Things Unseen - devil

Excerpt:

"Rumor has it, the devil held a garage sale. On a table he laid out all the tools he has used to harass and intimidate, to entice and accuse, each marked with its price. Lust was priced dear, but not half as much as gossip. Pride had a staggering sum attached to it. But one item was priced higher than them all. It was a plain, dull, shopworn impliment, no embellishments, yet it cost more than everything else taken together. "What is this thing," a customer asked the devil, "and why is it so pricey?"

"Ah," the devil said, "this - how I cheris this - this is the most effective tool I have. When all other things - lust, envy, greed, sloth - can't make a dent in someone, when even pride can't find a crack, this does the trick without fail. I have beaten down more saints with this one tool than with any other one on this table."

"Well, what is it?"

"Discouragement."...

Paul suffers no illusions...Still, he says, we don't lose heart.

Why not, Paul?

Because inwardly, we are being renewed day by day. We may be outwardly wasting away - getting sick, losing jobs, struggling in relationships, getting old - we are renewed inwardly day by day."