Body

Devotions

Trusting God in the Good Times

Gary Wilkerson

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me’” (2 Corinthians 12:9, ESV).

How often in your life have you just bowed your head in desperation and said, “Lord, please help me. Please.” I’ve done it hundreds of times, probably thousands. During those times there was so much fear, so much unknown, that I couldn’t do anything but pull the emergency cord.

If we only understood that the no-strength-left giving up of all our own abilities is exactly where God wanted us in the first place. When we’re in a state of such weakness that we can’t even formulate a proper prayer, we are actually in a place of great promise. It’s where God can help us the most.

I wish I had learned this superpower of helplessness when I was young. I would have had so much more peace and confidence. I would have had more faith, more inner strength and more grace for others if I’d truly comprehended that everything comes from God. My job as his child is merely to walk with him, lean on him, obey the Bible, and trust that he will always take care of me and my loved ones. It is to be content even though I can’t see past the headlights.

The Lord’s words “My power is made perfect in weakness” are to be taken literally. What a concept! Normal thinking says, “I have to get desperate with God, or he won’t take me seriously.” God says, “I take you seriously when you let go of yourself and reach for me.”

Think of a specific time when you were out of options and had to utterly lean on God. Do you remember the feeling? This is where God desires us to be every day, to live with a level of trust that acknowledges, “You alone are in control, and I trust you without reservation.” Proverbs says to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6). There is no better advice and no greater promise: “Trust me all the time, for everything. I will take care of you.”

Who Can Find a Godly Man?

Jim Cymbala

People who are ungodly find their pleasure in the things of this world, which change! I recently read about how Elon Musk went from the richest man in the world to number two. The richest man is now some guy in France. Musk lost something like 20 or 30 billion dollars. If your world is just money — whew! You’re in for a roller-coaster ride, but that’s how the ungodly live.

The ungodly not only live for the wrong things, they sneer at God. Sometimes there are ungodly people who storm out while I’m preaching the good news of Jesus Christ. They don’t pray; that’s one of the signs. The Bible talks a lot about the ungodly. God is going to judge the ungodly. They don’t just not care about spiritual things, they mock those who do.

One of the signs of godly people is they run to prayer and the throne of grace. Their priorities are God and the things of God. Yeah, they have a life, a job, vacations, raising kids, all of those things; but they’re also dedicated to worshiping with others, reading the Bible, serving God. They love what God loves; they hate what God hates. They are devoted to God. It’s a heart thing, not necessarily all of these actions. You can be a preacher and not devoted to God. You can do it for the money or attention or just to make a living.

‘Godly’ isn’t a word we use much anymore. When you read books from a hundred or two hundred years ago, they would say things like “Oh, that brother, he’s godly; that sister, she’s godly.” We should want that. Scripture says, “Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. …But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness” (1 Timothy 6:9,11, ESV).

If you’re saying, “I promise to be more godly this year!” Stop. Instead, ask God for the grace of consecration to a godly life. Constantly be asking God to rearrange your priorities. It’s a daily thing. 

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.

Give Up on Measuring Up

David Wilkerson (1931-2011)

“The people feared the presence of the Lord . . . and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God” (Haggai 1:12,14, NKJV). The Israelites were convicted of their self-interests and returned to work rebuilding the temple. They were back where they should be—building the house of God!

They stood before the foundation of the temple as the walls went up, but something was wrong, and many of the older people began to weep. Why? Because they had seen the splendor of Solomon’s temple sixty-eight years before, and this new one did not measure up. In comparison, it seemed as nothing.

The people began to talk of past glory, saying, “This temple has no ark in it, no mercy seat or cherubim. There is no consuming fire on the altar, no shekinah glory coming down on the house. After all our hard work, sacrifice and obedience, all our putting God’s interests first, we don’t measure up! This is nothing compared to what we once saw. Why go on when we see so little for all that we’ve done?”

A lot of God’s people today are giving up because they don’t think they’ll ever measure up. Like the Israelites, they’ve gone back to putting God first, seeking his will, building his house. When they look at their lives, though, they say, “I have so little to show for all my struggles. I have so little of God’s holiness and glory in my life. Compared to other Christians, I’ll never measure up. What’s the use of struggling? I’ll never have victory.”

I am convinced this is why many devoted Christians give up the fight. They compare themselves to other believers and become discouraged because they feel hopelessly inferior.

Beloved, you can mark this down because it is God’s promise to you. From the very hour you focus again on building up Christ’s body and set aside all thoughts of measuring up, you will begin to see his manifold blessing. You can literally mark it down! You will know that he is favoring you, smiling on you, rejoicing in you.

Keeping God’s Favor and Blessings

David Wilkerson (1931-2011)

God blesses those who walk in faithfulness, and he shows favor to those who favor him. How do people lose the blessing and favor of God? The prophet Haggai speaks to this, and the first reason he lists is that self-interests begin to replace God’s interests.

Haggai recounts that the Israelites gave up building the Lord’s house to build their own homes. This was sixty-eight years after Solomon’s temple was destroyed. A remnant had returned to Jerusalem out of Babylonian captivity specifically to rebuild the temple. Indeed, they laid the foundation with zeal and excitement.

At that point, they ran into some difficulties and discouragements. Slowly, they lost interest in the work of God, saying, “This just isn’t the time. We are having too many problems. Besides, we’re spending so much time here that we’re neglecting our families and businesses.” They said, “The time has not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built” (Haggai 1:2, NKJV).

One by one they walked away. God’s interests, which were for with their own well-being, became secondary. They began building their own houses, and they used the lumber that had been stored up for building the temple.

How do believers today lose the blessing and favor of God? We lose it when we stop praying and seeking God and stop building up his spiritual body, his “temple.”

Haggai recounts that when the people put God’s interests first, he took care of them in every way. Their vineyards grew; their grapes were heavy; they slept peacefully at night, and their children danced in the streets. None of their enemies prevailed against them. It was a marvelous time of God’s blessing. The blessings stopped when the people became absorbed in themselves.

This is what is happening today. Our world is consumed with pride, personal ambition and self-will. No wonder so many are drunk and dazed with drugs, wandering in darkness and confusion.

God’s response to Israel’s neglect was “I called for a drought on the land . . . and on all the labor of your hands” (Haggai 1:11). He was saying, “If you begin to neglect your souls and turn to material things, you will end up joyless, dissatisfied, empty and dry. I want you to put my interests first so I can again bless and favor you.”

Jesus Wants the Best

David Wilkerson (1931-2011)

How it must break the Lord’s heart when we question his ability and desire to care for us. The Bible tells us how the Lord took meticulous care of Ruth. She pledged her love to Jehovah God and told Naomi, her mother-in-law, “Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God” (Ruth 1:16, NKJV).

God loved Ruth and opened up every door for her. She was poor and had to gather wheat in the fields, but scripture says, “She happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz . . .” (Ruth 2:3). Now, there’s not a chance in the world that this just “happened.” It was God’s doing, and he knew what was best for Ruth.

Ruth simply loved and fully trusted the Lord; and he had a godly man prepared for her as a husband. Boaz saw Ruth in the fields and immediately discerned, “She’s different, really different.” His heart was captured, and Ruth and Boaz were married.

What a love story, guided by God’s own hand! If he would do that for Ruth, will he not do right by his own bride in every circumstance?

We have someone who is richer and mightier than Boaz. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He knows all and can do all, and he loves his bride. Yes, the Lord works everything in your life for your absolute best, and he takes great pleasure in doing so. Sadly, we often don’t rest in that. We doubt that he is on the job at all times, working out everything for our good.

Beloved, nothing breaks his heart more. Paul describes the bride of Christ as “a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing” (Ephesians 5:27). “Wrinkle” here means “fold,” as on one’s face, a wrinkled brow. This speaks of worry and fretting, and Paul is saying that Jesus’s bride will have no “worry lines” on her face.

The bride of Christ rests in his love. She is confident he knows where she is, how she feels, what she is going through, and what is best for her. His love brings her peace and calm. She knows he will not allow anything that will cut her off from him or hurt her. He is going to preserve her because he said, “You are mine!”