Devotions

Trapped between two mountains and facing the Red Sea, the children of Israel were in a hopeless predicament as an angry Pharaoh and his iron chariots closed in on them from behind.

This is a very familiar story, one you have heard your entire church life. God had led Israel into a horrible crisis where they were being chased by a fierce enemy. Incredible as it seems, the Lord had purposely led His people into this precarious spot. I believe it is a story with great importance for the Church today, indeed at this moment in history.

Israel was trapped, seemingly helpless. And it caused a panic throughout the camp of Israel. Wives and children wept, huddling around their fathers and grandparents. A group of irate elders descended on their leader, Moses, ranting accusingly, “Were there not enough graves in Egypt so you’ve brought us out here to die? We told you in Egypt to leave us alone. Better for us to have been slaves to Pharaoh than to die in this miserable wilderness!”

I wonder if Moses had a moment of misgiving in that hour. I picture him falling on his knees, crying, “Lord, what’s going on? How is this possibly Your will for us?” Amazingly, in that dark moment God wrought a miracle of deliverance for Israel. Suddenly the winds were stirred up so powerfully they parted the sea in two. With a miraculous escape route before them, the people walked over the sea on dry ground. Then, when Pharaoh and his army tried to follow, the waves toppled down, drowning them in the raging waters.

“So the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Thus Israel saw the great work which the Lord had done in Egypt: so the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord and His servant Moses” (Exodus 14:30–31).

“You have come to Mount Zion . . . and to the assembly of the firstborn . . .” (Hebrews 12:22-23, ESV).

The “assembly of the firstborn” is a gathering of people who have been made righteous and perfect by God.

Who was the firstborn in Israel we read about in the Old Testament? It was the oldest male son who was in line to receive the inheritance of the father. So all that the father had accumulated, all the wealth of his kingdom, was inherited by the firstborn. 

And now what do we see here in this passage of Scripture? You and I are the firstborn in the assembly of God. Isn’t this good news? We are called together by God and He says, “I put in you all that is in My kingdom. All the wealth. All the glory. All the majesty.”

Is there anything too difficult for the Lord? Is there a problem too big in your life? Is there a mountain too big for God to move? Is there some withholding of His hand where He can’t heal your marriage? Where He can’t heal your mind? Where He can’t rid you of that habitual pattern of sin? Where He can’t turn a despairing heart into a heart filled with joy and exhilaration and worship?

All the resources of heaven are in God’s hands and He is saying, “Oh, look! I need a firstborn son; I need a firstborn daughter! Because I want to pass on all these marvelous things to My children.”

And praise the Lord! He has passed them on to you and me! We have everything. Peter says that He has given — past tense — to us “all things that pertains to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence” (2 Peter 1:3). Can you say amen to that?

Jesus promised the release of His power and the Spirit on the lives of His followers, to move among them with signs, wonders, and miracles that would leave no doubt about His power in the eyes of a lost and hopeless world. He promised to send His Spirit to live among and inside them, to guide them as they took the gospel to every corner of the globe. He assured them that His Spirit would never leave them or let them down, and He expected them to put total faith and trust in this “still, small voice” guiding them in their hearts.

The prophet Joel foretold this power that would manifest itself upon followers of Christ. “I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy; your old men will dream dreams; your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth” (Joel 2:28-30).

We have before us an opportunity to see the Lord’s might loosed on the world as never before. God is ready and willing to pour out His power, to perform miracles in the name of Christ the likes of which have not been witnessed since the resurrection of Jesus. But when and whether He decides to do that through our lives depends on whether we are willing to step out of our comfort zones, to reevaluate the way we think and believe, to forsake the things of this world, and to trust instead in God’s promise of provision.

Are we willing to put aside our own opinions and agenda and focus instead on the leading of the Holy Spirit?

Will we choose to believe in a big and powerful God?

Nicky Cruz, internationally known evangelist and prolific author, turned to Jesus Christ from a life of violence and crime after meeting David Wilkerson in New York City in 1958. The story of his dramatic conversion was told first in The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson and then later in his own best-selling book Run, Baby, Run.

David wrote in a psalm that the Lord “counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name” (Psalm 147:4). Think of it: David is telling us, “When you’re in pain, stop and look up. You’ll realize, ‘If God can do this, He certainly can meet my need.’” I agree. If in your pain you focus on the majesty of God, you will receive more than any answer a preacher could give you.

You may think God has failed you because He hasn’t answered. I tell you, your miracle word is on the way. He is at work on your deliverance right now and has been since the moment you first prayed. He has promised never to forsake you. The seas may roar, the mountains may fall into the sea, and everything that can be shaken will be. But He cannot be shaken, and neither can His purposes for His Church.

When you touch Jesus — when you touch the hem of His garment — you receive His power. When the bleeding woman touched Him, we are told that “power had gone out of him” (Mark 5:30). Some versions use the word “virtue” here, which means “power.” This signifies power over all uncleanness, sin and death.

Remember, He is the God who made all things — including you and me. If that God could create a clean heart in David, a murderer and adulterer, He can do the same in you. He can turn your life around.

Dear saint, Jesus is present with you right now in your battle. You can press in and touch Him as surely as the bleeding woman did. You can experience the resurrecting, healing power of Christ, no matter what you are going through. He is walking beside you through it and He has a plan to bring you out of death and into life. Fear not — only believe!

When Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, heard that his beloved daughter had died, he faced one final test of his faith. He was forced to look death right in the face. Imagine the chaos and confusion in his home when he and Jesus arrived. I see Jairus’ wife collapsing into his arms, crying, “Where have you been? It’s too late. Our precious daughter is gone!”

As was the custom of that day, paid professional mourners were weeping and wailing at the scene. Yet when Jesus saw it all, He said to the gathering, “Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping” (Mark 5:39). What was their reaction? “They ridiculed Him” (Mark 5:40).

Beloved, this scene illustrates what the Lord asks of us all. We are to walk straight into our place of confusion, with death, terror and mockery staring us down, and obey this word: “Be not afraid, only believe!”

We don’t know whether Jairus’ faith held strong or if his heart was crushed with fear. We only know that all were astounded by what took place next. Jesus took the dead girl by the hand and said, “Little girl, I say to you, arise. Immediately the girl arose and walked” (5:41–42).

We are to remind ourselves of Jesus’ words time and time again — in the face of hopelessness and death, when all possibilities are over and nothing can be done: “Do not be afraid. Only believe.” You may say, “But when I’m in pain, I don’t have the strength to believe. I’m too weak, too overwhelmed.” Even after many years have passed since meeting the Lord, we will still find ourselves praying, “Lord, You have to put faith in me. I can’t believe on my own.” But know that the Holy Spirit is faithful to do that work. He will never fail to do it. We must stand on God’s Word — in spite of all pain and grief, in spite of all weakness of flesh, as Jairus and the bleeding woman did.