Discourager. This Giant Discourager is a true giant, of pure Anakim
blood, and he is in the habit of accompanying Mistake. And so it was
that every time I met Mistake, old Giant Discourager was with him. Giant
Discourager beat me unmercifully nearly every time I met Mistake. He
would flog me within an inch of my life and throw me down so bruised and
bleeding that I almost wished I was dead [1 Kings 19:9-18]. It was only
when I made a blunder that Mistake and Discourager beat me; but as I
made these nearly every day, my life grew very miserable. I was about
to conclude that Canaan-land had lost all its milk and honey; for I had
not found very much of either yet.
"It got so that I anticipated the approach of these giants, and they
never disappointed my anticipations. Giant Discourager would call me all
kinds of names, such as a sinner, a perfect failure, a no-good, a weakling,
a coward. And he would tell me, 'You have no faith,' 'You never will get
a home in Canaan,' 'You will be cast out at last,' and many such like
things would he say to me.
"When in my very worst battle with Mistake and Discourager, old Giant
Despair came around to see me [1 Kings 19:4]. He claimed that by my
repeated failures he had the right to possession of my soul, and he said
he was going to carry me to his dungeon and club me to death, just as
he almost did Bunyan's pilgrim, Christian. This frightened me nearly to
death.
"In the very extremity of this bitter battle, an angel of Immanuel, named
Solicitude, came to my side one day and said, 'I will teach you how to
tame Giant Mistake and how to put Giant Discourager to flight.'
"'Oh, do tell me!' I cried.
"'Well, here is your shield of faith. Take it and hold it up. Quit
dragging it around in the dust behind you. Here is your sword of the
Spirit, get it in your right hand and use it. That is what it is for.
It is not for a mere ornament, nor a mere appendage, as you have made
it. Use it. Pull the girdle of truth up a notch or two, tie your gospel
shoes on tighter. Press the helmet of salvation upon your brow. And when
the giants come, fight [Ephesians 6:10-17; 2 Corinthians 6:3-10, 7:5-7].
"'And, really, so far as Giant Mistake is concerned,' the angel Solicitude
went on to say, 'he is not a true giant. There is no Anakim blood in
him. He is a Gibeonite; all you need to do to him is to conquer him, and
he will be your servant. You can never get entirely rid of him even in
Canaan; but by tactful management he can be of some service to you
[Hebrews 12:5-11]. But Giant Discourager--you must win over him; for
he has slain many a poor pilgrim, and waits to slay you.'
"I thanked Immanuel for sending Solicitude to tell me the secret of
warfare and how to handle Mistake and Discourager. And it was even so.
I made my blunders as usual, and Mistake and Discourager came falling
down upon me. I ignored Mistake. But I gripped my sword, held up the
shield, and made for Discourager, giving him a terrible blow over the
head. He challenged me there, and broke forth at me in awful epithets;
but I let the sword fall as fast as I could wield it. Pretty soon he ran
in a disgraceful riot of retreat and plunged down a dark canyon which
they say is his home. When I looked around, Mistake had shrunk up to
about half his former size.
"'You come with me,' I said to him, 'I can't get along without you; but
you must behave yourself from now on.'
"'I will,' he said. And he always has since."
The story of Faithful makes us feel better, doesn't it?
Sanctification purifies the motives, and makes the spring of impulse and
action pure; but it does not give maturity of judgment nor perfection
of reason. If an ignorant person is sanctified, he will find keenness
of perception as regards right and wrong, but he will still be ignorant.
Sanctification does not imply that a sanctified person shall not need
to study and advance in knowledge (2 Peter 1:5-9). Though sanctified we
are still human beings, and we must utilize the common means to knowledge
just as others do. Sanctification affects the heart, and its work is to
take out evil, the sin in the nature, and make it holy and pure. Also
it means an infilling of God's Spirit, which pervades our nature after
sanctification just as sin pervaded it before. But sanctification does
not eliminate humanity from our nature.
Mistakes, therefore, are the common lot of all--sinners, believers, and
sanctified ones.
Not only are we liable to mistakes, we are inseparable from them in our
earthly existence. As one grows in experience, knowledge, and maturity
of judgment, one's mistakes may become fewer in number; but no one on
earth can ever expect to get entirely beyond making them.
Let us take a look at some illustrations: A young Christian had a father
who drank. One day another Christian saw this Christian young man go
into a saloon. He reported it around that he saw this brother go into a
saloon. Well, the young brother must have backslidden, was the instant
conclusion, and so it was reported. But the young man had gone into the
saloon to get his father to go home. A very noble act; but the story
that was told was very detrimental to the young man. It was a mistake
to tell that he was backslidden without first knowing the facts of the
case.
A mother has three children. One of them comes running in crying almost
as hard as it can, and says, "John hit me with a stick." Mother calls
John and punishes him for hitting Sister with his stick. By and by Mother
finds that John did not do it, but that a playmate did. A mistake was
made.
Sometimes one hears something detrimental to the character of another.
On the strength of this, one may pursue a certain course of action. By
and by it may be found that this first report is not entirely true to
facts, and one regrets the course of action taken. A mistake has been
made.
Mistakes are made in every department of life, mental, spiritual, physical;
in the home, in school, in the laboratory; in mechanics, in business,
and in government. It is simply impossible to know always what to do or
to say. Mistakes, more or less, are occurring all the time. Many of the
things we know we have learned by our mistakes. A farmer becomes successful
by eliminating the mistakes of the past, by ceasing to do the things
that proved to be inefficient. A manufacturer becomes successful by
eliminating the weaknesses of his product, by eliminating his mistakes.
So with every department of life.
Maturity is gained only by experience covering a period of time, hence
sanctified people will have to learn by their mistakes just as others
do, and by observing closely they are able to eliminate many mistakes
and live more happy lives.
Our Father knows our limitations, and he will not cast us off for our
mistakes. Do not count mistakes as sins. For some of your mistakes you
may ask pardon, of both God and men; but do not allow discouragement to
come in. Be happy along with your mistakes.
There is a strange but natural law of the mind that works in this way:
If you make a mistake and worry and brood over it and live in the fear
that you will make a similar mistake again, you are liable to make the
same mistake--over and over, as often as you fear making it. Someway or
other the agitation over it invites it to return. There is a certain
attraction your fear and agitation creates toward it, which, even though
you abhor it, draws you in it again and again. On the other hand, if one
makes a mistake, and, after promptly asking forgiveness, if necessary,
promptly forgets it and goes on as if nothing unusual whatever had
occurred, he will find that he will hardly make that mistake again.
Here is a secret for the newly sanctified ones; you will make mistakes,
but learn to confess them fully and broadly and completely, and, after
doing that, then to refuse to think any more whatever about them. Let
God take care of you and also of the mistake.
Imperfection of human disposition and character is a fruitful source
from which mistakes arise. Here is a person so slow as to be a trial to
nearly every one about him, while here is another who, because he is so
fast, is continually injuring the feelings of others. Here is a person
naturally so impatient that at times he wounds and hurts others. The
intentions of these persons are often misunderstood, and mistakes arise
from the misunderstanding. We, thinking that certain things were done
or said for certain purposes, may do and say certain things. Later we
discover some other course would have been wiser and better.
So, dear anxious soul, do not expect to get beyond making mistakes.
Profit by those you make. Use them as stepping-stones to a better
experience. Keep consecrated, keep your faith clear, and commit yourself
to God, mistakes and all. Sanctification makes us pure; but it takes
time and experience to make us mature.
CHAPTER NINE
IN THE DUNGEON OF GIANT DISCOURAGER
I feel very discouraged at times, and sometimes the spells of
discouragement hang on for a long while. I wonder if I am sanctified.
From unaccountable sources, bad feelings of every description depress
my soul, and along with these bad feelings come doubts that cast gloom
over me. I have prayed and prayed that these feelings of discouragement
might leave me; but they have not done so. I despair of prayer bringing
me the help I need. Really, I know not what to do. I earnestly desire
to be all the Lord's and have His will done in my life, and it is painful
to believe that these discouragements hinder God's will in my heart. How
do sanctified people feel, anyway? I should think they ought to feel
ecstatic joy all the time, being so consecrated and near the Lord as
they are. I need help on this line, and will appreciate any advice you
give me.
* * * * *
The Wilderness of Canaan is a wild, rough district bordering on the
Jordan Valley, through which every pilgrim and home-seeker must pass
before he finds his home site and settles down. Some pilgrims are fortunate
in passing through it quickly, while others, coming under the spell of
two old giants who live there, have a very hard time passing through.
These giants are Discourager and Despair, said to be twin brothers, sons
of a bad mighty couple, Unbelief and Doubt, who live in the same wilderness
and are, they say, the grandfather and grandmother of one of the worst
families of giants in all Canaan. It is in this Wilderness that pilgrims
encounter Giant Accuser, a cousin of Giants Discourager and Despair.
It is said that Pilgrim Victory had a long and hard battle with these
two giants, Discourager and Despair. We shall have time this evening,
so why not visit Victory? Probably he will tell us of this battle. We
should like to know how he overcame them. We hear these two giants are
really afraid of him since he has become so proficient in the use of the
sword.
Very well, let us visit Pilgrim Victory.
Where does he live? He lives on Mount Moriah, and we shall find him at
home, no doubt.
Oh see, here is a monument by the roadside! Let us stop and read the
inscription. Oh! Listen!
"It was on this spot that a desperate battle was fought between Pilgrim
Victory and two of the worst giants in Canaan, Giants Discourager and
Despair. Victory won after a long fight. The castle of Giant Despair is
situated in one of the dark ravines to the right. In clear weather it
can be seen from this spot. Pilgrims are warned to be prepared to meet
these giants, for they have slain their thousands."
Come! Let us hurry away from this place! But look! See! There is the
castle of Giant Despair! It looks more like a jail, or prison, than a
castle. Maybe there is some poor pilgrim in there now. O Immanuel, if
there is, send an angel to tell him to use the key of Promise so he may
get out!
Why, here comes a pilgrim from that direction now. And there comes old
Giant Despair after him. O Immanuel, help!
Will the pilgrim escape? The old Giant is coming so fast! But it is clear
today. Yes! now the sun bursts full on the old Giant! Ah! he seems to
melt in his tracks. Oh, yes! now we know why--he can not run in clear
weather. Here is the pilgrim on the main road again.
"Pilgrim, we are so happy to see you get away. You look so worn, so
weary. And there, what can that be, poor fellow? There is blood and
wounds all over your back. That is where the old giant beat you, isn't
it? How did you escape?"
"Blessed be Immanuel forever! For a long time old Despair has had me in
his dungeon. I've been nearly killed. Giant Discourager encountered me
first and got me off into that ravine over there toward the castle. Then
old Despair caught me and put me in his dungeon. He beat me regularly
morning, noon, and night. He has killed a number of pilgrims. He killed
one while I was there; and there is a large heap of the bones of other
poor pilgrims out of whom he drove the spark of hope. But this morning
I thought of a key called Promise [1 Kings 8:56] that Bunyan's pilgrim
told of, and to my surprise it fitted every lock I had to open. The old
Giant ran after me. I do not know what happened to him; I did not look
back to see. But I am safe, anyway."
"Come on with us, we are going to visit Pilgrim Victory. What is your
name!"
"My name is Honest."
"Well, here we are on Moriah. And yonder is Pilgrim Victory! He seems
to be polishing or sharpening his sword. Why, it shines like silver now!"
"Blessings on you, pilgrims, and what can I do for you?"
"Oh, Pilgrim Victory, tell us of your battle with Giants Discourager and
Despair, will you!"
"To the glory of Immanuel, yes. And I shall begin with an early experience,
and this is the way it came about: No sooner had I crossed the Jordan
than Giant Mistake began to keep me company. Not long after that, Giant
Discourager joined us, much to my detriment. I should have fought him
then; but he said he had a right to travel with pilgrims, and I did not
know any better; so I let him stay in my company. When we got farther
into the Wilderness of Canaan, Giant Discourager began to torment me
awfully. Every day he beat me, till I had no strength left. I did nothing
but sit and nurse my wounds for many days. According to Giant Discourager,
I was a failure; and it did appear that way. I was not good for anything,
he said, and there was much truth, apparently, in that saying, too. He
said Immanuel did not care the least bit for me; and it did look that
way. 'You will never get out of this wilderness. You will never be able
to do any good. You will always feel miserable,' said Giant Discourager
to me. In fact, he saw nothing ahead for me but woe, failure, misery,
and despair. And it appeared certain that he was right.
"Just at that place where you saw the monument, I fought the battle
through, and won. But I was in Giant Despair's dungeon two weeks at that.
It was after I escaped that I fought the fight I won. I had got out of
the dungeon by using the key of Promise; but the weather was foul, and
the giants caught me at that spot.
"The battle was a long one. With all the subtlety of his lengthy career,
Giant Discourager threw out every idea and insinuation to get me to give
up. But while these insidious attacks were very hard to ward off, I had
definitely promised Immanuel down in the dungeon that if he would get
me out I would never be caught in company with Giant Discourager again.
I saw while there that it was my keeping company with him that got me
into Despair's hands. So I had to keep my promise.
"But Discourager would not leave; so I swung at him with my sword, and
said, 'Get thee hence, Discourager, I am Immanuel's. I am a citizen of
Canaan, I am across the Jordan, this is my home; here my rest shall be.
Get thee hence' [Luke 4:1-13]. His foul breath blew over me, and his
awful concoctions of unbelief and despair almost overthrew me. At that,
Giant Despair grabbed me, and was in the act of lifting me bodily and
carrying me away, when a fierce desire to fight to victory possessed me.
I made another stroke at Giant Discourager and then aimed one at Despair.
This freed me. Then, gathering myself, I rushed at one, then the other,
until I chased them back into their haunts. Oh, victory, how sweet! And
how blessed it was after that not to have that old Discourager's heartless
and despairing conversation poisoning my thoughts! Oh, what a relief!
"On thinking of it, I then and there purposed to build the monument you
saw on your way here. Many a pilgrim has taken warning and escaped an
awful death.
"Pilgrim Honest, I know those are tears of gratitude flowing down your
poor face; but dry them, and come with me. I will bathe those wounds of
yours and give you food that will relieve all your distress [Isaiah
66:10-13; Matthew 12:38-21]. And to you, pilgrims, we say farewell."
"Good-by, Pilgrims Victory and Honest. May it be well with you."
Now let us talk between ourselves.
It is no sin to feel discouraged. The only place where sin can enter in
connection with discouragement is in entirely surrendering faith and
letting actual transgressions follow. When the soul is tormented to the
point where it appears impossible for it to claim the victory any farther,
that is no evidence that that soul has sinned and is lost. In this case
God sees the soul as it really is; He does not look at the soul's own
estimate of itself. Many a sanctified soul has given up faith for
sanctification, and even for justification, merely on the strength of
some argument the devil has presented. For instance, a person may
consecrate all, have perfect faith, and receive the experience of entire
sanctification. In a week or two this person may make a mistake, or for
some reason or other he may begin to have bad feelings in himself. Satan
now sends his tempter to accuse the soul and cause it to doubt its having
the experience of entire sanctification. After a painful struggle, the
soul feels, that, on the evidence presented, it must give up its profession
of a sanctified state, and does so. But God, looking down, sees that
that soul is just as consecrated as ever, and loves God as much as ever.
He can not hold that soul as it holds itself. So while the soul despairs,
God holds it as all right. The only reason the soul does not get God's
view is because these doubts and accusations obscure God's will and
promise, and the devil's doubts are admitted instead of God's word.
That more souls are done to death by discouragement than by any other
one thing is probably a true saying.
You say you are discouraged. Over what? Is it because you do not have
the pleasant feelings you would like to have? This is no cause for
discouragement. You may be better than you feel, just as many are not
so good as they feel they are. Feelings are no standard to go by. Is it
because you can not accomplish more? Do the best you can and be satisfied
with that. Is it because you make many blunders and mistakes? Care not
for it, for all make them. Profit by them and go on.
Discouragement is deadly to the soul. It is a destroyer of hope, faith,
confidence, joy, service, and victory. Look at the discouraged man! There
he sits. Nothing seems good to him; and he hesitates to do anything.
What army ever won a victory if it was discouraged? What merchant ever
succeeded in business when discouraged? Who ever accomplished anything
when discouraged?
Vow never to give way to discouragement. Sign the pledge against indulgence
in it. Why not? Discouragement is the effect of the devil's work. Will
you engage in helping the devil at his work?
There is no sound argument in favor of becoming discouraged; there is
no reason or logic on its side. If you have obstacles to overcome,
discouragement will make them only that much harder to overcome. Do you
make mistakes? Discouragement will only make it harder to overcome them.
No matter what may be your trouble, or failure, or other problem,
discouragement is a positive hindrance. And if it is given way to, it
must ultimately be overcome, in addition to overcoming the obstacle which
occasions the discouragement, before one has the victory.
There is one thing you will do well always to remember, and that is God's
promise in John 3:16. No matter where you are, no matter how hopeless
everything seems, no matter how far down you may get, even into sin--
remember that God loves you and has this promise, exactly suited to your
need. All you have to do to begin to get out is to step upon that promise.
Yes, sanctified people feel discouraged at times. But since they are all
the Lord's they must not give way to it, but must pray and trust Him to
carry them through. This sooner or later brings them through the trial
(1 Peter 5:10). Jesus Christ never gets discouraged. Let us be like Him
in the eternal hope of the triumph of the grace of God (Romans 8:37-39).
In which triumph we may have a share both while we live here and again
in the heaven of heavens.
CHAPTER TEN
THE TORMENTS OF GIANT BAD FEELINGS
I am just a bundle of feelings. I never imagined one could have such a
variety of them as I am now experiencing. Most of them are bad ones and
I am greatly disturbed by them. Really, I doubt whether I am sanctified,
on account of the feelings I have. Do sanctified people always feel
joyful? I have heard that they do, and if it is true that they do, then
I am not sanctified. Big doubts take up company with me every morning,
and so long as I feel as I do I do not see how to dismiss them. My heart
is heavy, very heavy, over these questions. Can you tell me how sanctified
people feel? Please do, I am so anxious to know.
* * * * *
Nearly every pilgrim in Canaan has met Giant Bad Feelings, a doughty old
giant with a long bad record for troubling pilgrims. He is not, they
say, so dangerous to life as are some of the other giants, as he rarely
slays a pilgrim; but for inflicting torment on them and as a helper to
Giant Discourager no one can equal him. He is a most pestiferous giant,
with a numerous family.
This is going to be a fair day, the sun came up clear this morning; shall
we visit Pilgrim Sunshine? She lives in one of the sunniest, most pleasant
vales in all Canaan, so I hear. You think it will be profitable to go
over to her home? Very well, let us go.
By the way, did you ever hear the story of Pilgrim Sunshine? It is said
she used to be sad, broken-hearted, fearful, and despondent, and that
she lived long in the Valley of Sighs. Of course, we want to hear the
story from her own lips. She has had a great deal of trouble, has pilgrim
Sunshine; enough to make one despair, almost. Her people persecuted her,
her husband deserted her, her sons reproached her; but, nevertheless,
she is one of the happiest inhabitants of Canaan.
I believe we are nearing her home now, see how clear the air is up here,
and the flora is getting more bountiful and beautiful, isn't it! There
is her place! What a lovely garden she has! And it is growing out of
such rocky soil! There she is, the dear old mother in Israel! When we
get to her, note the marks of care that line her saintly face; but notice
also the sweet smile that graces her kind countenance. Oh, that we could
bear up under life's cares and burdens as she does!
"The Lord's blessings be yours, Pilgrim Sunshine."
"Aye, and the riches of His great goodness attend you, pilgrims. Sit
down under this amaranthine bower and rest yourselves."
"We are new pilgrims in Canaan and we want to settle somewhere in the
land. Some one said the Vale of Hidden Delights is a good place to live
in. Seems to us it is. Could we find a home here? And we should be glad
to hear you tell us some of your adventures in Canaan. Coming along, we
saw some giants. Do any giants live in this vicinity? We are hoping that
we can gain our inheritance without meeting any of them. Can we?"
"Pilgrims, I could wish you might settle into your inheritance without
a battle; but I have never yet heard of a case where a pilgrim did so.
It is true some more sturdy and valiant pilgrims have little trouble
with the giants and soon win, but many have hard battles to fight [Luke
12:28; 1 John 5:4]. As to your settling here in the Valley of Hidden
Delights, remember that it is only by the greatest toil and care we are
able to bring loveliness and beauty out of this rocky soil. But if
Immanuel allots you a home here, do not fear; some of the sweetest fruits
and flowers of Canaan grow right here.
"My hardest battle was with Giant Bad Feelings. Beware of him! I had a
pensive soul, a sensitive nature, and was conscientious to a scruple
[Romans 14:1-6]. Bad Feelings took advantage of this fact and caused me
trouble untold.