Devotions

“It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). As Scripture testifies, our lives here on earth are like grass (see Psalm 102:11). One day we’re here, growing and thriving, and the next day we’re fading away with the season. We’re like the vapor of breath we see on a frosty day: here one moment and gone the next. And I’m convinced that just one moment into eternity, we’ll realize how unimportant and fleeting our present fears and trials have been. We’ll also see just how present the Lord has been with us the whole time, watching over us with His saving and keeping power.

I bring you good news—glorious news—that will help combat all the bad news you’ve been hearing. I believe this news will keep your heart and spirit peaceful, even joyful, through all that’s coming upon the earth. Here is that good news:

If you have repented of any and all sins and you are trusting Jesus—believing in His cleansing blood, submitting daily to His lordship—you’re going to stand before His throne without fault or fear. In fact, you’re going to be acknowledged before everyone present—every human, every angel, every demon in hell—as the precious Bride of Christ.

You will not have to face even a single sin against you, nor be exposed for any failure, but you will be able to stand without blemish.

Not a single sin of yours will be mentioned. Instead, only your good works—including your faith in Jesus Christ—will be expressed to the multitudes gathered.

Whenever we face afflictions and persecution, Satan comes to us whispering fears and lies: “How are you going to make it through this crisis? What will you do now? If God is faithful, how could He allow this to happen to you? How could He put your loved ones at risk this way? What will become of you, your family, your job, your ministry?”

But enduring faith rises up and answers the enemy’s lies: “Devil, you’re asking the wrong questions. The question for me right now is not how I’m going to make it. It is not what will become of me and mine. I have already placed everything — all afflictions, all trials, all my plans, everything that concerns me — into my loving Father’s hands. He has proved Himself faithful time after time and He can be trusted with my future.”

With this established in our hearts, the question for us is, “How can I love and serve my Lord better? How shall I serve others as myself?”

Enduring faith means casting ourselves wholly on the will of God, as Jesus describes it in the Sermon on the Mount. In short, we are to seek God and His concerns first, and everything we need will then be given to us (see Matthew 6:33).

Enduring faith declares, “I have no will of my own. Rather, His will be done. No more personal agenda for me. No more playing God by trying to solve my own problems or those of others. Holy Spirit, keep my mind stayed on my Lord and His promises.”

With such faith, we’ll be ready for whatever the present hour brings.

Upon being verbally assaulted by a man with a demon, Jesus said to the demon, “Be quiet! Come out of the man” (Luke 4:35, NLT). At that, the demon threw the man down and came out of him without hurting him further.

What would it be like today to have faith to believe that your marriage could not be damaged any further? What would it be like for you to believe that your children who are far from God could come back to the Lord and know Him?

I have seen what is written in this text to be a reality and I want to tell you, the same thing can happen for you. I was at the very edge and it was all over my prodigal son. He left home, got into drugs, and was living on the street. He was just a wild kid but he had a good heart and I knew God had a calling on his life. 

I began to pray these things: “Holy Spirit, interfere with my prodigal son, Elliot. Oh, Holy Spirit, wherever he is right now, cut short the plans of the enemy because I know that he’s called to victory after victory. And then, Lord, destroy the works of the enemy.”

The prodigal has come home! Jesus interfered with his life and my son is a changed man. He’s serving God. He’s just totally different! There’s joy, there’s confidence, there’s boldness. And there’s vision for his future. Why? Because Jesus gets involved, Jesus cuts short, and Jesus destroys. 

The good news is that Jesus wants to take what is planned against you and destroy it so that it cannot harm you any further. He can do that for you today!

There is tremendous relief in living under the guidance and provision of God. It takes a lot of worry off your shoulders. I don’t have to wonder where my next meal is coming from or whether I’ll have a place to lay my head. I know that God is in complete control and He has never let me down.

Early in my ministry I worried about my children. I knew that my background would haunt me, and I wondered if the curse my parents were under would bleed over into my family. I knew that Satan didn’t like the way I assaulted him week after week and the way I did it in his own backyard. He taunted me constantly, and I knew he would do the same to my wife and children.

As an evangelist I spent a lot of time on the road, away from home, and as a young man I spent hours praying that God would take care of my family, protect them from the harm that Satan wanted to do to them. 

Many nights I lay awake in a hotel room praying, “Lord, You know that I try to be the best husband and father I can be. I love my children and Gloria more than I love my own life. I couldn’t stand the thought of anything happening to them. Please take care of my family. Please watch over their hearts. Watch over my babies, Jesus.”

The more I prayed that prayer, the more God put a sense of peace in my spirit. He told me that if I would stay faithful to His calling on my life, He would take care of Gloria and the children. He knew my heart. He knew how much I wanted to serve Him and how much I hurt for the lost and helpless of the world, so He commissioned me to reach out to them at every opportunity. And He wanted me to do so without worrying about my family.

It was one of the many conversations that God has had with me through the years. He promised to take care of my family, so I released them completely to His care. And He has always kept His promise.

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. 

Some of you going through difficult situations are in a dangerous place with your faith.

I must ask: Have you allowed seeds of unbelief into your heart? Do you have serious questions regarding God’s faithfulness? Instead of worshiping Him, do you doubt Him?

“Lord, why haven’t You intervened for me? Why have You allowed such confusion in my marriage, my family? You have put on me more than I’m able to bear.” Such an attitude can lead to a hardened heart and eventually spiritual deadness.

The apostle Paul exhorted Timothy, “Endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2 Timothy 2:3). The Greek word for hardness here indicates suffering, difficult afflictions. What does Paul say to Timothy about these things? “Endure them, son! You are a soldier in the Lord’s army. You’ve been trained to undergo hardship in spiritual battle.”

We see this reflected in the Old Testament as well. We are told, “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him” (2 Chronicles 16:9, my italics). The Hebrew word for perfect in this verse means “wholly given to Him in trust.”

God looks down upon the whole earth, searching diligently for that man or woman of faith who is given to Him in complete trust.

Whenever the Lord finds such a servant, He says of that person, “This beloved one is holding fast to his faith and confidence in Me. Therefore, I will show Myself strong to him. He’s going to know My power and see My strong arm revealed on his behalf.”