"...the Bible declares from beginning to end that faith is the law of the spiritual life, and that according to our faith it always shall be and always will be unto us. Then, since faith and discouragement cannot, in the very nature of things, exist together, it is perfectly manifest that discouragement must be an absolute barrier to faith. And that where discouragement rules, the converse to the law of faith must rule also, and it shall be to us, not according to our faith, but according to our discouragement.
In fact, just as courage is faith in good, so discouragement is faith in evil; and, while courage opens the door to good, discouragement opens it to evil...
Discouragement flies where faith appears; and, vice versa, faith flies when discouragement appears. We must choose between them, for they will not mix."
-Hannah Whitall Smith
I've never thought of it that way before - discouragement is faith in evil. It is believing that evil has more power to win in my life than good does. Really, it is believing that God is not powerful enough to be in control. This is one of those "retrain your mind" things. We have to decide how we're going to think.
Found you from Flourishing Mother's comments. Love your blog name!
ReplyDeleteI wrote a post that could be a whole comment on your post: What is Hope?
Blessings on your day!
ryc: Ah, yes. A nap can fix just about *any* attitude!
ReplyDeleteIt's a pity, almost, I don't "invoke" that magic more often ;o)