Devotions

Noah lived in a generation that had spun out of control. Violence and murder were rampant and unspeakable wickedness had spread wantonly.

“Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth … And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth … So the Lord said, ‘I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them’” (Genesis 6:5-7).

God told Noah, “I’m going to destroy all flesh but I will preserve you and your family. I want you to build an ark, Noah, and gather into it all the animal species, in twos. While you are building, I will show mercy to the inhabitants of the earth for a season and then I will send a rain that will not stop for forty days and nights. A great flood will wipe out every living thing.” Then God gave Noah the dimensions of the ark — its length, wide and depth — in great detail (see Genesis 6:11-22). 

Noah was given the task of building an enormous ark while living in a violent, dangerous world. He had to accept it all by faith, with no further direction for many years. I’m certain he was mocked and threatened as he tediously worked, yet he kept building and believing while the world around him danced, partied and wallowed in sensuality.

God told this man, “I’m asking you to obey me, and if you ever start to doubt, you must trust what I’ve told you.” This was so illogical and unreasonable that Noah must have become discouraged at times and wondered if he had really heard from God.

Have you ever felt God was speaking to you and then there was silence? No further direction, no sign from heaven? Be encouraged! Noah remained faithful and because of his obedience, he is listed as a victor in the “Hall of Faith,” becoming an “heir of the righteousness which is according to faith” (Hebrews 11:7). In your time of trouble, take hope that just like the great heroes listed, the victory is yours in Christ.

We are living in a time of the greatest gospel revelation in history. There are more preachers, more books, more gospel-media saturation than at any time in history. Yet there has never been more distress, affliction and confusion among God’s people. Pastors today design their sermons just to pick people up and help them deal with despair. They preach on God’s love and patience, reminding us that he understands our times of discouragement. We are told, “Just hold on. Be encouraged. Even Jesus felt forsaken by his Father.”

There’s nothing wrong with this. Yet there is still just one reason why we see so little victory and deliverance: it is unbelief. The fact is, God has spoken with clarity in these last days: “I have already given you the Word. It is finished — so now, stand on it. 

There are those who say we are experiencing a famine of God’s Word today but the truth is, we are experiencing a famine of hearing God’s Word and obeying it. Why? Because faith never comes to us by logic or reason. Paul states plainly, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). The only way true faith will ever rise up in any believer’s heart is by hearing — that is, believing, trusting, and acting on — God’s Word.

Are you discouraged? The Lord says, “I give you my Word.”

• “For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You … You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye” (Psalm 32:6-8).
• “The eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy” (Psalm 33:18).
• “This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles” (Psalm 34:6).

In just three psalms we are given enough of God’s Word to drive out all unbelief. I urge you now: hear it, trust it, obey it. And, finally, rest in it.

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:1-2).

God created everything — the oceans, the rivers, the birds, the animals, sea creatures, all vegetation and “man in his own image” — and after each day of creation he proclaimed, “It is good” (see Genesis 1:4, 9, 11, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31). After creating man and woman, “God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion’” (1:28).

“Blessed” is a powerful word here. The kind of blessing God gave was the power to achieve things yet to be realized. He was saying, “I have filled the earth with glorious and wonderful things that I call good and now I am giving you power to fill up the earth with the things that please me. I am blessing you and giving you dominion over every living thing on the earth.”

As we understand that everything we have is a gift from God, we must also realize that Satan will attempt to manipulate God’s blessings and turn them into things that we would try to control ourselves (see Genesis 3:1). Satan is crafty and he will try to take the good things God has given us and make them a snare for us. The first sin in the Garden of Eden was using good things in a sinful way.

We are to take the blessings of God and use them to glorify the King. It is wonderful to see the cycle of receiving and giving — giving generously — to those in need. I encourage you to look at your own blessings and ask God what he would have you to do for others. He blesses those whose hearts are open to give of their possessions or their time to make a difference in the lives of others. God has blessed you to be a blessing!

Fear presents itself in many ways — fear of rejection, opposition, suffering, and failure, to name a few. And let’s be honest. Just because I am a pastor doesn’t mean I am any different from anyone else. I have the same desire to be liked, to fit in with everyone else. And I am not immune to the temptation to fear.

With the Holy Spirit’s help, we can experience the same courage that God gave to the early believers, who were threatened by the very authorities who had arranged the crucifixion of Jesus. Upon their release from jail, they gathered with other believers in a prayer meeting (always a good idea when faced with an assault on our faith). “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly” (Acts 4:31, emphasis added). Praise God! They felt the heat, but through a time of prayer, they experienced a fresh infilling of the Spirit and a new boldness.

Other than going through the emotional suffering of rejection or opposition, there isn’t a lot of deep suffering for Christ in North America. At least not the kind of suffering faced by the early church. But it is a different story in other parts of the world. Take, for instance, China.

The communist regime tried to wipe out Christianity in China; in fact, they often tried to erase any mention of God. But a church movement has been growing miraculously for many decades in China, and despite the threats and danger, there are now tens of millions of strong, vibrant Christians there.

Do you feel prompted to do something for God? I encourage you follow his leading, even if it means leaving your comfort zone and stepping out into uncharted waters. Share a Bible passage with someone on the phone, start a prayer ministry, witness to a co-worker. Don’t hold back because of fear of failure. Be bold in the Spirit!

Jim Cymbala began the Brooklyn Tabernacle with less than twenty members in a small, rundown building in a difficult part of the city. A native of Brooklyn, he is a longtime friend of both David and Gary Wilkerson.

The Lord told Peter, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24).

Clearly, belonging to Jesus’ church means more than merely believing in him. Many Christians today “cast a vote for Jesus,” but then they walk away and forget all about his lordship over their lives. Our Lord makes it clear that belonging to him involves living a life of self-denial and taking up a cross. “He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:38).

Jesus is saying, “If you are in my church, then be prepared to be persecuted and ridiculed if you hunger and thirst after me. And be prepared to deny yourself all fame, acceptance and worldly pleasure-seeking.” The fact is, Christ’s church has never been accepted by the world and it never will be. People will be uncomfortable around you and want to separate from your company. “Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you … for the Son of Man’s sake” (Luke 6:22).

Jesus shows us the path that leads to true fulfillment: “Whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matthew 16:25). In other words, the only way you will find meaning in life is to be sold out for Jesus. Then you will find true joy, peace and satisfaction. Christ tells us, “When you come to me, you must die to self, to all ungodly ambition and ego. By faith you will be buried with me, but I will raise you up into new life!” 

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). Only the words of Jesus can produce life and we must consume them as we would food and drink — by daily reading the Word of God and spending time in his presence.