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Devotions

THE LORD’S ENCOURAGEMENT

David Wilkerson

David and his band of men were on the run from King Saul, who had been trying to kill him. At one point the small army encamped in a town called Ziklag, where they settled their families. From there they went out to do battle, leaving their wives and children safely behind.

After a battle, David and his army were making a three-day trip back home when their village was suddenly raided by the Amalekites. This fierce enemy kidnapped the families of David and his men and burned down the whole town.

“So [they] came to the city, and, behold, it was burnt with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captive” (1 Samuel 30:3).

RECOUNTING BLESSINGS

David’s response to this calamity was that “[he] encouraged himself in the Lord” (30:6). I believe he did this by remembering God’s past deliverances. In his young life, he had killed a bear, slain a lion, and brought down the giant Goliath. Now, as he agonized over this loss, he recounted those battles and the many others he had won.

ONLY A PERSONAL WORD

David was saying, “I need a word from the Lord.” He knew that no one could encourage him — not the very wise captains under his charge or, indeed, any counselor at all. David had to have a personal word directly from the One who had delivered him from every desperate situation he had ever faced.

Beloved, the same is true for you and me today. There simply is nobody on earth who can lift your soul out of despair or keep your spirit encouraged through the duration of your crisis. We all must get our own word from the Lord. Like David, we are called to strengthen ourselves by recalling God’s deliverances in our lives. And we must also remember those times when God has proven fruitful in past generations.

GOD’S EARTHLY BLESSINGS

Gary Wilkerson

Moses knew how important God’s blessings were to Israel. His supernatural works had saved their lives — manna from heaven when they faced starvation and water from a rock when their bodies were parched beyond their limits.

But Moses recognized that the point of these experiences, beyond their miraculous provision, was to know and trust the compassionate, loving God who bestowed them. Moses’ next statement comes as no surprise:

“Please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight” (Exodus 33:13).

Moses knew that, ultimately, God’s favor wasn’t found in the blessings He provided — it was found in knowing the Lord Himself. 

THROUGH A PASTOR’S EYES

I thank God for all His earthly blessings. As a pastor, I get to see His amazing work in people’s lives all the time. He restores marriages that have broken apart. He provides for those who struggle economically. He brings healing to people’s sick, broken bodies.

As I write this, I think of a little boy named Isaiah who wasn’t expected to live for ten days beyond his birth. After he survived the first year, doctors said he would never walk. Recently, his mom sent me a video of young Isaiah dancing with a little girl at a wedding!

GOD’S BREATH OF LIFE

Such things speak of God’s unlimited favor — His ability to breathe life into any desert wilderness. We all experience His favor in ways too great to measure: our relationships, our health, our work, our school. When we struggle in any area of life, or our circumstances get too difficult, He sustains us with His soothing presence. God has done things in our lives we never could imagine happening. His unlimited favor knows no boundaries.   

THE TEACHING MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Jim Cymbala

Just like any minister today, Jesus preached using only His voice. And just like any congregation today hearing a sermon, the disciples could hear His words only with their ears and process them with their minds. But the truth of God is different from mathematics or the laws of science. It can be understood and appropriated into our lives only when it is revealed to our innermost being: that is where its life-changing power works (see Matthew 13:18-23).

MERE FACTS IN OUR BRAIN CELLS

A divine book must have a divine teacher so that its message can be revealed on a spiritual level. Otherwise the message just crumbles into facts that reside only in our brain cells. That Jesus was born in Bethlehem is a fact. Understanding the glorious meaning of Immanuel, God with us, and the significance of His lying in a stable requires divine teaching. So it is absolutely necessary for the Holy Spirit to be our teacher if the Bible is to be truly understood. The Spirit can overcome the human limitations of voice, ear, and brain because He teaches in the classroom of the heart.

WHAMMO! IT COMES ALIVE

That is why we can read a portion of Scripture for years and then when we read it again, Whammo, it comes alive! We understand it in a brand-new way. We ask, Why didn’t I see that before? That is the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Of course, teachers play an important role, as do apostles, evangelists, prophets and pastors. But even when teachers do their best, the only way for us to be ultimately blessed by the Word is through the inner teaching of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is faithful to help us know truth from error and keep us from satanic distortions. But for all of that to happen, we must come with humble, teachable hearts.

 

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.

FIGHT FOR YOUR FAITH

David Wilkerson

A time comes when all weeping must end. It is then that God’s people rise above their grieving, above every dire foreboding, and get back their fight.

In the New Testament, Hebrews echoes Isaiah’s words:

“Strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed” (Hebrews 12:12–13, NASB).

The meaning here is, in effect: “Don’t stay down. Get up and fight for your faith. Don’t give in to sore, trembling knees; instead, keep running. If you succumb to fear and worry, your faith may end up crippled.”

After enduring a period of weeping, there comes a time to fight!

CASTING BLAME

Consider the crippling response of David’s army to their calamity at Ziklag. After these mighty men had finished weeping, they grew outraged and blamed David for having allowed the disaster. They were so embittered by their horrible misfortune that they began picking up stones to kill him (read the account in 1 Samuel 30:1-6).

In my opinion, this is exactly what the majority of people are doing right now over the current state of affairs in the world. They’re turning left and right, asking, “Who is to blame for this calamity? Everything is a mess.”

LET IT GO — AND FIGHT

I urge every follower of Jesus: Forget about how we got here. Forget about who is responsible. Most of all, forget about your own personal “what-ifs” — “If only I had done this or that, my finances would be okay, my life would be better.” If you hang on to such thoughts, your fear will turn into rage or some other crippling, destructive spirit. The Lord intends a different direction for all your energies. His Word tells us, “Now is the time to fight for your faith!”

A WORD OF ASSURANCE

David Wilkerson

I believe that through all the churning and chaotic events going on in the world today, God is bringing down greed, covetousness, and pride. I’m convinced He could no longer permit sexual perversions to destroy the soul of an entire generation. And I believe same-sex marriages have become a flash point of God’s vengeance.

Isaiah describes a period in history that was full of weeping, fear and trembling. Yet the Lord gave Isaiah a word of assurance for His people:

“Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you” (Isaiah 35:3-4, my italics).

The Lord was saying, in essence: “Strengthen the exhausted. Build up those who are weak among you. Encourage all who are afraid and full of anxiety. Tell them, ‘There is no need to be fearful. This is all the Lord’s doing. And through it all, He is going to preserve His people. He is doing this to save you.’”

EVEN THE GODLY TREMBLE

Beloved, even the most godly among us experience a trembling of heart, a sudden rush of fear, when a terrible crisis comes. At such times, it is not a sin to have a moment of deep anxiety.

Indeed, when the Lord gave this word to Isaiah, He was making sure that all who felt overwhelmed by the terrifying situation would not be crushed by it. He wanted every weary, troubled heart to hear: “Fear not! Take courage, for the Lord is a Savior to His people.”