Devotions

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!

What does God look like? We know he is spirit and that he is invisible to us; in fact, the Word says, “No one has seen God at any time” (John 1:18).

Part of Jesus’ mission on earth was to reveal the heavenly Father to us. When Christ was about to return to heaven, he told his disciples that they knew where he was going and they knew the way. However, Thomas countered, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” (John 14:5). In other words, “If you leave us, how will we ever get to the Father? You told us yourself that you’re the only way to him.”

Jesus explained, “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him” (14:7). Philip was befuddled by this and he must have thought, “What does Jesus mean, we’ve seen the Father? How can we see a spirit? And how can Jesus be God?” So then he got into the conversation: “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us” (14:8).

Jesus was patient because he sensed Philip’s sincerity: “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (14:9). Jesus then turned and addressed all the disciples: “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?” (14:10). And after this he gave them a glorious promise: “At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you” (14:20).

This was an amazing conversation! Christ was telling his followers, “Look at me! Don’t you see that I am God, clothed in human flesh? I’m the very essence of my Father, and all that he is — in nature, substance and character — is in me. I’ve come to earth to show you the human face of God! I realize you can’t comprehend all this now but when I’m raised from the dead, I’ll manifest the Father to you, for he and I are one.”

We know that Christ’s entire ministry was a manifestation of who the Father is. Even today he seeks to reconcile you to himself and rule over you in love. As you accept his love and love him in return, you will discern the face of the Father.

When the prophet Isaiah foretold the coming of Christ and his kingdom, he outlined what Christ’s true ministers would be like. In doing so, he defined our ministry in these last days when he said, “I want you to know the marks of the true people of God, those who will be ministering just before the Prince of Peace comes to reign.”

The prophet begins with these words: “Behold, a king will reign in righteousness” (Isaiah 32:1). Then he adds, “A man will be as a hiding place from the wind, and a cover from the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land” (32:2).

Clearly, Isaiah is talking about Jesus here, and he goes on to tell us that a true servant of God will proclaim the all-sufficiency of Christ. Indeed, such a believer shuts himself in with Jesus, trusting his Lord to make his soul a well-watered garden. He lives in quiet confidence, his spirit at rest and full of peace. And he testifies, “I sat down in his shade with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love” (Song of Solomon 2:3-4).

Isaiah points out two distinguishing marks of the righteous servant: he has discernment and he knows the voice of God distinctly: “The eyes of those who see will not be dim, and the ears of those who hear will listen” (Isaiah 32:3).

When Christ first saw Nathaniel coming toward him, he cried, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!” (John 1:47). In other words, “Look, brothers, here comes a man who is not a hypocrite. There is no immorality or deceit in him. He’s a clean vessel.”  

Then Jesus turned to Nathaniel and said, “Hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man” (1:51). He was saying, “God is going to open up to you continuing revelations.”

Beloved, God makes this same covenant with you and every believer whose life is above reproach, with no hidden sin or dark secrets. Such a servant receives a continuous flow of the revelation of Christ’s glory. Determine in your heart today to pursue God with your whole heart so that you may continue to hear his voice.