Devotions

“Godliness with contentment is great gain … And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content” (1 Timothy 6:6, 8).

When a believer chooses to go deeper with God and live a fully surrendered life, he most likely will encounter hardship. He might even experience being knocked off his high horse, which literally happened to the apostle Paul (also called Saul). He was going on his self-assured way, riding toward Damascus, when a blinding light came from heaven. Knocked to the ground, he heard a voice from heaven saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:4).

These words took Paul back to an event months before when he had stood by as Stephen was stoned. Since then, he had endured long nights of turmoil, plagued with unrest and confusion, because he had seen something that shook him to the core — Stephen’s face while facing death. His countenance was heavenly, filled with a holy presence, and his words held great power as he proclaimed, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God! … Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:56, 59). This humble man clearly had no fear of death.

Paul, this most devoted of Pharisees, realized Stephen possessed something he didn’t — something that was missing in his own life. Now, knocked to the ground, he cried out, “Who are You, Lord” and Jesus said to him, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting” (9:5). At that moment, Paul had a supernatural revelation and thus began his miraculous transformation into becoming a devoted follower of Jesus and “a chosen vessel” (9:15).   

Take note of this scene. Here is the pattern for the surrendered life. When you decide to go deeper with Christ, God will put a Stephen in your path. He'll confront you with someone whose countenance shines with Jesus. This person isn't interested in the things of the world. He doesn't care about the applause of men. He cares only about pleasing the Lord. And his life will expose your complacency and compromise, deeply convicting you.

May your heart be like Paul’s as you seek surrender and give back to Jesus the life he has granted you.

You may have had a dream related to your calling but somewhere along the way an obstacle arose and you lost momentum. Soon you were off track altogether and you realized how easily it is to have your dreams derailed. You started out energized but things changed as hard reality set in.

Early in Jesus’ ministry, his reputation for healings and wonders attracted huge crowds. “Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples … Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him …” (John 6:3, 5, ESV).

Bible scholars estimate this crowd was between 10,000 and 15,000. Yet, as the throng gathered, the disciples recognized a dilemma: “Jesus said to Philip, ‘Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?’” (6:5). After the disciples’ initial elation at the sight of the people, reality set in quite quickly!

Think back to the excitement of your first job. You were eager to get to work but within a few days, you saw that your boss was not who he appeared to be, your nearest colleague resented you, and the demands on your time were far greater than you had been told. You realized, “I had no idea it would be this difficult.” Philip must have felt that way as he answered Jesus, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little” (6:7). That was a huge amount of money in that day.

Jesus had called Philip to a great victory, but Philip just couldn’t see it. The same may be true for us: God has called us to expect great things in our walk with him but it requires faith. Will we be derailed by our limitations or will we believe God for a miracle?

Jesus’ challenge to Philip had a purpose: “He said this to test [Philip], for he himself knew what he would do” (6:6). Christ’s confidence was based on his sense of God’s reality behind every situation as he instructed the disciples, “Have the people sit down, because the Father is about to meet this need” (see 6:10).

God asks you to trust his version of reality beyond what you can see. Your situation doesn’t depend on your resources, it depends on God’s. “He will meet all your needs according to his riches in glory” (Philippians 4:19, NIV).

Holy, separated living isn’t preached about much anymore because we fear it might offend and not be visitor-friendly. But when the Spirit starts his work, we will always have a new desire for holiness and a quest for Christlikeness. “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy’” (1 Peter 14-16).

The world holy speaks of separation and purity. It must be important to God, for he tells us that “without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). Holiness is not a list of do’s and don’ts; rather, it is Christlikeness. As the Spirit works, we will have an increased desire to be holy like Christ. What else would the Holy Spirit do but impart his own nature into our lives?

Once we trust Christ for salvation, God will begin to mold and shape us. Many experience a radical change when they first come to know Christ, but over time a battle between the flesh and the Spirit takes place. The apostle Paul wrote, “For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want” (Galatians 5:17). Paul was writing to the saints in Galatia, but he acknowledged that they, like him, had to overcome a carnal undertow from inside that pulled against the Spirit’s purposes.

Paul was not the only one who cautioned about sinful practices in the lives of believers. John reminded us of this truth: “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One” (1 John 2:1). John’s intention was plain — to inspire God’s people not to practice unrighteousness but to practice Christlike living. The Holy Spirit brings new sensitivity and conviction to us if we are really living under his control. Behavior, words, and attitudes that are unholy cause a reaction from the Spirit, who is holy.

When you surrender your life to Christ, the Holy Spirit will lovingly send out cautions, warnings, and red alerts to keep you following his example. 

^{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.}

In Revelation 9 we see a warning that describes a worldwide invasion of locusts: “Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power” (Revelation 9:3).

Satan himself is behind this terrifying swarm of locusts. Of course, these locusts aren’t real insects, they’re demon-possessed, Satan-controlled men: “Their faces were like the faces of men” (9:7). The locusts are described as men of war: “They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle” (9:9).

The image here is of an army of demonic tormentors, prancing like horses anxious to fight. Their “wings” imply that they can sting from the air and there is deadly power in their sting: “They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months” (9:10). In short, each of these demon-possessed men has the ability to sting, or poison, from the ground or air. This is no mystical allegory, it’s a real army.

The locust-men are given a limited time to do their tormenting work (see 9:5), which tells us two things: (1) terrorists will not be able to destroy America and (2) we need to be prepared for ongoing calamities. The whole world is shrouded in a cloud of fear and, sadly, it’s going to get worse for those who do not know the Savior.

God’s focus right now is on his own people; he is concerned with his church here on earth. His question is: “Are my people becoming more peaceful and at rest, even as the locusts rage on?” God’s desire for you is that you live all your days without fear. “But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; let them also who love Your name be joyful in You” (Psalm 5:11).

Those who trust in God’s promises to keep them can rejoice and find true rest. 

“Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge” (Psalm 16:1, NIV).

The Lord is with us wherever we are: at home, at work, at church, while we’re shopping. He’s with us in our cars, on planes, on subways. David says that God is preserving us from evil, keeping us safe from attacks and disease — in short, God has promised to thwart every possible weapon formed against his children.

 “Rescue me, Lord, from evildoers … Keep me safe, Lord, from the hands of the wicked; protect me from the violent, who devise ways to trip my feet … I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy. Surely the righteous will praise your name, and the upright will live in your presence” (Psalm 140:1, 4, 12-13, NIV).

At the beginning of this psalm, David calls on God to preserve him from violent men. The word David uses for preserve here means to protect from what is concealed, hidden, secret. God is telling us, “I have every area of your life covered, even things you can’t see. You can surely rest in me.”

If you have trouble accepting God’s desire to preserve you, read Psalm 37: “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand” (37:23-24).

God is preserving you because he has a purpose for you. He has laid out a divine work ahead of you that only a tried, tested, proven believer can accomplish. The attacks on the World Trade Center back on September 11, 2001, engulfed our society in fear and resulted in lukewarm Christians crying out to God as never before. Today we face new issues that are causing people to pray, “Lord, put a hedge around me. Walk with me, guard me, keep your eye on all my steps.” And God, in his faithfulness, is doing just that!