Don’t Be Discouraged

“I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.” – Ephesians 3:13

John W. Yates II tells the story of the Devil’s Tools:

“It was advertised that the Devil was putting up for sale all of his tools. On that date, the tools were laid out. They had prices marked on them for public inspection, and there were a lot of treacherous instruments: hatred, envy, jealousy, deceit, pride, lying, and so on. Laid, apart from the rest of the Devil’s tools, was a tool, but it was looking really worn more than any of the others and was priced very high. “What’s the name of this tool?” asked one of the customers.
“That,” the Devil replied, “is discouragement.”
“Why have you priced it so high?”
“Because discouragement is more useful to me than all the others. I can pry open and get inside a man’s heart with that when I cannot get near him with any other tools. It’s badly worn because I use it on almost everyone, since so few people know it belongs to me.”

Do not become discouraged during difficult times; the Lord is with you.

Do not let anything discourage your faith in Jesus.

“Too often, discouragement, depression, and disappointment grabs a hold of us with what seems like a death grip. This seems to happen even more after we commit to a consistent and deeper walk with the Lord.” – Troy Dewey

“Now if we are children, then we are heirs–heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” – Romans 8:17-18