be bypassed by inducing the crisis. Similarly, you induce a spiritual crisis when you feel you have come to a place where you have nothing left to give; then your capacity for God increases the moment you must reach into Him for more grace. This does not mean exhausting yourself beyond your physical capabilities. However, there can be a consistent drive, day by day, which goes beyond what your mind believes is possible.
The book of Hebrews, more than any other book in the Bible except the book of Romans, deals with deep doctrines and teachings of the Scripture. It speaks of God’s promises and provisions which seemingly we can do little to bring about: the better sacrifice, the better covenant, the better sanctuary, better promises. However, intermingled with these are many fantastic passages which prod us to do the will of the Lord—not only to hear and accept a doctrine, but to act on it.
Chapters 3 and 4 of Hebrews tell us about the believer’s promise of entering into God’s rest. How do our works relate to the rest which God promises is to be ours? Take care, brethren, lest there should be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart, in falling away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ (we are to reach in and partake of Christ), if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end; while it is said, “Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as when they provoked Me.” For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they should not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? And so we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief. Hebrews 3:12–19.
Disobedience can come in two ways: A man is disobedient if he does what the Word says he should not do; but he is also disobedient if he does not do what God tells him to do. Because of some weakness of the flesh, you may do what God says you are not to do. But sometimes the more deadly disobedience is knowing the will of God, and yet not doing it. It is strictly unbelief, and the Scriptures label it as a type of disobedience. The children of Israel were disobedient because they did not do what God told them to do.
Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall through following the same example of disobedience. Hebrews 4:11. What example of disobedience? What did the children of Israel do wrong in the wilderness? It was not only what they did wrong, but also the fact that they did not do what they were supposed to do. They did not take the step of faith.
When you step out in faith to do the will of God with all your heart, the Lord will take you through testings. At the time, you may wonder why no one understands or appreciates your labors. You may think, “Other people are taking advantage of my good nature and willingness to work.” This seems to be true because every leader will lay a task upon the one who is willing and takes the initiative to do it. Of course a leader will take advantage of a willing heart. But I have noticed that God does too!
The man who has an “itch to preach” does not grow nearly as quickly as those who are determined to serve. Why? He may evade humble tasks in order to do the one thing he wants to do, the thing that makes him happy. Yet that is not the answer. The minister who is truly effective does not walk through life with his finger in his Bible, waiting to open it and preach. The sermons I receive which most greatly move the hearts of the people come while I am in motion. There are those who advocate the use of quiet meditation and introspection in order to hear from the Lord. Meditation is fine, but why not meditate after you receive a Word from the Lord?
Often God speaks as He did to Eleazar, while he was on the way with the camels to find a bride for Isaac. He said, “I being in the way, the Lord led me” (Genesis 24:27). He was moving. The best way to find the leading of the Lord is to be in motion. You will never see a traffic policeman directing parked cars. The cars in motion are the ones he directs. When we are in motion spiritually, the Spirit of the Lord is faithful to lead us in the right direction.
Do the will of the Lord. If no one gives you something to do, seek the Lord, and bother your leaders. Ask them to show you what you are to do in the will of the Lord. They might give you a tedious job, which will show you the kind of spirit that is in you. Before the day is over, God will have spoken to you about your spirit more than He could have if you had done nothing.
Without question, the people who are in motion are the ones whom God can lead into the next step. So pitch right in! Idleness destroys the spirit and the morale of people. Women who have nothing to do but call each other on the phone cause problems in a church. The families that are idle should be encouraged to get moving.
Another passage in Hebrews tells us how maturity comes. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for some one to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For every one who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. Hebrews 5:12–14.
Maturity does not just automatically happen. If you wait until you are fully developed and mature before you move, you will never do anything. Maturity comes from consistent exercise at every level. Can there be any growth without action upon a Word? Whenever you fail to act on the Word of God, you are in trouble.
You must do the will of the Lord. There may be things that you do not like in your church; but do not refuse to become involved because of them. Constantly train yourself to put aside the things that would cause your mind to stumble and perhaps even cause you to lose out with the Lord.
Instead, focus on doing the thing that you do understand. When you have a directive from the Lord to do something, obey it. Take an active step to follow His Word, and believe that God will accomplish His will perfectly through you.
For ground that drinks the rain which often falls upon it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned. But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way.
For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Hebrews 6:7–12.
Is there any fruitfulness apart from faith being exercised? You are to bring forth things that accompany (or go along with) salvation. God does not forget; He always holds in His mind the fact that you have ministered and do minister to His saints. When you go through hard places, all you have to do is get up, and go on and do the will of the Lord. There have been periods in my life in which I was experiencing things I could not understand. Yet they were times of great growth because I knew enough to seek the Lord for a Word and then preach it to the people. Sometimes I did not know fully how to apply it to my own heart, yet I did my best to lead the people in that Word. Thus I became more mature and learned how to apply the Word to myself.
A bond servant may not always understand every directive from the Lord, but he must obey them. Peter probably did not understand what Jesus was doing when He washed his feet (John 13:6). Embarrassed by it, he protested, “Oh no, never shall You wash my feet.” The Lord answered, “Then you have no part with Me.” Peter wanted to be willing: “Wash my head and feet, then!” Jesus told him, “No, just your feet.”
After Jesus had washed His disciples’ feet, He told them, “If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.” When you know the Word, do it. Your understanding may not be complete, but at least you understand enough to obey it. Act immediately; do not question it in your mind or heart. “If you know these things, happy are you if you do them.” If you don’t do them, a heaviness will rest upon your spirit. Heaviness can be destructive. Nehemiah 8:10 tells us that the joy of the Lord is our strength; so we must find a way to dump the heaviness and appropriate the joy. The joyful people are active people; they are continually moving in the will of the Lord. “Do not be sluggish,” the writer of Hebrews warns. “Show full diligence to the end.”
The book of Hebrews contains doctrines which are difficult to understand, but the author makes it clear to us that a doctrine works only when it is acted upon. Never read a Scripture without acting on it. Do not accept it only as a theory. For example, John 13:35 is a good, quotable text: “By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love one for another.” When you read that, do something about it. Determine to show your love, to show your discipleship.
Hebrews 8, 9, and 10 speak of the new covenant, the priesthood, and sacrifice. We read in chapter 10: And since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:21–23.
The rituals of the priesthood at the laver are symbols of our cleansing. After our hearts are sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies are washed with pure water, we leave the altar of burnt sacrifice and come into the holy place of the Lord. Imagine that we are standing then in that great holy place, with its table of shewbread and the candlesticks. Before us in the Holy of Holies is the altar of incense. Everything is beautiful. We have passed through the process of cleansing; now we can stand in the presence of the Lord. What profound Word will God speak to us in this holy, exalted, spiritual state? Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds (after reaching this high and lofty state, what are you to do? stimulate your brother to love and good deeds!), not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near. Hebrews 10:24–25.
But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, partly, by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. For you showed sympathy to the prisoners, and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and an abiding one.
Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. (Does this mean that if you hang on in faith and do not get discouraged, after a while it will work out? No, the reward is not based on what you hold to in your mind.) For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay. But My righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul. Hebrews 10:32–39. The promises are fulfilled when people believe them and act upon them. They are as obedient as they know how to be to what God tells them to do. Act upon the thing God sets before you! Walk in it with all of your heart!
It is amazing how the Scriptures, especially these in Hebrews, reveal marvelous truths and then nail it down to a practical application. Let love of the brethren continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body. Hebrews 13:1–3.
What a beautiful directive—“Do something; always reach out to help.” Although it is ego-satisfying to come up with a profound revelation, remember what I Corinthians 8:1 tells us: “Knowledge puffeth up.” Even spiritual revelation can make one arrogant. A young minister who comes into discernment and revelation must learn that he does not have to impress anyone. He is to cut through the folderol that would seem profound, and then minister something practical in such a way that the Lord is glorified. His focus is upon glorifying the Lord, not himself. Like a lighthouse set on a hill, he follows Matthew 5:16: “Let your light so shine before men that they will see your good works and glorify your Father.” The Father is to receive the glory.
Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing; for with such sacrifices God is pleased. Would you like to stand and worship God all day? I am in favor of people spending just as much time praising God with their mouths as they do working with their hands. Obey your leaders, and submit to them; for they keep watch over your souls, as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you. Hebrews 13:15–17.
The following verses contain one of the most profound benedictions in the Bible: Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Hebrews 13:20–21.
As we become dedicated to do His will, the doors of fruitfulness open in our lives. When we act on His Word, we trigger our faith. Sometimes you say, “I believed, therefore I moved.” At other times you move and then you come to believe.
Faith is both generated and increased by obedient action on a Word that God gives. You start out with a little faith, and as you go along and the battle gets rougher, you are tempted to say, “If I had known when I started that it was going to be this difficult, I might not have answered God’s call.” Think back. If you had known in advance what God was going to require of you, would you have been diligent to do His will? Of course, you do not want to go back now; but had you known then what you know now, you probably would not have done the will of God. You would have been too discouraged. When you started walking with God, He did not tell you all that eventually would be required of you, because you did not have enough faith then. As you went along, your faith was increased by obedience. Fruitfulness came by obedience. You moved out on what God said, and because you did the will of the Lord, you grew. Now you could not be persuaded to turn back.
But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. Hebrews 5:14. All skills are learned by doing. All spiritual abilities are developed, enhanced, and matured by your obedience. Acting on God’s Word causes your faith to grow and develop.
Do you want to be a man of God? Do you want to be a handmaiden of the Lord? Then go to work. Always work with a sense of what you are doing. It is not the number of ergs of energy expended that makes a son of God. Rather, when you set about in the Lord to do what He (or someone over you in the Lord) has commissioned you to do, your faith will be challenged, and it will be released. I know of no easier way for you to become a man or woman of God than to do the will of the Lord. God has set before us much to do, and as you enter into it your ministry will grow. You may be unaware of the change in yourself, but others will see it.
The people who fail are those who refuse to serve. It is not the ones with a “preacher’s itch” who really make the ministry. The ones who succeed are those who present themselves as living sacrifices, willing to do anything. We open our hearts to help one another. There can be no self-seeking. We are becoming servants of one another. Our desire is not for a place or for security, but simply for an opportunity to serve. We are learning the way into the fullness of God.