Devotions

The Lord is very patient with his children. He actually invites us, “Bring forth your strong reasons” (Isaiah 41:21), meaning that it is fine to have moments of questioning. We might receive some sudden, awful news — the death of a loved one, a pending divorce of a son or daughter, unfaithfulness of a mate. In such moments, God sends the Holy Spirit to bring us comfort, ease our pain, and settle our hearts. Our Lord feels every jolt of pain, fear and panic that strikes us.

God sees every detail of your crisis and he sees all the life-problems pressing in on you. Those who pray and wait on him with calm faith are never in any real danger. Moreover, he knows your panicky thoughts and yet his command to you holds true: “Don’t panic or get ahead of me. You are to do nothing but pray — and rely on me. I honor everyone who puts his trust in me.”

Consider these words God has given to his church: “Without faith it is impossible to please Him” (Hebrews 11:6). “Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us” (Psalm 62:8). “You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield” (Psalm 115:11). “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6). 

Unbelief is deadly, its consequences tragic. We face dire consequences if we try to extricate ourselves from our trials instead of trusting God to see us through. Jesus came to break our chains of legalism and deliver us from our shackles. But first we must admit our sin. When we confess our unbelief and then cast our future, our freedom, and our deliverance wholly into Jesus’ care, he will arrive on time! Our part is to do nothing — but trust him!

God can restore whatever has seemed dead in our lives with just a single word. Are you having financial problems, unable to pay your bills? So it was with the Lord’s disciples.

When tax time came around, Christ and his disciples had no money to pay the needed amount. So how did the Lord fix the situation? He sent Peter out to fish. “Go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give to them for Me and you” (Matthew 17:27).

I can only imagine what Peter must have thought: “Tax money in a fish’s mouth? This I’ve got to see. I’ve been a fisherman all my life and I’ve seen a lot of things inside fish — worms, hooks, seaweed. But I’ve never seen a coin.” Yet, when Peter reeled in the first flopping fish, he opened its mouth to find a gleaming coin — enough to pay their taxes, just as Jesus had said.

Why did the Holy Spirit move upon the gospel writers to record this story? And why didn’t Jesus just take up an offering, or send the disciples out to work for a day to bring in wages for the tax?

I believe Jesus moved supernaturally here because he wanted to prove to his children that he will do the impossible for us. He can fix any problem! He wanted us to know he is the same God who fed Elijah with bread and meat delivered by ravens (1 Kings 17:6); kept a widow’s barrel of meal from dwindling during a drought (1 Kings 17:14-16); and fed a crowd of 5,000 with a few fishes and loaves of bread (Matthew 14:19-21).

God knows that at certain times in our lives only a miracle will do and he wants to assure us he can do the impossible for us, in any situation. Beloved, believe God to provide for you in every area of your life because nothing is impossible with him.

God is searching for believers who desire to be thoroughly holy. Zephaniah 1:12 states, “I will search Jerusalem with lamps.” This means he comes, as it were, with lamps looking in the corners, checking the basement areas and places where one does not routinely go. He searches our hearts, looking deep, probing stubborn and unknown sins — sins not touched and not repented for.

When God brings in his lamps, he introduces us to things we did not even recognize. His searchlight helps him find and cut out even the “dust” of our sin so that nothing is left untouched. You may think your life is clean, and you should be thankful that God has done a wonderful work. You know that God is graciously working in a certain area — but what you may not realize is that as soon as he is finished in that area he will lead you into another area. When you feel him turn his lamp on you, you know there is more to be done. God is thorough and will do a powerful work in your life; he won’t stop until everything that doesn’t belong is removed.

God is looking for intercessors to cry out for the altar to be filled with humble people — those who will say with a broken heart, “I am hungry for more of Jesus! I long for him to stir my heart.” God wants people who don’t just make their lives look good outwardly by doing and saying the right things, but who also want their hearts to be changed. These are people who want holiness in the deepest recesses of their life — they want every trace of worldliness to be eradicated, and even the dust from their sin to be swept away.

And God is searching for humble leaders who acknowledge the sovereignty of the Lord and serve him alone. We all must say with John the Baptist, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).

As Jesus ministered to the Samaritan woman at the well, he offered her something she could get nowhere else — “living water.” He said to her, “Everyone who drinks this [physical] water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13-14).

What he promised the woman was hope, a way out of the despair and helplessness of a life embedded in sin. It was the one thing she most needed.

Thanks to Jesus’ obedience at the cross, we have the ability to make that same offer to everyone we meet. Our message is one of hope and forgiveness and freedom, a message people can get nowhere else but at the feet of Jesus. We hold in our hands the only satisfying drink of water in the middle of a dry and unrelenting desert, and all around us are people dying of thirst. All we need to do is reach out and make the offer, and Jesus will do the rest.

Just before the start of the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California, one year, a truck came barreling down Colorado Boulevard plastered with signs and Scripture verses on every side. One sign read: ACCEPT JESUS OR DIE! A picture of flames adorned another side of the truck, which was driven by an unkempt, middle-aged man who used a megaphone to scream, “Repent, sinners! If you don’t know Jesus, you’re going to burn in hell.” Angry bystanders reacted by shouting obscenities and throwing trash at the truck.

What a stunning contrast between Jesus’ testimony and this spectacle. I shudder to think about how much the cause of Christ was set back thanks to this angry, misguided believer. Jesus offered the gift of salvation to the Samaritan women with complete love and great compassion which, of course, is to serve as our example.

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.

Are you growing in grace? To me, grace is Holy Spirit empowerment to become more like Jesus; therefore, growing in grace means increasing in Christlikeness through the unmerited power of God’s Spirit. So let me rephrase the question: Are you relying on the Holy Spirit to make you more like Jesus — at home, at work, in relationships?

Take an honest look at your life over the past year and think of all the trials you have come through. Have you reacted with faith, grace, love and mercy? Have you been kind, patient, gentle and soft-spoken? Or do you have to admit that you have reacted with anger, self-pity and harsh words? “Since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness?” (2 Peter 3:11). “Be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless” (verse 14).

As a mature Christian, you have built a spiritual foundation over the years through regular Bible study, consistent prayer, and godly instruction. But are you still becoming more like Jesus? Are you more compassionate, meek, merciful and forgiving than you were at this time last year?

We become stunted in growth when we react childishly to the hurts others heap on us. Paul warned the Ephesians, “No longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4:14). You may think, “Well, this verse doesn’t apply to me. I’m grounded in the Word.”

But Paul’s message calls for us to examine ourselves yet again. How do we react to people who call themselves our brothers and sisters in Christ, yet spread falsehood about us? What is our answer when they wound and grieve us to the point of tears? Paul makes it clear that we are not to be childish.

I encourage you to examine your life carefully and remind yourself that growing in grace is increasing in the likeness of Christ through the power of the Spirit. And keep asking yourself this question: Am I growing more like Jesus by trusting the power of the Holy Spirit?