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            Come Out of the Stronghold             By Os Hillman             November 18             ...Do not stay in the stronghold. Go into the land of Judah ... (1 Samuel 22:5).             David and his fighting men had been hiding in the cave of Adullam. He was fleeing Saul. Many of life's down-and-out had come and joined David's army. David was content to stay in the stronghold of safety. Then, God's prophet came to David and told him that he must leave the stronghold and go into the land of Judah. Judah means praise.             When life beats down on us and we get to the place where we want to hide in a cave, God often places people around us who prod us into moving in the right direction. He does not want us to remain in the place of discouragement. He wants us to move into the land of praise.             I recall when I went through a very difficult time. It seemed to drag on and on with no change until finally I wanted to retreat to a cave and forget pressing on. It was a great time of discouragement. A godly man came to me and said, You must keep moving! There are too many who are depending on you in the Kingdom.             I didn't totally understand what he meant at the time. Now I know he was saying that God is preparing each of us to be the vessel He wants to use in the life of another person, but we will never be that vessel if we give up and hide in our cave of discouragement. Not only must we keep moving, we must move into a new realm. Our attitude must move from discouragement to praise.             He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners - to comfort all who mourn. ... a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor (Isa 61:1-3).             It is only when we move past discouragement to praise that we begin living above our problems. Make a decision today to go into the land of Judah.             Contact Os Hillman at www.marketplaceleaders.org.                   Success Kills                  Sidestep the Snares that Will Kill Your Dreams                   How can you protect yourself from making wrong decisions and losing much of what you have worked so hard for? And when you achieve what you feel is success, how do you maintain your equilibrium and your sense of balance, and ensure that you finish your career and life well? In this follow-up to his book Why Great Men Fall, Wayde Goodall points out safeguards and principles that we can focus on to insure balance with excellence in what we do. Click to Order or Learn More                  Online Bible Study Tools             Read through the Bible and             other Bible study resources:             biblestudy.crosswalk.com