Devotions

Once, when Jesus traveled from Judea to Galilee, the apostle John records that “he had to go through Samaria” (John 4:4). The fact is, Jesus didn’t have to go through Samaria to get to Galilee, geographically speaking. In fact, because Jews hated Samaritans, Jews regularly took the long way around in order to avoid that region. But Jesus felt compelled to go through Samaria because that’s where the Spirit now led Him—He had to go through Samaria not as a matter of geography, but as a matter of mission, out of obedience to the Spirit’s guidance.

When Jesus reached Samaria He sent His disciples on ahead of Him and He sat down beside Jacob’s well. There He waited for His divine encounter with the Samaritan woman, where He supernaturally discerned everything about her. Their conversation changed her life forever, and she became the world’s first evangelist, witnessing about Jesus to the people of her city. Jesus stayed with these Samaritans for two more days and was able to bring many others to salvation before moving on. This encounter would never have happened if Jesus hadn’t been following the Spirit’s leading.

Later, in Galilee, as the time for the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem drew near, the brothers of Jesus urged Him to travel there “so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world” (John 7:3-4).

But Jesus was on a different schedule. He answered them, “You go to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, because for me the right time has not yet come.” (John 7:8).

Once again Jesus was waiting for clearance from the Holy Spirit to move. He was waiting for the right time to make an entrance at the feast and to reveal His wisdom and teaching to the people in Jerusalem. He knew, in fact, that He was the true feast — the Messiah they’d been waiting for. He Himself was the reason for their celebration, though they did not realize it.

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. 

In recent weeks I’ve sought the Lord for a word that would give me peace amid all the unnerving bad news.

I heard the Holy Spirit whisper, “David, behold the glory of Christ. That is what will keep you anchored in peace.”

“Thank you, Lord,” I prayed. “But what really is the glory of Christ?”

To me, His glory comes down to something I need and understand: loving kindness. This is more than just Christ’s kindness. It is His loving kindness — then it is his tender loving kindness.

This may be but one facet of His glory. But it is how we need to see Christ — the exact likeness of the heavenly Father, who is caring, tender, loving and kind to His children.

Paul beheld Christ’s glory every morning. This much-afflicted servant of God woke up on many days deeply troubled. There were countless times when he was cast down and perplexed. But Paul stirred his soul to look up so he might behold the glory of Christ — meaning, the mercy and loving kindness of the person of Christ. As Paul did this, the Holy Spirit renewed him with strength to face each day.

Jeremiah wrote this prophecy: “Let him that glorieth glory in this, that He understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight” (Jeremiah 9:24).

Note the very first item in this list of things God delights in: loving kindness. His message to us is clear: We are called to glory in his loving kindness.

David testified in the Psalms, “All thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. Yet the Lord will command His loving kindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life” (Psalm 42:7–8, my italics).

Paul writes, “We are troubled on every side . . . perplexed . . . persecuted . . . cast down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8–9).

“Trouble on every side” — Can you identify with this phrase? Perhaps you’re facing physical pain, marital distress, financial problems, concerns for your children. Life can be totally overwhelming at times.

The fact is, it is possible to be in God’s perfect will and still be cast down at times. We can walk in the very center of His will and still be perplexed, troubled and persecuted.

Some Christians have been troubled on every side for so long they think, “This cannot be of God. It’s all too much to endure. My suffering has gone on for too long and I feel utterly abandoned. The Lord must be chastening me for past sins. There’s no other explanation.”

Paul lays before us wonderful truth he clung to that kept him from despairing:

“Though our outward man perish, our inward man is renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16).

Hear the truth Paul is declaring to us:

“Yes, all these many troubles and trials have worn down my outward body. My flesh is indeed slowing down. But, at the same time, something wonderful is happening in my soul. All these things are working together for good in me, and I am growing in my knowledge of the Lord and His ways.”

Paul knew he was living in God’s perfect will. He realized all his trials weren’t happening because he was under wrath. On the contrary, Paul knew more deeply than ever that he was greatly loved by the Lord.

In short, Paul had embraced his condition and was learning patience: “You have need of patience, that, after you have done the will of God, you might receive the promise” (Hebrews 10:36).

Not long ago, a wonderful young Christian unburdened his great anxiety to me.

“I feel a calling from the Lord to work with youth and children, but all doors to ministry just keep shutting to me. I pray for other doors to open, but God doesn’t seem to hear my cry. I feel so useless.

“The only ministry I do now is helping with an outreach in one of our slum areas once a week. I serve as a big brother to a preacher’s son because his dad is very sick. But that’s all I’m doing. I have to believe God has more for me.”

When I heard this, I told the young man, “I want you to understand something. What you are doing right now is more precious to the Lord than if you were preaching to thousands in some stadium. Usefulness to Him has nothing to do with numbers.

“You are playing a part in saving that preacher’s son. Go and be a friend to those few slum kids God has given you. Be satisfied in this time and place. And know you are living in God’s perfect will because you’re being faithful in the little things.”

Tell me, Christian, have you made peace with your present situation? Can you trust that God is doing His perfect work in you through every circumstance? If you can’t, you will grow restless, hopeless and eventually mad at God. You’ll become bitter and hard.

Peter writes, “Let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator” (1 Peter 4:19). Likewise, Paul instructs, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Paul wrote many of his epistles to the churches while locked up in a cramped prison cell — bound, despised, cut off from believers and seemingly from all ministry. Talk about painful conditions. Yet Paul never spoke of being a prisoner of his circumstances; instead, he called himself “a prisoner of Christ” (see Ephesians 3:1).

In his epistle to the Colossians, Paul stated his desire for all saints who suffer: “That you might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness” (Colossians 1:9–11).

Amazingly, Paul’s words of hope and exhortation were a product of his longest imprisonment, probably in Caesarea. When Paul penned these words he had no hope of being released. As far as he knew, he would be there for years, possibly for the rest of his days. It is clear that he had made peace with his painful circumstances.

Nowhere in this letter do we find Paul questioning the Lord. The apostle had entered into a full spiritual understanding of God’s will and embraced his circumstances as the Lord’s will for his life at that moment. Therefore, Paul wrote triumphantly to the Colossians, “Oh, that you would come into this full spiritual understanding of God’s will for you.”

Can you imagine? Here was Paul in utter captivity, lacking freedom of any kind. Yet he spoke of “walking worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing to Him, being fruitful in every good work, increasing in the knowledge of the Lord.”