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And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.” --Nehemiah 4:14 In Nehemiah 4, the Bible gives us an account of a time when the children of Israel were debilitated by discouragement. They were halfway through completing the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem, and discouragement attacked them with full force. Now, since discouragement is contagious, Nehemiah knew he’d better do something before it spread like a cancer throughout the entire camp. In the verses above, Nehemiah gave the children of Israel the cure for their discouragement…a truth that will free you from discouragement every time. Nehemiah knew he needed to take a time-out. So he got the Israelites together and said, “It’s time to regain your perspective and remember your great and awesome God!  Remember Him…look to Him…listen to Him!” I can tell you there have been points in my life when I’ve been down and discouraged. And the cure has been to stop and remember all that God has done for me. In those moments, God Almighty has absolutely carried me through. And He will carry you, too! He’ll give you supernatural strength, even in the middle of a dark day…or the darkest night. The Bible says, “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” (Isaiah 53:4).  Jesus knows how you feel! He knows when you hurt…and He knows exactly what you need to carry you through. So look to Him today.   WHEN YOU'RE TEMPTED TO BE DISCOURAGED, REMEMBER HOW MUCH GOD LOVES YOU AND ALL HE HAS DONE FOR YOU! Unyielding Devotion to God Wednesday, April 10, 2019 by Dr. Paul Chappell “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” Daniel 3:16–18 We don’t know exactly how many Hebrew young men were taken to Babylon during the captivity and enrolled in the training program designed to change their beliefs and practices. What we do know is that when three of them were presented with a choice between bowing down to a golden idol set up by Nebuchadnezzar or being thrown into a fiery furnace, they did not hesitate. Others might choose to make small compromises to avoid conflict, but they would not. Even the threat of a painful death could not deter them from standing for what was right. Charles Spurgeon described an early churchman of England who had no backbone this way: “The gross example of the Vicar of Bray comes at once to one’s mind, who had been a papist under Henry VIII, then a protestant under a Protestant reign, then a papist under Mary, then again a Protestant under Elizabeth; and he declared he had always been consistent with his principle, for his principle was to continue as the Vicar of Bray.” There will always be promises of pleasure and threats of punishment to induce people to bow down rather than stand for the truth. The key to overcoming those temptations is found in our own hearts rather than the circumstances. If we love God supremely as we should and care most for His approval, nothing others may do will cause us to abandon the truth. Today's Growth Principle:  If you are not willing to take a stand for truth no matter what, you will never accomplish anything great for God.