1 KINGS 19:18: “Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to
Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
During the Boer War (1899-1902), a man was convicted of a very unusual crime. He was found guilty
of being a “discourager.” The South African town of Ladysmith was under attack, and this traitor
would move up and down the lines of soldiers who were defending the city and do everything he
could to discourage them.
He would point out the enemy’s strength, the difficulty of defending against them and the inevitable
capture of the city. He didn’t use a gun in his attack; it wasn’t necessary. His weapon was the power
of discouragement.
Satan is just such a discourager. He is not mentioned by name in this passage, but it’s obvious he
had disheartened Elijah. He convinced the prophet that all was lost. Over and over he told Elijah that
“he alone was left.” And Elijah came to believe that.
But when it came time for Elijah to go back into the thick of things again, God revealed the truth to
him. Instead of Satan’s lie that “he alone was left,” there were actually 7,000 people in Israel who had
not followed after the false god Baal.
Satan is always ready to make things appear worse than they are if he can use it to discourage us.
He continually tries to feed false information to believers so they might become discouraged, and too
often he succeeds.
God, however, offers the solution to Satan’s lies — the exceeding great and precious promises of His
Word. In the Bible we find more than enough optimism to overcome the Devil’s pessimism.
If your life is filled with “doom and gloom,” remember this may well be Satan’s way of destroying your
effectiveness for the Lord. How can you counter the Devil’s devices? Turn to the promises of God’s
Word. Let the Bible be your encouragement today.
WHEN GOD LIFTS YOU UP, SATAN CAN NEVER PUT YOU DOWN.