Psalm 32:8

Devotional Thoughts

By David Wilkerson

Have you ever struggled with obeying God because you really wanted to move ahead and do something on your own? If so, I can only urge you to examine your calling. Do exactly what God is telling you to do and go exactly where he is leading. If you are there now, you are at peace. But if you are not at peace, it may be because you are not trusting the Lord in the way you should be.

Perhaps the things you are doing now in God’s place seem insignificant to you. In your mind, they may not be up to what you perceive to be your high calling. But when you make peace with where God has sent you, you will be abundantly blessed. The Lord “knows your frame” and he will instruct you, keep you, and bless you beyond anything you could imagine. The point is, always go (or stay) where he has directed you in his infinite wisdom. Just be prepared to go through some serious testing.   

We read in the Old Testament that many of God’s servants took a first step of obedience but then murmured and complained when things got tough. Every true servant of God may think, “Lord, I don’t know if I can handle this. I’m not sure I can make it through.”

Peter lovingly warns us that we will sometimes question the battle we face. “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy” (1 Peter 4:12-13).

Murmuring and complaining can cause our hearts to become hardened, so we need to guard against it. When God tells his servants to trust him, we are to do what he says without murmuring, knowing he has our best interests at heart.