Devotions

Do you ever feel as though you have fallen into a pit? Your “pit” could be a difficult relationship, a financial hole, an illness that you have fought for a long time. Your once close walk with Christ might seem like a distant dream and you are tempted to fall back into an old sin habit or unhealthy life pattern. Well, be encouraged! God has something powerful to say to you about where you are.

Joseph’s story in Genesis 37 tells us a lot about pits. In fact, two words are repeated throughout the Genesis narrative regarding Joseph: dream and pit. Almost every time Joseph had a dream it led to a pit; the first time was when he dreamed about ruling over his brothers. In his youthful enthusiasm, he shared his dream with them, but it didn’t go well. These men became so consumed with rage that they threw their little brother into a pit. However, God used this as a means of accelerating the process in placing Joseph in a position to achieve his kingdom purposes. Joseph was chosen! 

Think about the incredible trajectory of the life of this teen-aged shepherd, this dreamer, who became second-in-command of the world’s greatest empire. His path to fulfilling God’s objectives was not smooth, but along the way he was willing to endure every test faithfully as God strategically positioned him for his destiny.

Many believers are afraid to dream in faith. They would rather stay in their present pit than risk a move to higher ground. They know there is a cost to following God, a sacrifice that involves the unknown, and they tremble at having to pay it.

I encourage you to pick up the dream God has given you! Ask the Father to exchange your fear for faith and to use you in spite of your lingering anxiety. He will delight in your faith and you will be on his path to greatness.       

God made some verses in 1 Thessalonians come alive to me. Like most ministers, I had studied Paul in hopes of gleaning the secrets of such powerfully effective labor for Christ. I already knew his unchanging message — the gospel of Jesus Christ. I had also analyzed his methodology: he depended totally on the Holy Spirit. Daily he was led and strengthened by the Spirit’s power.

But now a third truth began to jump off the pages of my New Testament — Paul’s motivation. In reminding the believers of his visit to Thessalonica, which resulted in their conversions and the founding of a Christian church, Paul said, “As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children” (1 Thessalonians 2:6-7). The picture here in the original Greek is of a mother nursing her baby. What a tender picture of love and devotion. When a mother nurses an infant, it’s all about the baby, not her. Paul declared that was how he was while among them — all the attention and concern was for them, not him. The apostle's motivation was a fervent love for the believers in Thessalonica that could only be explained by God’s own love controlling him.

But then he went further: “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us” (2:8).

“We loved you so much,” Paul said, “that we didn’t want to share only the gospel with you, but our own lives as well!”

No wonder Paul’s messages reached the hearts of the people. His words were not only from his mouth, but also from a tender heart. What would make a minister want to give not just sermons to people, but his very life as well? It was love — God’s love!   

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. 

Many people find it difficult to think of God as a loving father because they see him through the eyes of past experiences. God describes his nature to Moses as being “merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth” (Exodus 34:6).

Satan loves to plant a perverted view of the Father in your mind, just as he tried with Job when Job accused God of being a “spy in the sky.” The devil tries to make you believe God is more willing to condemn you than he is to save and bless you. “For now, You number my steps, but do not watch over my sin. My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and You cover my iniquity” (Job 14:16-17). Job was saying, “Lord, you’ve been trailing me to see if I’m going to fail. You’re putting all my sins in a bag and saving them for judgment against me.”     

The truth is, God was not spying on Job at all. He was so full of love for Job that he was boasting of him. When we are in the midst of trials and difficulties, we tend to forget what God says about his own nature. Yet if we could only believe him in such times, we would have peace and assurance in our souls. Again, and again we see:

• God is ready to forgive at all times. “You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive” (Psalm 86:5).
• God is patient with us, full of tenderness and mercy. “The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works” (Psalm 145:9).
• He is slow to anger. “The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy” (Psalm 145:8).

When you go before the Lord in worship, be very careful what kind of image of God you take into his presence. Be fully convinced that he loves you and that he is all he says he is!

How does a sincere believer find the “cure” for unbelief? Consider these thoughts on how to rid your heart of doubt.

Take every worry, fear and burden to Jesus — and leave them on his shoulders!

“[Cast] all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). Beloved, this is God’s personal word to you: “Don’t carry that burden one hour longer. I care about everything that is happening and I’m big enough to take it all for you.”

I am so thankful that God is never stressed out or overloaded! His shoulders can carry the weight of all his children at one time; in fact, he urges us to lay everything on him. “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved” (Psalm 55:22).

Go down your checklist of burdens right now and tell God, “Father, I give you this problem, this challenge, this relationship.” And be fully convinced that he cares!

Next, launch out in full faith on the written Word of God. Take up the Lord’s challenge to live by his Word. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). You must be able to say, “I’m going to live and die by God’s Word!”

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 24). Let God take on the burden of keeping you. Just take him at his word and tell him you are going to stake your life on it. Show him you trust his every word — and be blessed!

Do you ever wonder why the disciples were so ignorant of the ways of Christ and the eternal purposes of God? Why, after three years of sitting under the blessed preaching of the Savior of the world, they remained blind, unprepared for the things to come? Why was their understanding of the cross and the resurrection so limited?

It was because they did not hear with faith! On several occasions Jesus had to rebuke them: “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!” (Luke 24:25).

“Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 8:26). They had little faith — hearts that were slow to believe his Word. And they were left empty, unprepared, confused — blinded by unbelief!

If Jesus marveled at the unbelief of the disciples during his time on earth, what must he think of us today? Nineveh repented after only one sermon, believing every word Jonah preached. Yet America has heard thousands of such warnings from many prophets, but multitudes of so-called Spirit-filled believers do not heed them. They say, “I don’t want to hear that anymore.” And then they just put it all out of mind!

How much of what you have heard do you remember? How deeply has it worked into your spiritual fiber? If God’s Word is not assimilated by faith — if we do not ask him in faith to help us receive and use it — we will end up picking and choosing only what we like. And we usually pick the blessings, mercies and comforts and shake off the demands, reproofs and warnings.

Trust makes God’s Word work its way into our spirit. And faith stamps it into our personality and minds so that it is never forgotten.