Discouragement does not come down from the Father of lights.  Discouragement does not come down from your Father in Heaven for he would send encouragement and he would send love and he would send peace and he would send joy and he would send his good pleasure that he finds within you.  He finds his pleasure within you and within those that love him.

So know this: discouragement and problems come horizontally.  They come from the earth and they come from below and they come from the enemy.  And who can the enemy work through?  Does the enemy work through a tree, a building or a car?  No, the enemy works through people and he works through circumstances and he works through demonic powers. 

So know that, yes, even though people can discourage you at times, and people can trip you up, and people can cause you problems, it does not come from, nor does it  reflect the love of your Heavenly Father for you.

Accept the fact that you will face much opposition in this life from those around you, even from your brothers and your sisters, even as the enemy would flow through Peter at times to discourage the Lord from going to the cross, and as he would flow through each one of the disciples to discourage or fight with another one.  It is the enemy flowing.

Know that your Heavenly Father is pleased.  Know that good and perfect gifts come down from the Father of Lights, from the Father in Heaven and that he has good things for you.  He has encouragement and he has love and he has great joy for you.

So look up; do not look horizontal for your encouragement.  Those around you at times will discourage you.  Problems will come from those around you.  You must put your shield up.  Do not attack them, but put your shield up and resist it when you feel it, when you see it coming.  And then turn to your Heavenly Father for the encouragement that you need, and he will encourage you in the secret place, in your closets of prayer.  He will tell you how wonderful you are; he will tell you of the joy he finds in you; he will tell you how much you please him.

Do not receive the discouragement or the criticism that comes from the earth, from horizontal levels.  For the Heavenly Father does not think this way.  He does not feel this way; he does not judge nor look this way.  Your Heavenly Father looks upon you with the love of God.  He sees the perfection that lies deep within you; he sees what he has created and he has pronounced it as good.  Let no man pronounce evil what God has pronounced as good. 

You are good and you are righteous and you are pure, you are holy in his sight if you are born again and have accepted the Lord and received him as your Savior.  You are covered by his blood.  You are shielded by his protection.  He has become your righteousness.  He has become your salvation.  He has become all that you would find lacking.  So the Lord your God looks at you in the perfectness of Christ. 

He delights in you.  You are his chief joy.  He would bounce you on his knee as a bouncing baby child.  This is how your Heavenly Father views you.  And when he corrects, it will be with gentleness, kindness and love.  He will speak a word of correction in your spirit but it will be with love and with concern for your soul. 

And if others would correct you harshly, know that the enemy gets behind it and even if there is correction needed at times, they correct too hard; it is not the hand of your loving father. For even when you are corrected at times, know that correction by man can go too far.  People get irritable; people get out of sorts; people get short tempered.  Do not receive that as a reflection of the heart of your father, but just know that you are dealing with human vessels and that they have faults, too. 

Just pass this correction off, and turn to your Heavenly Father and let him rebirth your soul and refill your soul with love and goodness.  And then pour back that unto others, which I give unto you.  And you can pour the love of God out on others, if you know his love is true unto you.  Even if they have faults you can pour his love upon them, and perhaps the love of God will soften them.

But be encouraged; be encouraged children.  Your father loves you.  Your father has given his only Son for you; and your Father does not come with a mean stick and a cruel hand to threaten, or intimidate or discourage you.  It is the enemy, the enemy moving horizontally through other individuals at times. So cast that aside and receive the joy of your Father.