Message
In today’s Bible reading, the Israelites were murmuring and weeping, saying, “We want meat; we are tired of eating manna.” They had been murmuring consistently for 40 years, and Moses had been coping, but this time around, he told God, “I didn’t give birth to these people. Why are You asking me to carry their burden? Kill me because I’m tired of all this.” God replied, “Since you say the burden is too much, get me 70 men, and I’ll take of the spirit on you and put it on them.”
When you think about the fact that the anointing upon Moses was divided by 70, you’ll realise that the new Moses was less anointed than the previous one. Because of this, not long after that, in , the man God Himself described as the meekest man on the earth () erupted in anger. The anointing that had allowed him to cope for 40 years had been depleted due to his words during a time of discouragement. Discouragement can make people say things that would limit them in life and negatively impact their destiny.
Elijah also allowed his words in a time of discouragement to put an abrupt end to his ministry. After calling down fire on Mount Carmel, Jezebel threatened him, and he fled. He became so discouraged as he ran away that he asked God to kill him. Thankfully, God didn’t fulfil his wish; instead, He sent an angel to feed him (). Afterwards, however, He gave him his last assignment to anoint Jehu, Hazael, and Elisha, his replacement (). His ministry ended when he allowed discouragement to make him say the wrong things. John the Baptist also got so discouraged that he began to doubt everything he had earlier declared. He had declared concerning Jesus, “Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (). Yet, he was the same person who sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the One to come or should we look for another?” (). Not long after that, he was beheaded ().
Beloved, while you cannot stop discouraging circumstances from happening, you can choose how to respond to them. Like David, you can encourage yourself in the Lord, as seen in today’s memory verse. God is able to keep you from falling (). He is also able to give you a mighty turnaround, but you must put your trust in Him. He is more than able to see you through any discouraging circumstances that may come your way.