Devotions

“But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty” (1 Corinthians 1:27).

God still chooses the weak to show forth His strength. Have you ever felt insignificant, frail and useless to God? Have you ever looked at others who seem so strong, so perfect, and thought of yourself as being too sinful, too dull to be used of God? Don’t compare! God is not looking for spiritual giants but, rather, he’s looking for ordinary saints with childlike faith who have lost all confidence in the flesh.

God will confound the strong and wise by anointing as His instruments those who are considered frail and foolish. The Lord will bypass those who lean on the arm of flesh — who trust in their talents, their knowledge, their background, their family reputation. He will raise up the brokenhearted, the weak, and the weary. He will pour on them a spirit of praise and a baptism of love. He will show them His greatness, His faithfulness, His covenants, and they will become strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

Do you feel a drawing to a renewed faith and trust in God? If so, be thankful! That is the call of Jesus Christ the Lord. Look at some of God’s great and precious promises to us:

“Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men! Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues” (Psalm 31:19-20).

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10).

When Moses came down from the mountain holding the Ten Commandments in his hands, he heard the people shouting and saw them dancing and carousing.

“Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies) . . .” (Exodus 32:25). The Hebrew word used here for naked is para, which means to “loosen up, expose, dismiss all restraint.” It also implies “a new beginning.”

The Israelites were saying, “Things are not happening as they should. We’re tired of this battle, tired of waiting on God. So now we’re going to enjoy ourselves. Out with the old! We want new freedom, a new start — and we want it now.”

Nakedness in the Bible also has to do with not having on one’s shield for battle. Every man who did not have his shield was considered naked. True, these Israelites were literally naked — stripped down and dancing before the golden calf — but they also had let down their guard.

Can you imagine their enemies, the Amalekites, looking down on this wild scene from the surrounding mountains? The Amalekites once trembled at the very sight of Israel. God had put a dread in their hearts toward His people, but now they saw Israel taking off their armor and stripping off their garments.

The Amalekites began to laugh and mock, “Look at them. They’re just like us! Their God has no power and they obviously do not trust Him. See? They’re throwing off all their strict ways. They want to lust and party and play just like the rest of us. Some holiness! Such hypocrisy.”

In that one act of nakedness, Israel belittled their God in the eyes of the ungodly. They made the Lord seem heartless, cruel, uncaring, helpless. They besmirched His honor, His majesty, His omnipotence. They were no longer an example to the world.

That is exactly what we do when we strip off our robes of faith and let go of our confidence in God. Without childlike trust in God, a Christian stands naked before the world — exposed to all doubts, fears and unbelief. 

If you feel God speaking to your heart about something He has prepared for you — perhaps a walk you’ve never known before or the fulfillment of a longstanding promise — I can tell you with authority, “Get ready to examine your heart.”

Perhaps you have experienced great blessings and you have faith that no matter how good things are, the best is yet to come. This is your faith talking — the kind of faith that says God’s vision is always bigger than our dreams. When God called us to begin the church I now pastor, we had no idea how He would use us. But not a week has gone without someone giving his or her life to Jesus. Whenever we distribute food to the poor, we are often asked, “Why are you doing this?” We answer, “It’s because of Jesus,” and many give their lives to Him.

This is all happening miraculously. People are finding Him and then quickly maturing into faithful disciples, growing in their knowledge of God. It is amazing to see! And I believe greater things are yet to come. I am convinced that God will reveal Himself even more powerfully — not just in salvations but also in outreach, in helping the poor, in impacting the city. 

But here is the hard part: Often just when we are poised on the brink of God’s greatest work in our lives, He asks us to examine our hearts and reflect on what He wants to do in us. We become even more aware that our righteousness is as filthy rags, that we need His grace.

I want nothing in my life to hinder what He desires for me and I am sure you feel the same. Examine your heart today and let Him shine His spotlight of conviction on any area that is displeasing to Him. Repent and receive His grace and then rejoice as you see the wonders He will do in you and for you!  

My first book, Run Baby Run, is the story of how God saved me from a life of hate and violence in the street gangs of New York. The book continues to sell well, ministering consistently to the most helpless and hurting in our society.

After Run Baby Run I wrote a number of other books attempting to expose the anger, violence, and hopelessness of life in the inner city. Each one offered concrete solutions to solving these problems, and the Lord has graciously blessed those efforts. We have been able to reach millions with our message of hope.

In the last several months, God has planted in my heart a new message of hope as well as a deep burden to share it. This message is about freedom and spiritual abundance; about living a life in complete communion with Jesus; about breaking through our earthly limitations and making a powerful impact on the world around us. It’s about you and me finally finding our place within God’s magnificent kingdom on earth. It’s about seeing people the way God sees them. And most of all, it’s about learning once and for all to embrace the supernatural strength of the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to release His wisdom and power within us. What a transformation we will experience as we discover and embrace God’s unmatchable, unmistakable power in our lives.

“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

The world today no longer accepts a belief system rooted in tradition and complacency — doing church as we’ve always done it. The next generation will either see the power of God working in their lives in real, tangible ways, or they will have no use for our message and no interest in following our Savior. They need to see a consistency between our life and our faith. If they don’t, they will reject us as well as our Lord.

Nicky Cruz, internationally known evangelist and prolific author, turned to Jesus Christ from a life of violence and crime after meeting David Wilkerson in New York City in 1958. The story of his dramatic conversion was told first in The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson and then later in his own best-selling book Run, Baby, Run. 

The Bible addresses our efforts to please Him in our flesh: “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God” (Romans 10:3). Trying to establish our own righteousness is actually our flesh at work!

Trying to please God in our human power robs us of our joy and peace with Him. Any victories will be short-lived and we will fall into temptation again. The enemy will keep harassing us and a conversation with him might go something like this:

Satan whispers, “What about the sin you indulged in just yesterday? You are guilty!” 

“No,” you answer, “I’ve already asked forgiveness for that. It’s all under the blood and I’ve asked God to make me hate that sin to keep me from doing it again.”

“But you are still tempted.”

“True, but Jesus made a way of escape for me. His Word says I will be able to bear the temptation and He will deliver me” (see 1 Corinthians 10:13).

Satan persists, “There are still unsettled issues in your life.”

When the accuser brings up “unsettled issues” — some war that still rages within you — you can answer with this passage of Scripture: “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight” (Colossians 1:21-22).

Even when we fail Him, God loves us; He seeks us out and reconciles us to Himself. He loves us even when we struggle and through Christ He makes us to be at peace with Him.