Devotions

“[God] said, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’ Then [Moses] said to Him, ‘If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here’” (Exodus 33:14-15).

Moses knew it was God’s presence among them that set them apart from all other nations. The same is true of God’s people today. The only thing that sets us apart from nonbelievers is God’s presence “with us,” leading us, guiding us, working his will in and through us. His presence drives out fear and confusion.

Moses’ attitude was essentially, “We operate on one principle alone. The only way for us to be guided and survive in these times is to have God’s presence with us. When his presence is in our midst no one can destroy us. But without him we are helpless, reduced to nothing. Let all the nations of the world trust in their mighty armies, iron chariots and skilled soldiers. We will trust in the presence of the Lord.”

Consider King Asa, the man who led God’s people to a miraculous victory over Ethiopia’s million-man army. He testified it was God’s presence that had scattered the enemy: “Asa cried out to the Lord, and said, ‘Lord, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us … for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude … So the Lord struck the Ethiopians before Asa” (2 Chronicles 14:11-12).

As Asa led his triumphant army back to Jerusalem, the prophet Azariah met him at the city gate with this message: “Hear me, Asa … The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you … but when in their trouble [Israel] turned to the Lord God … and sought Him, He was found by them” (2 Chronicles 15:2-4). The Lord reminded Asa in no uncertain terms: “Asa, it was my presence that got you this victory and don’t you ever forget it.”

I cannot imagine how unbelievers can know any peace whatsoever in these perilous times without the presence and assurance of Jesus. Fear and anguish now hang over humankind like a black cloud. Thank God for the nearness and closeness of Jesus in this awful hour. He rejoices over you and will walk with you through everything.

“It is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:16, ESV). There are two elements of Jesus’ life that are meant to be part of our lives too. That is, we are to be holy and anointed. Some Christians might be intimidated when they hear this. “Sure, I live a moral life and I do my best to be godly — but holy? And anointed? How could that happen with all my failures?”

But there it is, straight from Peter’s pen. The only way this could happen is if Jesus gave us his own holiness and anointing, and that’s exactly what he did, through his perfect sacrifice for us. Christ lived a spotless life on earth, and through his perfect life on earth, his payment for our sins is thorough and endless.

Christ’s work for us — his crucifixion, death, and resurrection — did more than cleanse us of sin. Through it, he also imparted to us his righteousness. Think about what an amazing thing this is: While all our sin is on him, all his righteousness is on us. 

One of the sins God cleanses us of is our deep belief that our behavior makes us righteous. We can never earn our way to a higher level of righteousness; we’re made righteous by him alone. That’s where our victory lies. As Paul testifies, “I can no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith” (Philippians 3:9, NLT).

You may feel holy only on days when you’re doing well, worshipful and conscious of God in every way. But don’t mistake that for a state of holiness. You can never be holier than Jesus’ blood makes you. So, by his power, we are his worthy witnesses not just in good times but in bad times as well.

Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12, ESV).

The key to our belief is that he is at work already. Accept his holiness, no matter what you think of yourself, and receive his anointing to fulfill the works he has prepared for you. He’ll open every door and you’ll see him perform unexpected wonders!

Jesus sees and knows what could destroy us. He is Alpha and Omega, the first and the last page of our existence. He is never stunned by our mistakes, our secrets, and our failures. He never “finds out” anything about us — he has all knowledge and all love and he never gives up on us and our future.

This is beautifully illustrated in the relationship between Jesus and the brash Peter. Peter had boldly proclaimed his undying loyalty when he proclaimed that he would never forsake Jesus: “Even if all others forsake You, I will stay with You, even to my death!” (see Luke 22:33).

Later, of course, Peter denied knowing the Lord, going so far as to blaspheme his name to prove he did not walk with him. When he heard the awful sound of the rooster crowing, it felt like a dagger in Peter’s soul and he wept bitterly as he realized the satanic trap he had fallen into. He staggered away, planning to abandon everything to go back to his fishing vessel — returning to the nets of his past, in a state of profound resignation, captivity and despair.

Those who knew Peter could have told you that he was a “big talker” who failed miserably when push came to shove — just another story of wasted potential. But Jesus burned with the vision that Peter would become a man of God, a man of courage and eternal influence. And now Jesus saw the somber threat, demonic, dark, menacing, and destructive, hovering over Peter.  

Jesus is not naïve, like a sweet momma who is sometimes blinded by unrealistic love that causes her to lose all objectivity about “her baby.” No, to the contrary, Jesus clearly supernaturally foresaw, by the Holy Spirit, that Peter would be transformed for triumph: from weeping to worship; denying to deliverance; feebleness to faith; blasphemy to blessing; ruin to revival; from nearly dead to authority and destiny!

And this is how Jesus sees you! He never only sees what you have been or what you are presently, he sees what you can become by faith in him. “For God does not look as men look, for man looks at the outward, at what meets the eye, but God looks at what is invisible. He looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

^{Claude Houde is the lead pastor of Eglise Nouvelle Vie (New Life Church) in Montreal, Canada. Under his leadership New Life Church has grown from a handful of people to more than 3500 in a part of Canada with few successful Protestant churches.}

“Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil … let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” (Hebrews 10:19-20, 22).

There are two sides to Christ’s work at Calvary. One side benefits the sinner, while the other benefits the Father. We are well acquainted with the benefit on the human side. The cross of Christ has provided us with forgiveness of our sins; the power of victory over all bondages and dominion over sin; and a supply of mercy and grace And, of course we are given the promise of eternal life. 

Yet there is another benefit of the cross, one that we know little about. And this one is to the benefit of the Father. We understand very little about the delight of the Father that was made possible by the cross.

If all we focus on about the cross is forgiveness, then we miss an important truth that God has meant for us about the cross. There is a fuller understanding to be had here and it has to do with his delight. This truth provides God’s people with much more than just relief. It brings liberty, rest, peace, and joy.

God’s delight comes in his enjoyment of our company. Indeed, the most glorious moment in history was when the temple veil was rent in two, on the day that Christ died. At that moment, the earth trembled, the rocks rent, and the graves were opened. In the instant that the temple veil was torn asunder — separating man from God’s holy presence — something incredible happened. From that point on, not only was man able to enter into the Lord’s presence, but God could come out to man!

Before the cross, there was no access to God for the general public; only the high priest could enter the holy of holies. Now the Father declares, “This is my beloved Son in whom I delight. You are his body and he is your headship, so I delight in you also. All that I have given my Son, I give to you. His fullness is yours.”

“Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked … my heart is severely pained within me … fearfulness and trembling have come upon me …So I said, ‘Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest’” (Psalm 55:3-6). David speaks here of a satanic attack so severe that it drained his strength and patience and caused him to want to run. He moaned, “There is pain in my soul, a pressure that never lets up. It’s a battle that never ends and it terrifies me. Lord, don’t hide from me anymore, Please, listen to my complaint and make a way of escape for me.”

What was the cause of David’s awful battle? It was a voice: “Because of the voice of the enemy” (55:3). In Hebrew, the meaning here is “the voice of a man.” It was Satan speaking, along with his demonic oppressors.

What did David do about this? He cried out to the Lord for help, asking him to silence the enemy’s accusations: “Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues” (55:9). “All day they twist my words; all their thoughts are against me for evil … They hide … they lie in wait for my life” (56:5-6).

David’s testimony makes it clear for all of us: this is war. We are facing evil powers in a fight for our faith against the father of lies. And the only way we can do battle is to cry out to the Lord for help.

Like other holy servants of God, David came through his battle and was used mightily as never before. Beloved, the same joy awaits us just beyond our eclipse of faith. Yet it is when we are at our lowest — at the deepest point of our unbelief — that God is doing his deepest work in us, preparing us to glorify him.

Have you been sifted recently, your faith seeming to fail in a dark hour? I urge you to do three things: (1) Rest in God’s love for you. (2) Know that no matter how deep your unbelieving thoughts, the Lord sees what you are going through and his love for you never wavers. (3) And do as David did and cry to the Lord night and day: “Lord God of my salvation, in the morning my prayer comes to you. Incline your ear to my cry.”