Study military strategy and you will find a re-occurring theme,
divide the enemy. Separate them. Isolate them. If you've ever
watched a nature episode on the Discovery channel then you
have seen how the animals hunt and divide the weakest off
from the herd.
Satan, our enemy, wants to do the exact same thing. Separate
us. Isolate us. Make a man feel like he is all alone. "No one
else at your church would be able to help you with this," he
whispers. "No one else is struggling like you." And the big lie
he whispers to me all the time, "No one else really cares."
Which is just a step away from saying, God doesn't care.
Even though I know they are all lies, I can't believe how
quickly I will fall for them. I have to "speak" the truth to myself.
But there is still something else we all need. It helps us carry on
during battles. We need encouragement. Some of us may not
realize how much we need it.
At our recent Men Who Win Advance, several men took the
scary risk of sharing their weaknesses and struggles. I call it
scary because Satan whispers in our ear, "These men will
reject you if you tell them that." That might be true if we
shared our struggles with men of the world, but never true
when shared with men of God.
Immediately each man received encouragement. We laid
hands on each one and prayed for him. Those men left
feeling restored and uplifted. They felt stronger. Part of
the reason for feeling stronger, they knew they were not
alone.
The next day after it was over, one man sent me a text,
"May the Lord rock your Spirit today." At the time I did
not know who it was, but it still immediately brought
encouragement. I did not feel alone. I knew if I needed
someone to cover my back, I had it.
You might be saying, "No one ever encourages me." First,
have you let anyone know of your struggles? Have you let
another man of God see your weakness? That's really
important. We can't help each other fight the enemy if we
don't know how or where the enemy is attacking us through
you. Secondly, I would remind all of us of the Galatians 6:7
principle, "You will ALWAYS harvest what you plant." (NLT)
If you want to harvest some encouragement, then go plant
some today. I guarantee you will be surprised how many
men need to be encouraged.
-- Jamie Futrell
Men who Win Ministries
http://www.menwhowin.com/