“Though the root thereof wax old..yet through the scent of water it will bud..” (Job 14:8-9). 

Discouragement is engaging in the right things, but receiving little or no meaningful results. It’s one of the devil’s tools to make you feel bad about yourself, to hinder your advancement and stop you from being successful in life. Everyone is a victim of this evil spirit and it cuts across all cadres of life endeavours. A baby learning to walk, talk and engage in other developmental stages of life will encounter this challenge. Everyone in academic clime at one stage or the other will have to overcome this spirit before graduation. At workplaces, home front and ministry, discouragement stir at our faces and seldomly, we chart the easiest route of escape when the ‘heat’ is too much. 

Prophet Elijah with all his anointing found himself in this cloud in I Kings 18:22, Paul the Apostle in II Tim 4:16 had this experience; likewise we have a lot of contemporary Christians whose live is at the lowest ebb now because it’s as if: ‘we have done all, but there’s no improvement’. Job’s case study is an encouragement to many who are facing this challenge today. You may be contemplating giving up because you have no more strength to continue or tempted to query the essence of your existence but if God can cause a drying tree to be revived, how much more will He bring glory out of your circumstance? (Is. 43:18-19; Job 14:8-9) 

You can ameliorate negative impact of discouragement by celebrating your wins, getting closer to God, by taking time to see your situation with two lenses, forming relationship with people who can assist you to identify great things you’ve achieved in life will be beneficial to your soul. Absolute faith in God always brings out the best from messy cases. 

The below hymn is also to encourage you: 

‘Oh, weary pilgrim lift your head

For joy cometh in the morning

For God is his own word hath said

That joy cometh in the morning

Chrs: Joy cometh in the morning/2ce

Weeping may endure for a night

But joy cometh in the morning’. 

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