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Devotions

God's Way

David Wilkerson (1931-2011)

Troubling circumstances and fiery conditions can bring on confusion. At such times, our impatience begins to reason: "God must not have meant what he said to me. Or maybe the problem is my inability to hear his voice. Perhaps I heard him wrong in the first place. All I know is that what he told me and what I see developing don't add up."

When Saul moved ahead of God’s direction, he acted purely on logic and reason, not on trust. Listen to the string of excuses he gave the prophet Samuel for moving ahead of God's direction: "When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, then I said, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the Lord.’ Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering" (1 Samuel 13:11-12). Saul took matters into his own hands, doing what he reasoned was his only option. And it ended in sorrow.

This matter of waiting is so important that we find references to it throughout God's Word. Isaiah writes, "It will be said in that day: “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation" (Isaiah 25:9).

"For since the beginning of the world men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen any God besides You, who acts for the one who waits for Him” (Isaiah 64:4).

Beloved, God's way is not the world's way. And the only way to gain godly experience is to wait patiently for him in faith. This sort of godly experience comes to those who are in communion with the Lord: "Knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope" (Romans 5:3-4).

The Lord Keeps His Word

David Wilkerson (1931-2011)

I have never felt more helpless and anxious than when we moved back to New York City to start Times Square Church. Once again we were subject to the mercy of the schedules of landlords and building superintendents. When I had to wait, I became quite impatient and cried, "Lord, there's so much to be done in New York and so little time. How long do we have to wait?"

Yet time after time God patiently answered me, "David, do you trust me? Then wait."

You have heard the expression, "The hardest part of faith is the last half hour." I can testify from my years in ministry that the most trying period is always just before God works his deliverance.

There are serious implications when we don't wait for God to act. In fact, too often at such times we charge God with neglect. Saul did this when he impatiently acted on his own (see 1 Samuel 13). He was saying, in essence, "God sent me out to do his work but now he has left me to figure out how to make it all happen. Things are spinning out of control and soon it will be hopeless."

Does this describe your own thinking at times? We are commanded to wait on the Lord and trust him to work out our deliverance. But when our inner deadline passes, we grow angry at God and strike out on our own. By moving ahead of him we are declaring, "God doesn't care about me. Prayer and waiting don't work. His word can't be relied on."

Yet God has given us the responsibility to prayerfully wait on him. Trust him and say, "The Lord keeps his word, so I'm not going to panic. God has told me to wait for his direction — and I will wait. Let God be true and every man a liar!” In our trials, let us be found with that posture of heart. Not in panic, but with trust!  

Waiting for Direction

David Wilkerson (1931-2011)

Saul gave God a deadline! He didn't declare it, but in his heart Saul decided that if a word from above didn't come by a certain time, he would do whatever was needed to save the situation.

"And [Saul] waited seven days, according to the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. So Saul said, ‘Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me. And he offered the burnt offering" (1 Samuel 13:8-9).

Impatiently, Saul moved ahead, sinfully acting as a priest to make the sacrifice. Little did he know that Samuel was just around the bend. When the prophet arrived, he smelled the sacrifice Saul had offered and became incensed at the king's sinful impatience.

I am convinced Samuel was delayed because God clearly told him exactly when to arrive. You see, this was a test to see whether Saul would believe that God could be trusted.

God orchestrated it all because he wanted to give Saul a testimony of humble dependence on him in all things, especially in a dark crisis. But Saul failed the test. He looked at the worsening conditions and decided that something had to be done.

Can you picture yourself in Saul's situation? I hear him reasoning to himself, “I can't take this indecision any longer. God sent me to do his work and I'm willing to die for his cause. But do I really have to sit here doing nothing? If I don't act, everything will spin out of control.” Saul felt a gripping need to act immediately in the situation. And finally his impatience overwhelmed him.

This is where we fail at times in our walk with the Lord. At certain times, we have not waited for direction and have taken matters into our own hands because we do not like feeling uncertain and anxious. But the Lord is looking for total dependency. That means trusting him fully to do the right thing in the right way on our behalf. And it means patiently waiting on him not with anxiety but in a spirit of rest.

Ambassadors for Christ

Gary Wilkerson

“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20).

Becoming “an ambassador for Christ” is not something we are striving to attain. If you are a Christian, you are a missionary. This does not just mean being sent overseas or going on outreaches. This mission we are on consists of possessing a heart that loves Him in such a way that we want to see others come to know that love as well.

Let me take a different slant on it and tell you it’s not just about being sent; it’s not just about reaching out to your neighbors. It’s about what type of missionary you are.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves” (Matthew 23:15).

Jesus is saying here, “You go from one place to another trying to get one convert, one proselyte, and when you do get that one, they’re a worse person than you are.” Clearly that is not healthy evangelism!

So the mission I’m talking to you about today is not just what we say or what charity we are involved in or where we go. Our focus must be on who we are. You are a missionary to your mom and dad. You are a missionary to your children. You are a missionary to your spouse. You are a missionary to your neighbor.

The type of life that you live, the type of heart that you have, the type of gospel that you live out — whether it’s powerful, penetrating your own soul to change you to the degree that you are transformed — will be the very degree to which you can change and transform the world around you.  

But I Kept the Faith

David Wilkerson (1931-2011)

Paul kept his faith through good times and bad.

In his final days Paul could boast, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7). Think about Paul's testimony at that point. He could say, "Satan sent messengers to fight me in Jerusalem, Damascus, Asia, Ephesus, Antioch, and Corinth. But I kept the faith.

"He tried to sink me in the storm-tossed Mediterranean. Three times I was shipwrecked, bobbing in the deep, night and day. But I kept the faith.

"Five times the Jews beat me with thirty-nine stripes. I have been cast into prison, three times beaten with rods, stoned and left for dead. But I kept the faith.

"I've faced peril in the country and the city, in the wilderness and the sea. I've been robbed by my own countrymen. I've been placed in peril by false brethren. But I kept the faith.

"I've been extremely weary at times, full of bodily pains, enduring sleepless nights. I've been hungry and thirsty, cold and naked, heavily laden with cares of all kinds. Yet I kept the faith.

"I've been troubled, perplexed on every side, distressed and persecuted, but never cast down. I've never been shaken in my faith. Through it all, my trust in the Lord has never been destroyed" (see 2 Corinthians 11:23-28).

Beloved don’t fall for the devil's lies when you are endure trials, chastening or troubles. Do not allow a root of bitterness to enter your heart and begin nurturing anger toward God: "Why did the Lord allow this? I tried so hard to please him, trusting him so much. Why is he letting me down?" God has warned us about such times: "Don't let this happen. Instead, be diligent, be careful, holding onto your confidence. It has great recompense of reward." (Hebrews 10:35-36, my paraphrase)

Rather remember that he says for us to "Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me" (Psalms 50:15). May you remain faithful to call on him in your trial. Cast your cares on him always!