Break That Chain
When you read the psalms of King David, whom God called "a man after His own heart," you know that David was susceptible to discouragement. If you read Psalm 43, he begins to talk about his overwhelming feelings of oppression and rejection, about all the problems he was facing and his sense of mourning. But then you see a sudden transition in his prayer. It's as though he stops in his tracks, turns around, and begins to challenge that discouraging voice. He challenges those negative situations with eyes that begin to focus on God dwelling on His holy mountain, the God who is David's "joy and delight." He says, "Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad?" Then he declares, "I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again—my Savior and my God!"
I believe that David is showing us that any of us can go down the road of discouragement through negative self-talk, and it will hold us prisoners if we let it take us captive. The only way you can break that chain is to begin to believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is your Savior and God, your joy and delight, and to give Him praise and worship.
As was true for David, the enemy will try to distract you from what God says about you. He wants you to hear what other people are saying and to be dictated to by your circumstances. "Hey, your bills are piling up! Your finances are running low." The enemy wants you to say, "God, look! I'm poor!" But God says, "Let the weak say, 'I am strong'" (Joel 3:10). Why? Because it's a principle that's been established by God! What you confess out of your mouth and what you believe in your heart will supersize your power! It will plug you into the greatness of God!
Ephesians 3:20 says, "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us." It doesn't say, "According to God's power or according to if God is happy with me." It says, "According to what I release and increase on the inside of me." You can walk in great power, you can overcome every obstacle, you can climb every mountain, and you can get out of every valley. You don't have to be discouraged or defeated. You're not a victim. You're a victor because God lives on the inside of you!
I believe that David is showing us that any of us can go down the road of discouragement through negative self-talk, and it will hold us prisoners if we let it take us captive. The only way you can break that chain is to begin to believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is your Savior and God, your joy and delight, and to give Him praise and worship.
As was true for David, the enemy will try to distract you from what God says about you. He wants you to hear what other people are saying and to be dictated to by your circumstances. "Hey, your bills are piling up! Your finances are running low." The enemy wants you to say, "God, look! I'm poor!" But God says, "Let the weak say, 'I am strong'" (Joel 3:10). Why? Because it's a principle that's been established by God! What you confess out of your mouth and what you believe in your heart will supersize your power! It will plug you into the greatness of God!
Ephesians 3:20 says, "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us." It doesn't say, "According to God's power or according to if God is happy with me." It says, "According to what I release and increase on the inside of me." You can walk in great power, you can overcome every obstacle, you can climb every mountain, and you can get out of every valley. You don't have to be discouraged or defeated. You're not a victim. You're a victor because God lives on the inside of you!