Fully Persuaded

COVER LETTER

Dearly Beloved:

A WORD OF CAUTION TO ALL WHO SUFFER:

When you are suffering, don’t threaten. Here is an amazing truth connected with Christ’s suffering: “When he was reviled, he reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not” (1 Peter 2:23). What a tremendous statement: “When he suffered, he threatened not.” Jesus never once defended himself against those who mistreated him. He punished no one and never retaliated against any.

How unlike us! We threaten when our suffering becomes unbearable. We defend ourselves and constantly protect our rights and reputation. And we withdraw from those who mistreat us. We hope the Lord will get even with them on our behalf.

Worst of all, we threaten God. This is a very subtle thing, and most of us are not aware we are doing it. When our prayers go unanswered — when help or deliverance doesn’t come, when we fall into the clutches of temptation, when trouble or disaster strikes our life, when it seems like the Lord has let us down and we end up lonely and in pain — we pull back from God. We grow slack in prayer and in reading God’s Word. We still love the Lord, but we let go of our zeal. Soon we begin to drift, and our faith becomes dull, inactive.

These responses are all threats against the Lord. Every time we back off from seeking him with all our hearts, we are threatening him. It’s a subtle way of saying, “Lord, I did my best, and you let me down.”

Right now, multitudes of Christians live in a stunned state of mind. They are not evil, backslidden or rebellious; they are simply overwhelmed by the problems and trials thrust upon them. They go about in a kind of spiritual and physical fog. They have stopped praying and seldom read the Bible. And they end up obsessed with their pain.

The Lord has infinite patience with those of us who hurt. He waits lovingly until we return to his tender care. But it can become a way of life, a threat to God’s faithfulness, if we refuse to wake up and renew our faith and hope in him. Some become so disillusioned they give in to their lusts. They indulge their desires because the battle seems so hopeless. It’s their way of saying, “What’s the use? I try so hard, and I can’t seem to get victory. I call on God to deliver me, but help never comes. I’ve still got this thing in me, after all my tears and prayers.”

It finally comes to this: “I have a right to do it because I’ve been hurt so badly.” This is a threat to God, a way of getting even with him for not answering our prayers on our schedule.

Beloved, there is hope. The Lord of hosts is with us! He alone is our keeper. He will not let his children slip or fall. We are held in the palm of his hand.

Let us do as Christ did. He “committed himself to him that judgeth righteously” (1 Peter 2:23). “To commit” is to place your life completely in his hands. Give up your struggle, quit trying to accomplish anything in your own strength, and commit the keeping of your body and soul to the Lord of hosts.

A closing word: In these perilous times of uncertainty and fear, I go to Psalm 27 for comfort. Also, I recommend you read Psalm 71. Ask the Holy Spirit to make these Scriptures a source of great hope and peace to your soul.

God bless you. Your support of our ministry’s many outreaches throughout the world is so appreciated.

In Christ,
DAVID WILKERSON

DW:bbm 12.31.69