Devotions

Our failures constantly test us. I do not mean that Christians who fall back into old sins and turn back to the world are being tested. No, those believers face a shipwreck of faith. I am talking about believers who are growing in holiness and are set on following the Lord. Peter gave them a warning: “You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked” (2 Peter 3:17 NKJV).

Some of you may have taken a fall in spite of all the progress you’ve made with the Lord. For example, maybe you’ve had a family disagreement. You may say, “It was a fit of anger. I was provoked by my own family, and I blew up. I can’t understand it. I thought I was becoming a little sweeter, a little more like Jesus, but somebody pushed the wrong button, and I lost it. I’m only human.”

It doesn’t matter that you were provoked or even that you were in the right. The provoking simply proved you need deliverance. Scripture says, “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice” (Ephesians 4:31).

God is going to keep testing you until you say, “I’ve got a spirit in me that’s got to go.” You will see no growth in Christ, no peace at home or on the job, until you can say, “You’re right, Lord. Take it out!”

If you’re being tested in this area or any other area for that matter, you may be thinking, “I feel so unworthy. How much ground have I lost? Does the Lord still love me?”

Friend, if you have truly repented, you haven’t lost any ground whatsoever. God puts his loving arms around you and says, “I allowed that to happen so you would see what is in your heart, but be assured that you’re making progress. You have said you want to walk with me, and I am teaching you. I know what is inside of you and will allow you to be provoked until you are free.”

Are you being tested? If so, pray, “Lord, you have put your finger on some areas in me that need to change. Help me make those changes and encourage me that I’m not going backward. I’m going forward with you!”

Nothing honors God more than trusting him in the face of difficulties. How quickly we forget the miracles and past blessings. In Psalm 106, Israel testified about the incredible miracle as the Red Sea caved in upon the Egyptian army, drowning every soldier. “The waters covered their enemies; there was not one of them left. Then they believed his words; they sang his praise” (Psalm 106:11-12, NKJV). Sadly, the next words that follow are “They soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel” (Psalm 106:13).

We cannot trust our faith to past experiences; we are too forgetful, and recall is too fragile. It is the wise person who knows that past experience alone will not be enough to strengthen them in present difficulties. We need fresh faith that is anchored in a daily supply of the Word of God.

Giving God your will and your worries requires a “venturing” faith that is a commitment of all things into his caring hands. It necessitates our going out of our comfort zone and relinquishing control to him. Each time, we must launch out into the deep and cast every care upon him.

You don’t have to read far in the Word to find inspiring examples of venturing faith. Hannah, childless and despondent, prayed daily for a child (see 1 Samuel 1:1-20). She persisted with God through her hopelessness and was rewarded with a son named Samuel, the great prophet who anointed King David. Hebrews 11 gives us a long list of those who walked by faith. Their mind-boggling stories remind us that our struggle is not a solitary one, which should both humble and uplift us. “And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises…escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens” (Hebrews 11:32-34). Such radical faith!

Every day brings opportunities to venture farther in our walk with God and develop fresh faith for the journey. Make it your daily priority to lean on him when you’re in trouble. His utter sufficiency and strength will sustain you without fail. You can count on it.

Shame is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a painful emotion caused by consciousness of guilt, shortcoming, or impropriety.” Feeling ashamed can take us in one of two directions: restitution and redemption or perpetual defeat. It can be a force for good that leads to healthy living, or it can knock you down and keep you there.

Let’s consider today how guilt and shame can work together to become a strength that propels us forward. For example, we see King David who, at the height of his power, blew it in a spectacular way. Married himself, he seduced Bathsheba, wife of the mighty military leader Uriah the Hittite. When Bathsheba became pregnant, David sent Uriah into battle to be killed so he could marry Bathsheba and cover up his sin. The beloved psalmist, shepherd and now King fell far and fast, doing incalculable damage to his family.

God’s response to this sordid drama was to send the prophet Nathan to confront David, and confront he did. As recounted in 2 Samuel 12, Nathan bluntly conveyed the Lord’s displeasure and harsh judgment: the child would die.

This is where things could have ended badly. David could have waved Nathan away and hardened his heart against God, but he instead owned his guilt. He bowed his head in shame and repented, “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Samuel 12:13, NKJV). The boy who had communed with God in the Judean hills knew that God cherishes a repentant heart. As we read in Psalm 51, after his meeting with Nathan he poured out his soul in repentance and thanksgiving. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart – these, O God, you will not despise” (Psalm 51:17). This is our perfect model for approaching God when we have sinned.

Redemptive shame carries us through failure into restoration. Its hallmark is an understanding that God views us with kindness and mercy, and that he always has our good in mind. His passion is always to draw us back into intimacy with him. Our contrition freely given is the catalyst for that restored relationship and for genuine, long-term, healthy change.

After the mountaintop experience of the transfiguration, Jesus came down the mountain and was immediately met by a man who was in trouble (see Matthew 17:1-21).

I often have to gently let new believers know that they may be feeling on top of the world, only to get home and be assailed by unwanted thoughts or doubts about their salvation. Many times when we have enjoyed a tremendous spiritual victory, Satan is just around the corner. You go on a wonderful Christian retreat and experience the movement of the Holy Spirit, only to come home to a problem or a disaster.

Jesus came down the mountain and was met not only by a troubled father but by the demons of hell. Jesus responded, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to me” (Mark 9:19, NKJV). When you first read this verse, you assume Jesus is talking to the father. However, he could be addressing the disciples or the religious leaders who were in the crowd as well. They had all failed to help the father and his son.

There’s a type of religion in the world that has no bearing on what God is able to do. It can talk about God, just as the disciples at the bottom of the mountain could do; but without faith and the power of God, it cannot make a difference in somebody’s life. The sad reality is that you can have religion and mountaintop experiences, but if you don’t have a relationship with Jesus Christ, it will get you nowhere! You’ll come to the bottom of the mountain, and an attack will knock your feet out from under you. 

When we know Jesus personally, we will find that prayer is our lifeline; it’s our method of communication and our vehicle to hear from God as well. If we ignore prayer, we will find our relationship with Christ subpar, a weakened and listless faith that does not bear fruit or transform the world around us. Prayer, combined with the Word of God, is what draws us close to the Lord and builds our faith. This is how James could later write, “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16).

_{Carter Conlon joined the pastoral staff of Times Square Church in 1994 and was appointed Senior Pastor in 2001. In May of 2020 he transitioned into a continuing role as General Overseer of Times Square Church, Inc.}

“This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil” (Hebrews 6:19, NKJV).

The anchor referred to in this passage of scripture is hope. It is not the hope of this wicked world but rather the hope founded on God’s oath to keep, bless and govern those who trust him. It is a hope that moves us past the veil, which represents our shallow faith, into walking confidently in Christ.

This hope alone is our anchor in the storm falling on the earth at this present time. The writer of Hebrews admonished, “Do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Hebrews 6:12).

God made an oath to the “heirs of promise,” all who are in Christ. He vowed to end all strife, all doubts, so that “…we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us” (Hebrews 6:18). God has sworn to fulfill his promises, and it is impossible for him to lie. He kept his word to Abraham; he will keep his word to you as you trust him.

We need strong consolation in these times. Sometimes a pat on the back or a platitude aren’t enough. God knew that there would be moments when we needed to feel his firm hand holding ours, pulling us back from the brink of unbelief and despair. This chapter in Hebrews holds us fast and anchors us to God’s promises.

After all is said and done and all the sermons on hope have been preached, it comes down to this: Are we willing to commit everything into his hands, rest in his Word and stand without wavering in the love of God? Are you fully convinced his promises will be fulfilled?

You can take that kind of faith beyond the veil into the holy of holies!