The Temptation to Discouragement
T. L. Cuyler, D. D. Psalm 27:14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart: wait, I say, on the LORD. Among the whole legion of evil spirits that harass the Christian, there is none more mischievous than that dark-visaged demon called Discouragement. He tries to hamstring us just at the critical time when we need all our faculties and all our graces. If he can persuade us to give up, we are gone. History is never were of telling us of those resolute spirits who would not give up — of Disraeli's reply to the jeers of the British Parliament, "The time will come when you will be glad to hear me;" and of George Stephenson and Robert Fulton persisting with their experiments in the face of ridicule. But "the children of light" are not always as wise as "the children of this world" in carrying their point. All the more shame to us, because the man of the world has no special promise of the Divine help, and the child of God has. The one has to encourage himself in his own brain-power or his "pluck," but the other may encourage himself in the Lord his God. One thing we who enlist in the service of Christ must be assured of, and that is that our campaign is for life. Regeneration does not end the fight; it is only its beginning. Our arduous work will not be done until we have gained our crown. God sees that it is trot best that we should get to heaven before ourtime, and so he ordains that this life shall be one of perpetual conflict, temptation, trial, discipline. One of the most frequent temptations to discouragement arises from the want of apparent success in the best undertakings. Brave Dr. Judson preached in Burmah six years without a visible convert. After these six years of subsoiling and seeding came a steady crop of conversions, (T. L. Cuyler, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD. WEB: Wait for Yahweh. Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for Yahweh. By David.