Exhortation Station

My mom and I have often talked about what we call the “second arrow,” and I thought I’d share some thoughts on it.  Let’s begin in Ephesians 6…

Ephesians 6:10-18 — “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of Elohim, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore, take up the full armor of Elohim, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. ¹⁴ Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of Elohim.”

In particular, I want us to draw our attention to verse 16.  Notice it says that with the shield of faith you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  In this blog post, I will attempt to expose one of the enemy’s arrows that I believe often goes unnoticed but is, in fact, one of the most dangerous arrows in the devil’s quiver. 

This arrow is the arrow of discouragement, self-accusation, or condemnation.  The reason I term this “the second arrow” is because it often comes as a close follower to another arrow.  Let me explain with an example:  Say I’m really stressed one day at work.  I’m tempted to be impatient toward someone (the first arrow).  I give in to the pressure and say some words that are less than kind to the person.  I recognize my sin and confess it to the Father and apologize to the other person.  At this point, I cleansed from my sin and all is well. 

But here’s where the second arrow comes in.  The devil starts whispering these thoughts in my ear:  “Wait a minute, Jonathan.  That was a sin you just committed.  That was really bad, and you ought to be ashamed of yourself.  I can’t believe you just did that.  I guess you’re not as strong as I thought you were.”  Brothers and sisters, these thoughts are not of the Father, and we must reject them.  The reason the second arrow can be so convincing is that it comes with a little truth (the fact that I sinned), but that truth is then engulfed by a pack of lies that tell me I’m condemned and hopeless. 

There is a good conviction of the Holy Spirit that tells us when we have done wrong and shows us that we need to repent.  This conviction, however, does not come with condemnation, but rather with Yah’s open arms willing and eager to forgive us when we confess to Him.  Consider the following verses:

Psalm 103:11,12 — “As high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. ¹² As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.”  Isaiah 1:18 — “‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ says YHWH, ‘Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.'”  Romans 8:1 — “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Messiah Yahshua.”  1 John 1:9 — “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

As warriors of the Almighty, we have a responsibility to distinguish between the conviction of the Holy Spirit and the discouragement of the enemy.  Satan knows his Bible, and he will use truth and then twist it into lies.  That’s what he did in the garden (Genesis 3), that’s what he did when he tried to tempt Yahshua (Matt 4:1-11), and that’s what he wants to do with us.  Discouragement is an enemy to be fought just like anything else the enemy sends our way.  Don’t give in to the lie that you should be discouraged because you sinned.  Yah’s word tells us plainly that our sins are as far from us as the east is from the west when we confess our sins to Him.  If discouragement was from the Father, then why do the Scriptures constantly tell us to encourage one another?  (See Deuteronomy 1:38, 3:23, Isaiah 35:3, Rom 15:5, Phil 2:1,2, and 1 Thess 5:11,14.)

When I say that we should reject discouragement, I do not mean that we should argue with it.  We should simply reject it.  Discouragement will always come up with a reason it’s right (such as reminding you that “you really did sin”), but we’ve already seen that discouragement is not of the Father.  Anything that’s not of Yah must be rejected without further ado.  2 Corinthians 10:5 — “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of Elohim, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Messiah.”  Also, we must not expect that our feelings will necessarily change when we say “no” to discouragement.  We may still continue to feel discouraged, but the important thing is that we won’t be submitting to the lies it tells us.

Once you reject discouragement, don’t leave the void empty!  Replace it with the knowledge of who you are in the Father and the great love that He has for you as a child of the Most High (Psalm 103:11).  Don’t let the devil steel your identity!

The arrow of discouragement/self accusation can also come all by itself, without being attached to any real sin/mistake you committed.  Have you ever had those days where, for some reason, you just feel kind of depressed?  I know I have.  Though we may not always be able to change how we feel on those days, we can choose to walk in the joy of the Father and not buy into whatever lies discouragement may be telling us. 

Once again, don’t argue with depression.  Just say “I am a beloved child of Yahweh, and I choose to walk in His joy today.”  Nehemiah 8:10 — “And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!”

To conclude, here are the key takeaways:  1) There is an arrow of the enemy that often goes unnoticed — the arrow of discouragement, self-accusation, or condemnation.  2) This arrow often comes directly behind another arrow, making it easy to miss if we are not vigilant.  3) Satan knows his Bible and will use truth and then twist it into a lie of discouragement.  4) The conviction of the Holy Spirit comes with Yah’s open arms eager to receive those who confess to Him.  5) Discouragement is not of the Father, and we must reject it — not argue with it, just reject it.  6) After you say “no” to discouragement, replace it with the truth of Yah’s love for you, which is as high as the heavens are above the earth (Psalm 103:11).

Let’s hold up that shield of faith so that we can “extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil on.”  When you do slip and allow an arrow to hit you, turn to the Father and let Him heal your wound with His love…and don’t let your shield down!  There’s likely a second arrow right behind the first one that wants to bring you down with discouragement.  Praise Yahweh that there is no condemnation for those who are in Messiah Yahshua (Rom 8:1)!

Romans 8:38,39 — “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of Elohim, which is in Messiah Yahshua our Lord.”

(All Bible passages NASB; Hebrew transl. added.)