Devotions

“One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple” (Psalm 27:4).

David is testifying, “I have one prayer, Lord, one request. It is my single most important goal in life; it consumes me and I will seek after it with all that is in me.” Make no mistake, David was no ascetic, shunning the outside world and hiding away in a lonely desert place. No, David was a passionate man of action, a great warrior, with huge throngs singing of his victories in battle. He was also passionate in his prayer and devotion, with a heart that yearned after God. The Lord had blessed David with many of the desires of his heart and he had tasted of everything a man could want in life: riches, power and authority, respect and adulation. On top of all this, he was surrounded by devoted men who were willing to die for him.

Most of all, David was a worshiper, a praising man who gave thanks to God for all his blessings. When David prayed that he might dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life, he was not talking about leaving his throne to move into the physical temple of God. No, his heart yearned for something he saw in the spirit. He said, in short, “There is a beauty, a glory, an excitement about the Lord I haven’t yet seen in my life. I want to know what it is like to have uninterrupted communion with my God. I want my life to be a living prayer.”

When David inquired of the Lord and prayed, “Have mercy also upon me, and answer me” (Psalm 27:7), God answered with these simple words, “Seek my face” (27:8). That is the key! As you seek God’s face, he will bring you into continual, uninterrupted communion with the Christ of glory.

As you look at your life, are you discouraged because of failed expectations? You may have prayed for years, but the things you believed God for have not come to pass. The enemy may be whispering, “You haven’t been effective at all; in fact, your life has not made any difference in the world.”

If you are enduring such feelings, take heart, because you are in good company. Many great servants of God throughout history ended up feeling they failed in their calling. When the prophet Elijah looked at his life, he felt like such a failure that he cried out, “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life” (1 Kings 19:4). He felt like everything he had done for the Lord had been in vain.

King David became so despondent over what he believed was a wasted anointing on his life that he wanted to fly away like a bird to an isolated place: “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest” (Psalm 55:6).

Even the great apostle Paul trembled in fear at the thought of having spent his life as a useless laborer. He wrote to the Galatians, “I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain” (Galatians 4:11).

Beloved, the devil is lying to you, saying that all you have done is in vain. We know from Isaiah that the Lord knows your battle because he fought it before you. But Jesus showed us the way out of such despondency with this statement: “I have labored in vain … yet surely my just reward is with the Lord, and my work with my God” (Isaiah 49:4).

Do not listen to the enemy’s lies; instead, rest in the Holy Spirit, believing him to fulfill the work of making you more like Christ. Rise up and stand on this word: “Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:2-5).

Peter was excited to communicate with the churches of the cities he had traveled through. They were outcasts, having been forced out of their homeland, but Peter was painting a beautiful picture for them. His soul was stirred as he spoke of being sanctified of the Spirit, of obedience to Jesus, and the foreknowledge of the Father. He was speaking of how God would keep them and give them an inheritance in the Savior that would be revealed “in the last time.” They were born again to a living hope in Jesus. 

Sanctification empowers believers by the working of the Holy Spirit to be obedient; he keeps that work alive. You may fail him at times but if you have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus, his power is still at work in you, so do not walk in condemnation and shame.

Just as these “elect exiles” were displaced, you may face things in your life that seem to be reversals and setbacks, but you can be sure that every time God says no, it is because he is preparing something better, something that will position you to reach the goals that he has set for you. He is alive and working — and his promises are for you!

King David wanted to build the temple in Jerusalem and create a magnificent building for God, but the Lord told him that he would not be the one to do it. Instead, the Lord chose his son Solomon. All the officials of Israel gathered in Jerusalem and David announced God’s plan. “[God] said to me: ‘Solomon your son is the one who will build my house and my courts’” (1 Chronicles 28:6).

God’s choice was clear. Seems simple, right? David had already received the building plans from God himself and collected most of the needed materials. All Solomon had to do was start. But right there is so often the place of failure. David understood the challenge facing his son. Throughout the chapter we find him encouraging Solomon: “Be strong and do the work” (v. 10). And “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished” (v. 20).

Despite the fact that Solomon was God’s choice and that he had complete instructions and all of the needed materials, he still had to get past the fear that paralyzes us to inaction. The Message, a contemporary Bible translation, renders verse 10, “And do it!” No one is saying that there will not be opposition or problems, but it is through the Spirit’s impartation of faith and boldness that we can be brave and move ahead with the work God has called us to do.

God has called all of us to something. Jesus said about the moment he will return: “Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come” (Mark 13:33). But because of fear, we haven’t always gone out and done it.

The Holy Spirit is greater in power than our shyness or timidity and he is greater than our fear or rejection of failure. His power makes the weakest as bold as a lion (see Proverbs 28:1).

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.

It is possible to say, “I believe God can do the impossible,” and yet be unable to accept the miracles of the Lord for ourselves because of a doubting heart. In Matthew we find Jesus getting into a boat to leave for “a deserted place by Himself” (14:13). He had just received word that John the Baptist had been beheaded and he was so moved by the news that he felt the need to be by himself to pray. Yet, when the multitudes heard that Jesus was leaving, “they followed Him on foot from the cities” (same verse).

Thousands of people came from all directions in all types of physical condition. The infirm were carried on stretchers or wheeled toward him in homemade carts. Blind men and women were led through the crowd, and the lame hobbled forward on makeshift canes and crutches. They all had one overriding objective: get near to Jesus and receive a healing touch!

And what was Christ’s response to this incredible scene? “He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick” (Matthew 14:14). And then, at the end of that marvelous day and after performing all those miracles of healing, Jesus decided to feed the huge crowd (see Matthew 14:16-21).

Later, on the boat sailing to Magdala, the disciples were tired from their long day and began to squabble because they had only one loaf of bread among them (see Mark 8:14). Imagine! Peter, James, John and the others were worried about bread when they had just come from the greatest bread-feeding in history! Jesus was incredulous and reproved them, “How is it that you do not understand?” (8:21).

This message is for all who are on the brink of exhaustion, overwhelmed by your present situation. You have been a faithful servant, feeding others, confident that God can do the impossible for his people but you harbor lingering doubts about his willingness to intervene in your own struggle.

The Holy Spirit is calling you to remember the compassion of Jesus, remember the abundance of the loaves and fishes, and know that he is not willing that even one of you will faint.