Body

Devotions

Jesus is Never Late

David Wilkerson

Godly patience is a willingness to wait for God’s timing. There is such a thing as Holy Ghost timing. “For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry” (Hebrews 10:37). This verse speaks of more than Christ’s Second Coming; it also is about the coming of Christ to meet our needs.

There is no such thing as God being late. Mary and Martha had thought Jesus was late when their brother, Lazarus, died. They said to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:21). In other words, “Jesus, You got here too late! You missed the deadline.”

Imagine how hurt Jesus must have been over this rebuke. But He answered them, in essence, “No, I’m not late. Lazarus will rise again. I’m here, and I am the resurrection. All life is in Me.”

The household of Jairus, a ruler in the synagogue, thought Jesus was too late. This prominent man was told, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” (Mark 5:35). Once again the message was, “Jesus was too late. It’s all over! He didn’t answer on time and He let us down.” But, as we know, Jesus took the child by the hand and raised her from the dead (5:41-42).

Too late? There is no such thing with our Lord. You can see in both of these instances that Jesus was right on time! You may be tempted to quit the fight and sink into despair, but our Father is so full of love for His children that He cannot be stopped from bringing something out of nothing. 

God's Promise Is Just Ahead

David Wilkerson

“For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise” (Hebrews 10:36).

The writer of Hebrews detects a weariness and impatience creeping into the believers. He wanted to address this by identifying for them Satan’s most effective weapon against those who grow weary in well doing: impatience with God.

Here is how it works. After a long period of affliction, the devil plants the thought, “God knows you’ve trusted Him and you’ve been faithful up to now. You would never doubt His willingness and ability to help you. So, where is He after all this time? Why doesn’t He help you? Is this how He responds to His servants’ faithfulness?”

Satan uses this exact kind of strategy against many dear saints today, implanting impatience with God. He is telling you that the Lord is not going to supply your need — that you will live as a second-class Christian, downcast and on your own for the rest of your life.

You may hear Satan’s accusatory voice, “You’re going to lose your job. You’ll lose your home. All your praying and trusting will be in vain. It’s obvious you’re a failure in faith. The time has come for you to give up and go back.”

Think about what the writer of Hebrews was saying to these suffering saints. What a message to deliver to a people mired in deep trouble! They had lost all their property and possessions and were enduring a long fight. And now they are being told by someone in authority, “You lack patience. Just believe and wait. The promise is coming.”

Yes, it is difficult to be patient but trust the Lord and don’t be fooled by Satan. Know that His promise lies just ahead and that He has not forsaken you.

Confidence in Jesus

David Wilkerson

The enemy comes roaring like a flood against saints who have no part in darkness. Satan can make it seem as if everything in their lives is coming apart: their prayers seem hindered, heaven seems as brass, and they suffer afflictions on all sides. At such times their heart might whisper condemnation: “You lack faith. If you only believed more righteously — if you were closer to Jesus, if your thoughts weren’t so evil — none of this would be happening to you. You would be on top, like those you see around you. You would enjoy abundance and hear clearly from God.”

Not so! Those referred to in Hebrews 10 who were under attack had a genuine faith that made them “draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” (Hebrews 10:22). Indeed, they are addressed in this epistle as “holy brethren” in Hebrews 3:1. The writer knows there is a war for their hearts in the midst of great affliction.

Simply put, Satan’s main objective is to douse a believer’s light, to dim it or shut it off completely. Show me a Christian who suddenly comes out of spiritual darkness, bursting into the light of Christ and His holiness and purity, and I’ll show you one who is in for the fight of his life.

Does this describe you? Are you enduring a great fight right now? Beloved, it is most likely not because of doubt or sin, but because of the light you have embraced. Light produces confidence in Jesus, and the more light you receive, the greater your trust in Him.

It is your confidence in Christ that Satan is determined to shipwreck. He has aimed the powers of hell at you to drag you down in fear and unbelief. But even now God is taking a great interest in every matter touching your life: job, family, children, relationships, health. It is truly His concern; you matter greatly to Him.

Becoming “Endurers”

David Wilkerson

Why do some people seem to simply breeze through life? They seem to never suffer at all. Everything they touch prospers and they always look happy, as if they have no problems in the world.

You might question how that could possibly be. Indeed, as you look at such Christians, you may wonder, “What’s wrong with me? Why have I had to endure one difficulty after another since I gave my all to Jesus? When I was cold and lukewarm in faith, everything was okay. I didn’t know such hardships existed until I got serious with God.”

Your answer is contained in this verse: “After you were illuminated” (Hebrews 10:32), meaning, “After you saw the light.” So it was after you opened your life to Jesus and were flooded with His light that your great fight of afflictions began.

Satan attacks us according to the measure of light we receive and walk in. Those who walk in a little ray of light are no threat to the devil’s kingdom. He aims his “great struggle with sufferings” at those who love the light with a whole heart, who embrace all that Christ has for them (see Hebrews 10:32).

Such saints have no part in darkness. They have laid hold of a faith that has made them “endurers,” soldiers who do not draw back but walk in the full assurance of faith!

“Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise” (Hebrews 10:35-36).

The Prayer of Petition

Gary Wilkerson

In Isaiah 37 we see the story of a king named Hezekiah.

Hezekiah was a good king. He followed after the ways of the Lord, the Bible says, and God honored and blessed him. But he got himself into a difficult situation. He found himself at odds with the King of Assyria, who surrounded Jerusalem so that no food could come in.

In the middle of that, the King of Assyria says in Isaiah 37:10 in a letter to Hezekiah:

“Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”

That is exactly the type of thing the devil, the accuser of believers, says to us time and time again.

And so Hezekiah took this letter and bowed low before the Lord. He laid the letter of accusation out on the ground and said, “Please, Lord, do You hear the accusations against Your people? Do You hear his rants and raves against You, a holy God?”

Hezekiah continued to cry out, “God, would You please come? Would You please glorify Your name once again? Would You cause a breakthrough to come against the powers of the enemy that are too strong for us?”

That’s a prayer of petition that we each need in our life. We each need to cry out, “Oh, God, would You heal my body? Oh, God, would You deliver my family from these patterns of addictions? Would you free my mind from fear and doubt and unbelief?”

When we pray like this we are petitioning the Lord. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication [petition] with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). The Lord loves the petitioning heart of His children!