Discouragement and Heavenly Warfare
Tags: Confidence, Christianity, Discouragement, Religion, Latter Day Saints

Photo by Nik Shuliahin on Unsplash

Discouragement and Heavenly Warfare

Doubt not, fear not

And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels. Revelation 12:7

The Book of Revelation tells us that there was a great battle fought in Heaven. Satan and his followers fought against Michael and his angels. Thankfully, Satan was overcome “by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony” (Revelation 12:11). After their defeat Satan and his followers were “cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Revelation 12:9). I’ve always been fascinated by this story and the lessons it teaches us for success in this life.

Some Background: Why did we Fight in Heaven?

The Bible doesn’t explain why there was a war in Heaven. Isaiah seems to allude to a it when he names the reason for Lucifer’s fall from grace. Isaiah said, “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God.” (Isaiah 14:13). Basically, Lucifer desired to become greater than God, to be more than God.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has further light on this subject. We believe that everyone existed before this life. Jeremiah was told by the Lord, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee” (Jeremiah 1:5). God knew us because we lived with Him as spirits He created. God had a plan for us. He created the Earth as a place of testing and learning. He planned to send us to Earth where we would receive a physical body. A “veil” would be placed on our minds to prevent us from remembering life before birth. We would be free to gain experience and choose what we wanted. In His infinite wisdom God knew we would make mistakes. In order to rectify those mistakes, and return to Him, we would need a Savior.

When the Lord asked us whom He should send as Savior, Jesus offered, “Here am I, send me” (Abraham 3:27) “Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever” (Moses 4:2). Then Lucifer spoke up and said, “Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.”

Lucifer petulantly presented his own plan in lieu of the Lord’s, and promised that ALL of us would be saved. He essentially was proposing that our agency be taken from us and we would be forced into salvation. For this “revolutionary” plan Lucifer wanted all the glory. What ensued was a war; not one of heavenly swords and battle, but of words and debate. This war ended with Satan and his followers being cast out.

The Plan, The Man, and Myself

A few weeks ago, in Sunday School, we spoke about the War in Heaven. One thing which baffles me is that Satan’s followers numbered one-third the host of heaven (Revelation 12:4). The instructor asked how we thought Satan was able to gain so many followers. The class gave varied answers. We thought maybe people are lazy and didn’t want to have to work for salvation. Maybe some were deceived by Satan’s promises. Maybe we worried that Christ wouldn’t be able to follow through with the great suffering of the Atonement, and without someone to pay the price of our sins we never could return to live with God.

As we discussed the question I thought back to when I was younger, my dad asked me the same thing. Why did one-third of God’s children follow Satan? My dad thought it that the mostly likely reason was self-doubt and discouragement.

Basically, there are three parts to the agreement. We have God’s plan, we have Christ’s Atonement, and we have ourselves. God is perfect; therefore, His plan is perfect and we shouldn’t doubt it. Christ is perfect; therefore we shouldn’t doubt his ability to fulfill the Atonement. Then there is me…uh oh. I am far from perfect. If Satan could sin enough to be damned for eternity before this life, then we surely must have been able to make mistakes as well. I am not, and have never been perfect. If any aspect of this agreement is going to mess it up, it’s going to be me. I don’t know for sure if I can do this.

And that is where Satan got us.

Why make us doubt the perfection of God and Christ when Satan could just point out our own, very apparent, imperfections. Satan couldn’t make us doubt The Plan. He couldn’t convince us to doubt The Man (Christ). But he could easily make us doubt ourselves. He could whisper in our ears that we aren’t good enough, not righteous enough, not strong enough, not smart enough. With those fears ringing in our minds it would be easy for us to be drawn away.

The Devil’s Tool Sale

There is a quaint modern parable that floats around faith forums and scripture classes but I’ve never been able to find out who came up with it. In this story Satan lays out all his tools for purchase. Hatred, Envy, Jealousy, Doubt, Lying, Pride, and so on sit gleaming on a table. On the end is an innocuous, worn looking tool priced much higher than the rest. When someone asks the Devil why it is so expensive, he replies, “Ah, that one is more useful to me than any other. If I cannot get near a person with any other tools I can pry open a one’s heart with this and enter within. Once inside, I can lead them any way I choose. The tool is very worn because I use it on almost everyone, since few people know it belongs to me.” When asked what the tool was Satan responds:

“Discouragement”

The War Continues

For their rebellion, Satan and his angels were cast down to Earth. For our stalwart decision to follow God we all were given bodies and sent down here…also to Earth. The fight for our souls continues, and the tactics haven’t changed much.

People are lazy and don’t want to work for salvation. People are deceived by false promises and temptations. People lack faith in Jesus Christ and the Lord. And the one I certainly feel most acutely in my life; people doubt themselves and become discouraged.

Life is very hard. Our existence can, at times, be very discouraging. We see our many mistakes and may doubt our ability to succeed. This is where we give Satan a foothold on our hearts.

But I want to tell you something, and I’m telling you just as much as I’m telling myself.

Do not fear. Do not be discouraged. You’ve overcome it once before and you can do it again. You’re a child of God. You’re beautiful and wonderful. Through the blood of the Lamb and the strength of your testimony you can succeed. You can pass the test, get the job, lose the weight, learn the thing, whatever it is. Don’t be discouraged. You’ve got this.

“Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail… Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.”

-Doctrine and Covenants 6:34,36