Devotions

The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
Is your God
To deliver and strengthen you
As he did your fathers—
To help you,
Uphold you,
Keep you,
Fear not: be not dismayed.
They who do know him as their God
Shall do exploits
And become strong.
He will still your enemies and avengers.
He will make his strength perfect
In your weakness,
For in his hand is all power and might
To do for you exceedingly above all
You could ask or think.
To you he speaks,
“I am with you;
I am your God;
I will help you.”

Here are some verses for you to dwell on as you consider the nature of your heavenly Father. “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10, NKJV).

“You drew near on the day I called on you, and said, ‘Do not fear!’ O Lord, you have pleaded the case for my soul; you have redeemed my life” (Lamentations 3:57-58).

“Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses” (Psalm 107:6).

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).

“And he said, ‘The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer’” (2 Samuel 22:2).

“O Lord, you have pleaded the case for my soul; you have redeemed my life” (Lamentations 3:58).

“And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen!” (2 Timothy 4:18).

“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles” (Psalm 34:17).

”Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, he is the one who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).

King David sits across from the prophet, awash in shame. He is afraid, stunned at Nathan’s rebuke from God who has laid bare his adultery, deceit and murder. His heart races because his life, at its zenith just a few minutes ago, is now in freefall.

Samson awakes from a nap in the lap of a woman. He chuckles at Delilah’s words “The Philistines are here!” until he realizes that his fabled strength has been shorn away. His life and twenty-year rule as judge of Israel have just collapsed.

The stories of these two men bring us to the altar. Let us consider how they fell so far and how God redeemed their failures.

David knew he was flawed; we see him in the psalms continuously acknowledging his frailty. He safeguarded his intimacy with God with prayers, songs, writings and worship. David also anchored himself through friendships that provided strength, perspective and accountability. They kept David outside of his own head, and they saved his life more than once. David was a home builder. When Jerusalem was captured, he right away built a home for his family. These disciplines served him well in the years following his fall.

Samson, too, enjoyed God’s blessing, but he was more of a loner. He focused on his work, enemies and conquests. The account of his life in Judges 13-16 doesn’t reveal any healthy friendships. He was unprotected and utterly reliant upon his own judgment and strength. Samson was a roamer not a home builder. He could usually be found behind enemy lines or roaming hostile neighborhoods. When the Philistines came, he couldn’t even cry for help because no one knew where he was.

David ruled for forty years; the Messiah would come from his lineage. Samson died in his prime, blind and in captivity; but he found his faith again before his death (see Judges 16:28). He is named in Hebrews as an example of those who “through faith…were made strong out of weakness” (Hebrews 11:32-34, ESV). Both David and Samson show us that God’s mercy does its best work when there is no hope. In turn, God calls us to move forward righteously, humbly and accountable.  We are to let him do his full redemptive work in us so that we may finish strong.

“I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like a mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you” (Isaiah 44:22).

According to a study jointly conducted by the World Health Organization and Harvard Medical School, and based on more than 60,000 face-to-face interviews worldwide, the richest country — the United States — has the saddest people and is regarded as one of the unhappiest places on earth.

The happiest people on the planet? Nigerians, and they have one of the lowest standards of living. I don’t believe Nigerians have the corner on the market, though. Believers do.

In Matthew 5, Jesus gives us his prescription for how to have happiness. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3-10, ESV).

This is not what Jesus is saying in the Sermon on the Mount: Live like this and you will become a Christian. That’s impossible. What he is saying is this: Because you are a Christian, you can live like this and experience happiness.

Happiness is found in character not in possessions. Every one of these Beatitudes is something internal, not external; something you are, not something you have.

God would never ask you to do or be something that is not possible. God never makes his Word, his promises or his challenges unattainable. God never directs us into dead-ends, but he always leaves a gap of dependency. You can’t practice the beatitudes without God. Which means you can’t be happy without God.

These beatitudes are not natural for us. We need God to instill them into us and direct us. We look to God to help us, and he will. You want to be happy? Jesus shows us the way. It may take a little effort to get there, but it’s doable with Jesus beside us, helping us. The committed are willing to break out of their religious thinking and embrace Kingdom thinking. That brings us true and ultimate happiness.

_{After pastoring an inner-city congregation in Detroit for thirty years, Pastor Tim served at Brooklyn Tabernacle in NYC for five years and pastored in Lafayette, Louisiana, for five years. He became Senior Pastor of Times Square Church in May of 2020.}

Here is how you go to God’s storehouse to get what you need.

1.    Come boldly to his throne, and ask large for all the grace and mercy you need to see you through every temptation and trial. The devil has a million ways to make you feel guilty, fearful and confused; and he’ll tell you, “You feel this way because you’ve got junk in your heart!” However, I stopped looking in my heart a long time ago because it’s always blackened and stained, yet it’s as white as snow to my Father because it is covered with the blood of the Lamb. It does not matter how you feel. Simply look to God’s Word for what Jesus has done. He has wiped your slate clean.

2.    Remind God that it was his idea for you to come in. You didn’t go the Lord saying, “Father, I want everything you have.” He invited you in saying, “All I have is yours. Come and get it!”

3.    Take God at his Word. The Bible says that everything he has for us is obtained by faith. You need only say in faith, “Lord Jesus, flood me with your peace because you have said that it is mine. I claim rest for my soul.” You can’t work this up or praise it down. It comes from being rooted and grounded in a deep understanding of God’s love for you. This comes not in a feeling but rather in the Word that he himself has spoken: “In my house is bread enough to spare!”

4.    Take God’s Word and hammer all your fear, guilt and condemnation to pieces. Reject it all; it is not of God. You can say, “Let the devil come at me with his lies. My Father knows it already, and he has forgiven and cleansed me. There is no guilt or condemnation toward me. I am free!”

Dear ones, I believe that if you ask the Spirit right now to help you seize this truth, to become rooted and grounded in it, the coming days will be the greatest you have ever had. You can say, “Lord Jesus, I know I will make mistakes, but nothing can shake me because you have everything I need to be an overcomer.” Come into his storehouse, and claim all that is yours from your loving Father!

Are you tired of living like a pauper when everything you need has been provided? Perhaps your focus is wrong. Do you tend to dwell on your weaknesses, temptations and past failures? Does what you see when you look inside your own heart discourage you? Have you allowed guilt to seep in?

Beloved, you are to be looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith! When Satan shows up and points at some weakness in your heart, you have every right to answer, “My God already knows it all, and he still loves me. He has given me everything I need to attain victory and keep it.”

“For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things” (1 John 3:20, NKJV). He knows all about you, and he still loves you enough to say, “Come on in, and get all you need!”

The doors to his storehouse are wide open, full to overflowing. God is urging you: “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

How many years have you been on the outside? You have a Father who has been laying up a great treasure of provision for you, and yet you have left it unclaimed. The prodigal son’s story shows us that by going in and enjoying his father’s treasure, the son had it both ways. He could live his earthly life with the abundance that was his, and after death he would fully enjoy his eternal inheritance.

The greater sin was committed by the older brother who stayed home, walked obediently and never failed his father. Yes, it is a sin to waste our Father’s substance on sensual living and a runaway spirit, but it is an even greater sin to rebuff God’s great love by leaving unclaimed the bountiful resources he has given to us.

The prodigal was not chastised or reminded of his sin because God would not allow sin to be the focus of restoration! There had been true repentance and godly sorrow, and it was time to move on to the feast. The father said to the older son, “He was lost, but now he is in the house again. He is forgiven and it is time to rejoice and be happy!”