Devotions

Paul describes the love of God as wide, long, high and deep. “That you…may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:17-19, NKJV).

I want to focus today on the depth of God’s love.

Over the years I’ve heard from backslidden Christians who want to return to their first love. One wrote, “I lived for years in awful sin. I am back, but I fear God can’t forgive my unspeakable sins. I have no peace.” Another said, “I want to get back to Jesus, but I’m afraid. I am one of the worst sinners.”

Many people are tired of their lives of sin and heartache, but they believe God has a limit to his love and mercy, a point at which he says, “You have rejected all my pleas and warnings, and now you’ve crossed the line.” Many are embarrassed or convinced that they have sinned away their day of grace.

The prophet Jonah ran from God’s commission, and his disobedience would put the blood of many on his hands. God never left him, though, even as he floated in the belly of the whale, mired in sin and rebellion (See Jonah 2). Jonah believed God had forsaken him for his sin. “For you cast me into the deep…out of your sight…my soul fainted within me” (see Jonah 2:3-7). But when Jonah reached the bottom, he was forgiven and delivered. He received a fresh touch and a special calling.

The Holy Spirit is at work on our behalf even when we are disobedient. No one is too far gone; no one is cast off. The Spirit says, “Repent. I am right here with you and will bring you back.”

Nothing can separate us from the love of God. Nothing! “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

The blood of Jesus offers freedom, pardon, mercy and reconciliation with the Father. No matter how deep you have fallen, God’s love and forgiveness go deeper.

Oh, the depth of his love!

When the children of Israel went through times of testing, were they really supposed to express gratitude and thanksgiving in the middle of them? When they were surrounded and in a hopeless situation, did God really expect them to have that kind of reaction?

Yes, absolutely! That was the secret to getting out of their difficulty. You see, God wants something from all of us in our times of trouble. He wants us to offer him a sacrifice of thanksgiving.

I believe James discovered this secret when he admonished, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds…” (James 1:2 NKJV). He was saying, “Don’t give up. Make an altar in your heart and offer up joyous thanksgiving even as you are going through the storm.”

Of course, the children of Israel did offer the Lord praise and thanksgiving, but they did it on the wrong side of the Red Sea. Yes, they rejoiced all night, but God had no pleasure in it. Anyone can shout in gratitude after a victory. The question God put to Israel was, “Will you praise me before I send help, while you’re still in the battle?”

I believe if Israel had rejoiced on the “trial side” of the Red Sea, they wouldn’t have had to be tested again at the waters of Marah. Had they passed the Red Sea test, the waters at Marah wouldn’t have tasted bitter, but sweet. And Israel would have seen water springing up everywhere in the desert, rather than having to go thirsty.

May God help us to sing the right song on the testing side of trials. May we understand how much delight a song of thanksgiving brings to the heart of our heavenly Father.

Are you going through a difficult time right now? Then sing! Praise! Say to the Lord, “I praise you because I know you can do it. You delivered me before, and you can deliver me now. I rest in joy.”

One of the most important verses in scripture is in the apostle Peter’s first letter. He speaks of the necessity of having our faith tested. “That the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,” (1 Peter 1:7 NKJV).

This passage suggests that God is saying, “Your faith is more precious to me than all the wealth of this world, which will one day disappear. When the enemy sends all manner of evil against you, I want you to be able to stand strong with unshakable faith. I will keep you through every dark day. Your part is to simply have faith in me. I will keep you by my power.”

God wants to help us stand strong, but he also wants us to move ahead. The apostle Paul writes, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man. But 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). Why would he be interested in keeping us mired in temptation and affliction? He doesn’t get any glory from testing his children. His glory comes from the results.

The children of Israel were brought to the Red Sea for a reason. God had led them to the very brink of destruction. They were surrounded by mountains on two sides, a sea on the third, and an approaching enemy on the fourth. Why? Because he wanted his people to acknowledge their helplessness. He wanted to hear them say, “We remember how God delivered us from the plagues, and how he brought us out of terrible affliction where we made bricks without straw and had no rest. God delivered us then, and he will do it again!”

Our Lord wants to hear the same from us. He will protect us from every enemy that comes against us. When we are trapped and helpless, let's rejoice in his faithfulness. He is God, and he will keep his promises!

Why do so many believers experience weakness, despair and emptiness, as if they can’t go on? It is because they do not have the understanding that the Spirit gave Paul. They do not see all the provisions God has made possible for those who would claim them by faith!

Do you fit Paul’s description of a bountiful servant, one who has all he needs and more every day, even in crisis? Have you proved this by drawing on the bank of heaven?

For several years I worked with American evangelist Kathryn Kuhlman. Morning and evening I preached my heart out at her meetings, and I was usually wiped out by the end of the day. One night Kathryn said to my wife, Gwen, and me, “Let’s go out and get something to eat.” I told her, “I’m sorry, I’m just too tired. I’ve got to go to the motel and get some sleep.”

She looked at me quizzically and asked, “David, did you preach under the Spirit’s unction tonight?” I answered, “You know I was anointed. The altars were filled!”

Kathryn said quietly, “Then you’re missing something. If you’re ministering under the power of the Holy Ghost, you should be stronger at the end of the service than when you started because he is a quickening Spirit! The Spirit will give you freedom from weakness and exhaustion. He will renew your strength. All you have to do is ask.”

She was right. Since then, I have proved that truth in my ministry over and over. “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8 NKJV). To abound here literally means “ever-increasing; to have more at the end than at the beginning.” In other words, as the battle gets hotter, God’s grace increases. As weakness comes upon you, his strength comes on even greater, if you believe!

What is well-being? Can it be achieved by simply taking care of oneself? Not entirely. True well-being includes relational love, intimacy and connection with people. You cannot have well-being on your own.

There are more than fifty Bible verses that talk about loving and cherishing and caring for one another. Give to one another. Put others above yourself. The wounded soul that hasn’t torn down its barriers can’t effectively do that. Larry Crabb said that two unhealthy people in a marriage are like two ticks with no dog. They are sucking the life out of each other; there's no source of life. They desperately need one another, but neither has anything to give. 

Well-being begins with us saying, "Holy Spirit, this drive in me for approval from others isn’t love. It's the opposite of love. Nourish me from within and dissolve the barriers that I’ve put up. Enlarge my heart.”

In America, we have an individualistic mentality that says, "I'll fix myself, spirit, soul and body! I’ll go to the gym, eat well, read inspirational books and will myself to success.” There's good in that, but it isn’t sufficient. We have a God-shaped hole in our hearts, but there is also a people-shaped hole in our hearts. There is a classic book written in the 1600s titled The Practice of the Presence of God. I would like to write a book called “Practicing the Presence of People.” Both the soul and the body need people around them. You have to change to have well-being in community, but you need community to change.

The prophet Jonah was a loner, and there’s an important lesson in his story that is often overlooked. He spent a lot of time running from God and distancing himself from other people, and the impact of his ministry was sorely affected by all that isolation. Just like Jonah, when we keep people at arm’s length, our ministry can be sorely affected as well. Our faith is lived out in community; people are not impacted unless they're loved.

Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Do you want true well-being? Seek him first. Practice the presence of God, then seek out good relationships with other people. This is good, healthy soul-care.