This word is submitted by Teresa Seputis (ts@godpeak.org)

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                     Allow Me To Encourage You

Child of Mine, do not give way to discouragement, for the enemy of your 
souls desires greatly to discourage you.  He is afraid of what I plan to 
do through your life to bring glory to My name and to advance My kingdom.  
So he tries to discourage you by setting obstacles and hindrances in your 
path to slow you down.  He did this with My Son, Jesus, when He walked on 
this earth.  It should not be a surprise to you when he does the same 
with you -- for as the Master is treated, so will His servants be treated.

The devil wants you to feel discouraged so that you will begin to 
disqualify yourself from the things that I have ordained you to do. Your 
enemy wants you to give up, to quit, to stop doing what I am doing, to 
stop advancing My kingdom and bringing glory to My name.  He does this 
by trying to make you doubt that My plans for you are good, and by making 
you doubt that I am both willing and able to accomplish these good plans 
in your life.  He brings disappointments along, hoping you will choose 
to wallow in self pity instead of walking in obedience.  

He wants to get your eyes off of Me and onto the problem, that he might 
make you feel overwhelmed by the size of it.  He knows that the more you 
look at the problem, the larger the problem will begin to look, until it 
appears insurmountable.  That is why he tries to direct your attention 
from Me to the problem.

The best way to resist his plans of discouragement against you is to keep 
your focus on Me and allow Me to encourage you.  For when you keep looking 
to Me and keep your attention on Me, you will see how big and strong and 
able and capable and mighty I am.  You will see that all power and 
authority belong to Me and that I am able to work My glory in every 
situation.  You will see that I am the God of all glory, that nothing is 
too hard for Me, that no force on this earth is able to overcome or defeat 
Me, or force Me to do something I don't want to do, or prevent Me from 
doing something that I choose to do.  You will see that I am mighty and 
that I am still in control.  And this truth will bring peace to your heart, 
comfort to your soul, and joy to your innermost being. 

Child, My peace does not come from placing you in peaceful circumstances;
My peace comes from My presence with you and My care of you. Likewise,
My joy does not come from My placing you in joyful circumstances; it is
independent of circumstances. It comes from My Spirit living within you,
working the fruit of His presence in your life.  You are not dependent
on your circumstances for peace and joy; you are dependent on Me and I
do not fail you when an obstacle is thrown in your path. I will help you 
overcome that obstacle in a manner that will cause My glory to shine
forth and give you a powerful testimony of My faithfulness.  I will do 
it in a manner that will bring you even more joy than if you had simply 
walked on the path that had no obstacle at all.

I am the God of all encouragement, child, and I know how to work My glory
in every one of your circumstances. There is no difficulty that you can 
face that I don't know how to turn it around for good. There is no trial
that can come against you that will catch Me unprepared.  There is nothing
the enemy can do to you that I do not permit, and I will not permit that
which I will not use to My glory and to your ultimate joy and peace.  

So do not focus your attention on your problems. They are not the One Who  
has power over your life. Look to Me.  Yes, look expectantly to Me and 
allow Me to encourage you.  Allow Me to breathe My life into you, allow Me 
to give you vision and understanding, allow Me to strenthen you and to 
give you the victory.  Child, I will do all these things for you if you 
will just look to Me and allow Me to encourage you.