Devotions

Elijah exercised the power of prayer. He stood on Mount Carmel and mocked the prophets of Baal, killing them right under the king’s nose.

Elijah had ever right to believe that a great spiritual awakening was about to take place. The fire of God had fallen and miracles had been witnessed by multitudes. It had been an unbelievable display of God’s power. What a shock he got. Jezebel was not at all impressed with miracles and power, and she said to Elijah, “By tomorrow at this time, I will kill you just like you killed my priests.”

The next time we see this great man of power and action, he is hiding in a cave on Mount Horeb almost 200 miles away. God called to him, “Elijah, what are you doing here hiding in this cave?”

Elijah answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life” (1 Kings 19:14, NKJV). Elijah, a praying prophet, had been so busy for God, so busy demonstrating God’s power, so busy saving God’s kingdom, that he had become a one-way servant. He had been talking to God often, but he had done very little listening.

A prophet who was not afraid of a hurricane or an earthquake or heavenly fireworks was frightened by a still small voice. “So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave” (1 Kings 19:13). Elijah covered his head with his coat! Why? Had not this prophet talked to God many times? Was he not a great man of prayer? Hadn’t God used him mightily? Yes, but Elijah was a stranger to the still small voice.

When Elijah finally allowed that voice to speak — alone, quiet, away from all the power displays — he got the most specific directions ever in all his ministry.

How many busy children of God today have never had that voice come to them? They are busy witnessing, praying for a spiritual awakening and fasting intensely. They are so dedicated, yet they have heard everything but the voice of the Lord. The still, small voice of God will offer greater revelation and blessing than many mighty works.

Hopelessness is borne out of an incorrect view of God, and that’s where Satan comes to kill and destroy our view of God being good and for us. God is powerful, available and present to us at all times; he is with us in the storm when the storms don’t cease.

As we become a spiritual man or woman of God, the person who draws near to Jesus in complete trust, we’re going to face a battle. There are going to be satanic distractions to pull us away from intimacy with Jesus. Our ‘drug’ of choice or our comfort of choice can be a plethora of things. It's usually ‘self’ things like “I want to build my career” or “I want to build my reputation” or “I want comfort.”

Living for yourself feels good temporarily, but it's actually miserable in the long run. That's where some forms of depression come from; it’s where most kinds of addictions spring from. This is the source of almost anything that robs us of the joy of our family life with Jesus.

There's an arrow from the Holy Spirit that penetrates all those walls of self-interest and building up of self. It breaks through everything and says, “That's not what your heart was built for. You weren't built for yourself; you were built for others; you were built for God. You were built for his kingdom.” No one will be truly happy until they come to that place of realizing, “I’m not meant to live for myself.”

Even people who are already in a relationship with Jesus Christ will find within themselves a God-given longing, even a jealousy, that says, “God, I'm not satisfied with making money. I'm not satisfied with a good career. I'm not satisfied exclusively with being in good health. I want more.” What we’re craving is that deeper relationship with Jesus. This is a desire we should experience because, as Paul wrote, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20, ESV).

We are called to embrace the reality that we are created to seek God’s glory in whatever we do. This restless urge in us should drive us to search out ways to honor and worship God.

In Hebrew, there is a wonderful word: chanak. It has two etymological roots. The first refers to setting in motion, guiding or helping to discover. It’s in “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6, ESV). This passage evokes the divine and precious call of every parent to develop his or her child in the path that God has chosen for that child.

I am not talking about leading your child to the path you wanted in your youth. Don't seek to live your dreams vicariously through your children. Instead, accompany them in the discovery of their future with love, respect and a listening ear. Don't force your child to take the path that seems to work well for their sibling or other children. Refuse to compare your child to anyone else. Your child is unique, and God has a unique path and purpose prepared for them.

The second root of the word chanak was used to describe the palate. ‘Doing chanak’ could be translated “putting a finger on the palate.” This refers to the tenderness of a young mother who tastes her baby's food in order to create in him the desire to taste it too. Chantal and I are a respite home for young mothers who are going through difficult times and need help. We were taking care of a beautiful little girl who was about three years old. Faced with her blatant lack of interest in any vegetable, Chantal practiced chanak. “Mmm! It's so good! Do you want to taste it, my dear? It's so much better than candy!”

The little one, under the spell of my wife's undeniable theatrical talent, repeated, "Mmmm!" It's good, Grandma!” She ended up eating the entire plate of vegetables.

Training up a child in the way he or she should go could just as well translate into giving your child a taste for walking in the paths that God has created for him. The Bible says, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!” (Psalm 34:8). Our responsibility is to give them a taste of the presence of God, his Word and his heart. As a father, I want my life to impact my children and leave them hungry and thirsty for all the riches and blessings of an abundant life in Jesus.

^{Claude Houde is the lead pastor of Eglise Nouvelle Vie (New Life Church) in Montreal, Canada. Under his leadership New Life Church has grown from a handful of people to more than 3500 in a part of Canada with few successful Protestant churches.}

We think our Lord gets enough pleasure from what we do for him, but there is so much more. Consider this verse: “Which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’?” (Luke 17:7-8, NKJV).

We may have no trouble at all identifying with the servant in his duty to the master. No trouble in putting on our apron and serving up the Lord a full table of praises. We love to feed our Lord! It is our greatest joy to minister unto the Lord, but we have difficulty with the last part: “Afterward, you will eat!” That may feel like too much for us to comprehend. We do not know how to sit down and allow him the same joy we experienced in serving him. We rob our Lord of the joy of ministering to us.

Christ responds to our faith and rejoices when we repent. He talks to the Father about us and delights in our childlike trust. However, I am convinced that his greatest need is to have one-to-one communication with those he left here on earth. No angel in heaven can meet that need. Jesus wants to talk with those on the battlefield.

Where did I get such a notion? It’s in the account of Christ appearing to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. They were grieved about their departed Lord, but when the resurrected Christ drew near, they did not recognize him. He wanted to talk; he had so much to say to them. “So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus himself drew near and went with them…and beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:15, 27).

There could have been no finer experience for those disciples; they went away saying, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked with us?” We think of the joy of the disciples, but what about the joy of Jesus? He was fulfilled, and I see him overjoyed by this communion with his disciples.

Power to not yield to temptation does not come from stuffing our minds with scripture verses, making vows, spending hours in prayer, fasting or even giving ourselves over to a great spiritual cause. These things are all commendable and normal for Christian growth, but that is not where our victory lies.

The simple secret of bearing up under any temptation is to break the fear of Satan’s power. Fear is the only power over man Satan has. God does not give us the spirit of fear, but man is afraid of the devil, frightened of demons. We are afraid of failure, afraid our appetites and habits can’t be altered, that they will erupt and control our lives.

Man is afraid that he can’t quit his sin. He credits Satan with power he doesn’t have. Man cries out, “I’m hooked and can’t stop. I’m spellbound and in the devil’s power. The devil makes me do it!”

Fear is a torment. As long as you are afraid of the devil, you can never break the power of temptation. Satan thrives on fear, and Christians who are afraid of the devil have little or no power to resist. It’s all based on the lie that Satan has power to break down Christians under pressure. Not so! Jesus came to destroy all the power of the devil over blood-washed children of God. I have often wondered why God allows spiritual people to be so tempted. Scripture says, “God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13, NKJV). Why doesn’t God remove all temptations instead?

The answer is simple. Once you learn how powerless Satan is, that he can’t make you do anything, that God has all power to keep you from falling—from then on, you can “bear up” under anything Satan throws at you. You can go through it without fearing you will fall.

We are not delivered from temptation but from the fear of the devil to make us yield to it. We will keep on being tempted until we come to the place of “rest” in our faith. That rest is the unshakeable confidence that God has defeated Satan, that Satan has no right or claim on us and that we will come forth as gold tried in the fire.