David Wilkerson Devotions

God gave the prophet Jeremiah a revelation of his name Jehovah Tsidkenu (pronounced Je-HO-va  Sid-KAY-noo) in a time of crisis similar to the one we face today. “Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; now this is his name by which he will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’” (Jeremiah 23:5–6, NKJV).

As Jesus stood at the highest point of the temple, Satan whispered to him, “Go ahead. Jump! If you’re really God’s son, he’ll save you.”

“Then the devil took him up into the holy city, set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give his angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” (Matthew 4:5-6, NKJV).

God has given us an ironclad promise for life on this earth. He says that when our enemy attempts to walk over us, “Therefore my people shall know my name; therefore they shall know in that day that I am he who speaks: ‘Behold, it is I.’” (Isaiah 52:6, NKJV). In other words, God says, “When you’re in your darkest trial, I will come and speak a word to you. You’ll hear me say, ‘It is I, Jesus, your Savior. Don’t be afraid.’”

God took the little nation of Israel and isolated them in a wilderness. He was placing them in a school of testing to produce a people who would trust in him no matter the circumstances. He wanted Israel to testify, “I can go through any test, any difficulty, even those beyond my abilities. How? I know that my God is with me in every trial. He will always bring me through.”

No one on earth can place you in ministry. You may be given a diploma by a seminary, ordained by a bishop or commissioned by a denomination; but the apostle Paul reveals the only source of any true call to ministry: “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry” (1 Timothy 1:12, NKJV).

Contentment was a huge test in Paul’s life. After all, God said he would use him mightily: “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of mine to bear my name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15, NKJV). When Paul first received this commission, “Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God” (Acts 9:20).

Surrender. What does this word tell you? In literal terms, surrender means “to give up something to another person.” It also means to relinquish something granted to you. This could include your possessions, power, goals or even your life. Christians today hear much about the surrendered life, but what does it mean exactly?

When a crisis strikes, you don’t have time to build yourself up in prayer and faith. Those who spend their time in the prayer closet with Jesus, though, are always ready.

A couple wrote to our ministry recently in a spirit that revealed they’d been with Jesus. Their 24-year-old daughter had been out with a friend when a madman kidnapped both young women. He murdered their daughter in a grisly fashion. The couple was in shock. Their friends and neighbors wondered, “How could any parent survive this kind of tragedy?”

In Acts 3, we find Peter and John going to the temple to worship. Just outside the temple gate sat a beggar who had been crippled from birth. Peter told him to stand and walk in the name of Jesus, and the man was healed!

Joseph had a vision that his life would be used mightily by God, but that vision seemed like a pipe dream after his jealous brothers sold him into slavery. The following years of Joseph’s life were filled with hardship and injustice. Just when Joseph seemed to get back on his feet, he was falsely accused of attempted rape and sent to prison. Finally, after years of turmoil, Joseph ended up serving in Pharaoh’s house. Pharaoh eventually appointed Joseph ruler over all of Egypt.