Devotions

Moses was convinced that without God’s presence in his life, it was useless for him to attempt anything. When he spoke face to face with the Lord, he said, “If Your presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here” (Exodus 33:15). He was saying, “Lord, if your presence is not with me, then I’m not going anywhere. I won’t take a single step unless I’m assured that you’re beside me!”

Moses knew that God’s presence in Israel was what set the people apart from all other nations. And the same is true in the church of Jesus Christ today. The only thing that sets us apart from nonbelievers is God’s presence — leading us, guiding us, working his will in and through us.

Moses was not concerned about how other nations received their guidance, formed their strategies, ran their governments or directed their armies. His philosophy was, “We operate on one principle alone. The only way for us to be guided or governed, to make war and survive in this wasteland, is to have the presence of God with us!”

God answered Moses’ bold statement in this way: “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest” (33:14). What an incredible promise! The Hebrew word for “rest” here means “a comfortable, quiet repose.” God is saying, “No matter what enemies or trials you face, you’ll always be able to find a quiet rest in me.”

A church body that has God’s presence in its midst will live, move and worship in a quiet confidence in the Lord at all times. The same is true for every individual Christian. If you have the presence of Jesus in your life, you will experience God’s divine order. You’ll have a peace and a calm, with no fretting or anxiety, no running to and fro seeking guidance, no sense that the bottom is falling out. What a wonderful way to live!

Consider what “normal” Christianity looks like today in the typical believer. This person is a bit self-seeking, a little materialistic, somewhat consumerist. Most of his daily choices are about improving his life. That includes his spiritual pursuits; from his church groups to the podcasts he downloads to the seminars he attends.

There’s nothing wrong with any of these things. Our Lord wants our lives to be blessed. But for some Christians these are nothing more than worldly pursuits. They’re about self-improvement, not the kingdom of God. And they can drain a believer of true gospel power.

Whatever happened to a life of total surrender to Jesus? What happened to being willing to lay down our lives for the gospel’s sake? Paul said of his own testimony, “My speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (1 Corinthians 2:4). If we aren’t living a life empowered by God, we can’t blame the Lord. It isn’t because his grace lacks power. The problem is with us.

It is vital that the hearts of Christians be truly prepared to deal with hard things in life. Paul said, “Understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless … not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people” (2 Timothy 3:1-5).

Paul is speaking here of dedicated churchgoers but describes them as having only a form of godliness. He says further that these Christians were “always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth” (3:7). When Paul said in verse one that times of difficulty would come in the last days, he makes it clear that “normal” Christianity won’t be sustainable. Hard times reveal the condition of our hearts and God wants us to be filled with Holy Spirit power.

Are you hearing God’s Word preached but not walking out what you hear? If you want to see his power released in your life anew today, determine in your heart that you are going to pursue God with intensity and follow him with total dedication. 

When we walk in the Spirit, when the Holy Spirit controls us, he produces joy in our lives just as he produces love. Luke described Jesus as “full of joy through the Holy Spirit” (Luke 10:21). All joy comes from the Holy Spirit. We can’t manufacture it, call it up, or make it happen on our own.

Many of us walk around with scars that no one can see, but Jesus says that we don’t have to lose our joy when life is painful or when people act ugly toward us. Joy isn’t promised only to those with the least pain in their lives. Joy is for everyone willing to be controlled by the Spirit. Jesus said, “Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven” (Luke 6:22-23). To suggest that past suffering somehow gives us the right to be joyless is just one way to avoid the truth.

Even Jesus knew what sorrow was, and he knew what it was to weep. Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would be a man of sorrows (Isaiah 53:3), and that prophecy certainly came true. He suffered both on the cross and off the cross as he was mocked, beaten, and humiliated. But that is only half the picture.

In Hebrews we learn that God anointed Jesus with the oil of joy (1:9). Oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, and as we saw in Luke 10:21 above, Jesus was full of joy through the Holy Spirit. So Jesus was a man of sorrows who bore the cross, yet he was anointed with joy. And his joy, like ours, came from the Holy Spirit. To truly understand Jesus, we can’t see him only as a mournful Savior but we must balance that with the truth that he was filled with joy and spent much of his time rejoicing.

The basis of spiritual joy is in our never-changing relationship with Christ. We “rejoice in the Lord” (Philippians 3:1) by remembering and claiming all the benefits he has provided now, and in the hereafter.

^{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.}

* Editor's Note: Given the widespread news regarding the Coronavirus, this timely devotional is a reminder that when our hearts want to fear, God is with us.

As the world becomes increasingly violent, decadent, and uncertain, some Christians struggle to keep fear out of their hearts. They sense intuitively that conditions in the world are disintegrating, and some kind of ominous disaster may be looming on the horizon. As they hear all the terrible reports of what’s happening in America and around the globe, they struggle to rest in the promise of God’s keeping power.

The fact is, no matter how righteous we may be, and no matter how strong our faith is, all these frightful uncertainties cannot help but affect our human emotions. It’s all rather scary, for sure. But for the overcoming Christians whose sins are covered by the blood of Jesus, there is very good news. And if we keep our eyes focused on this good news, meditating on it night and day, no evil report will ever faze us. This news may seem a bit bizarre to you but God’s Word declares very clearly, “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

How could this possibly be good news? Well, I’m convinced that just one moment into eternity, we are all going to realize how unimportant and fleeting our present fears and trials have been. We’ll also see just how present the Lord has been with us the entire time, watching over us with his saving and keeping power. As scripture testifies, our lives here on earth are like grass: one day we’re here, growing and thriving, and the next day we’re fading away with the season. “As for man, his days are like grass” (Psalm 103:15).

We’re like the vapor of breath we see on a frosty day — here one moment, gone the next. “You do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (James 4:14).

Brother, sister, rejoice! This present life is not reality. Our reality is eternal life in the presence of our blessed Lord. So, keep the faith — because things are winding down but we are going up!

If you would like prayer for this or another concern, please contact our prayer line at 1-833-WC-PRAYS or https://worldchallenge.org/pray.

Jesus is faithful and caring through every season of our life, and he is touched by every feeling we endure during our hard times. The apostle Paul addresses this when he writes, “We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us” (2 Corinthians 4:7). The treasure Paul refers to is the knowledge and presence of Jesus Christ — and we hold this precious treasure in our bodies. Just imagine! Yet the Greek word Paul uses for “earthen” is “frail clay” meaning, “weak, easily broken, and easily tempted.”

Paul speaks of Timothy’s “frequent infirmities” in 1 Timothy 5:23. The Greek word for “infirmity” here means “sickly, without strength, feeble of body or mind.” There are other kinds of infirmities besides physical ones and they are just as difficult to handle. Infirmities of the mind are probably the most widespread — those times when your feelings betray you and play tricks on your mind. Let me explain.

You may go to bed feeling content and peaceful, yet wake up with a heavy cloud of gloom hanging over your head. You go through the day downcast and disheartened, unable to shake the negative feelings. Guilt, fear and anxiety are also infirmities of the mind and may haunt you because of your past.

So, how can we be full of “knowledge and the presence of Jesus” and also subject to bad days, feelings of failure, weakness, frailties? It’s because we still dwell in our physical bodies, subject to “infirmities” and temptations of all kinds, both mental and physical. 

Ironically, some of our most intense testing may come when we are searching God’s Word. Or interceding for lost souls. It’s easy to get frustrated when we look at others and wonder why we can’t triumph like they seem to be doing. But you are not unspiritual because you experience bad days. You are the child of your heavenly Father and he sends the Holy Spirit to chase away your doubts. The Word says, “Not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:9).

You cannot fight the enemy on your own but you have this great treasure present in you, so run to your heavenly Father. Then stand still, with patience and hope!