How to Prevail in the Battles of Life

Today we will meditate on how to prevail in the battles of life while still drawing insights from the passage below. Specifically, we shall dwell on the value of self-motivation in achieving success.

So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from there the ark of the covenant of the LORD…And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. And when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth shook. Now when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, “What does the sound of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” Then they understood that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp. So the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp!” And they said, “Woe to us! For such a thing has never happened before…Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness. Be strong and conduct yourselves like men, you Philistines, that you do not become servants of the Hebrews…Conduct yourselves like men, and fight!” So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and every man fled to his tent. There was a very great slaughter, and there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. – 1 Samuel 4:1-11

The third lesson derived from the passage above, which will form the basis of our meditation today, is that self-motivation is required to prevail in the battles of life.

If the Philistines had given up and withdrawn from the battle after hearing that the Ark was brought into the Israelites’ camp – especially considering the terrible things they had heard that God did to the Egyptians and those who dared to cross the Israelites’ path – then they wouldn’t have known that they could, in fact, win that war. They would have fled and never got to savour the victory that was awaiting them.

But they encouraged themselves to go ahead and fight, despite the odds; and they won the battle.

Therefore, it is usually not what is happening on the other side that determines the outcome of a matter. Oftentimes, it is what is happening at your side that does. What are you telling yourself? Are you psyching yourself up for the challenge or talking yourself out of contention? What are you doing? How are you preparing? These are what really matter and determine the result you get in most cases.

The Philistines decided to damn the consequences and braced themselves to fight anyway rather than bail out. And, much to their own surprise as well, they routed and defeated the Israelites who seemingly looked favoured to carry the day. You never can tell what you can do or how far you can go until you try. And to try at all, you need to motivate yourself in the face of many discouragements.

You will succeed in Jesus' Name!

Unanswered Letters: A Lesson on Handling Discouragement

 

This is a true story that teaches us a lesson about how to handle discouragement.

There are many times when we begin a certain task that God lays on our hearts and because we think our efforts are minimal or, perhaps, we are not making a difference, we quit the assignment that God told us to pursue.

The enemy loves to plant seeds of doubt in our mind and lure us into thinking that we are not capable of making a difference in this world. But with God’s help, we can overcome and fulfil our destiny.

If you are going through a situation of doubting the relevance of your efforts unto the Lord, perhaps this story will encourage you to never quit what God has laid on your heart because you may never know the lives you are touching.

There was a man who was involved in a tragic accident. He lost both legs and his left arm and only a finger and thumb remained on the right hand. But he still possessed a brilliant mind, enriched with good education and broadened with world travel.

At first, he thought there was nothing he could do but remain a helpless sufferer. Then a thought came to him. It was always nice to receive letters, but why not write them? He could still use his right hand with some difficulty. But to whom could he write? Was there anyone shut-in and incapacitated like he was who could be encouraged by his letters? He thought of men in prison – they did have some hope of release, whereas he had none – but it was worth a try.

He wrote to a Christian organization concerned with prison ministry. He was told that his letters could not be answered because it was against prison rules, but he still decided to commence this one-sided correspondence. He wrote twice a week, and it taxed his strength to the limit. But he poured his whole soul into the letters – all his experience, all his faith, all his wit, and all his Christian optimism.

Frequently he felt discouraged and was tempted to give it all up. But it was his one remaining activity, and he resolved to continue as long as he could. At last, he got a letter. It was very short and was written on prison stationery by the officer whose duty it was to censor the mail.

All it said was: “Please write on the best paper you can afford. Your letters are passed from cell to cell till they literally fall to pieces.”

No matter what your situation may be like, you still have the ability to encourage someone who is discouraged and lift up someone who is feeling low. Take this story as an encouragement to give your all for someone else and not worry about the results. No good work will go unseen and only God really knows the impact your life can have on someone else.

Let us not do our good works so that we may be praised, but let us do good works so that others may be lifted up and God be praised because of our intervention. The only thing that we can take with us into eternity is what we have done for the Lord. There are no bank accounts in heaven to show how much your net worth was on the earth, but there will be accounts in heaven of what you did to show your life as an example in leading others to Him.

— Author Unknown

Meditation: But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good. – 2 Thessalonians 3:13

You will succeed in Jesus' Name!