Devotions

Elijah, that great prophet, had become disheartened by the moral landslide his nation was experiencing and had fled from the threats of wicked Queen Jezebel. God found him hiding in a cave on Mount Horeb and asked, “Elijah, why are you hiding?”

With indignation, Elijah replied, “God, I've been jealous for your glory, but your people have forsaken your Word, and your ministers have been persecuted. I'm the only one left, and now they're out to get me too."

To all outward appearances, Elijah had a good argument. The government was the most wicked in all history, and his society was nearing a collapse. The government was actually forcing the nation into idolatry.

Elijah was determined to hold out to the end. If the whole nation forsook God, he would stay true! God was not about to congratulate this hiding prophet, though, because the Holy Spirit was moving throughout the land. Elisha, Elijah’s eventual successor, was feeling the first stirrings of God's hand upon him; and Jehu, a powerful young revolutionary, was chomping at the bit, waiting anxiously to declare war on the corruption and godlessness in the land. A great moral awakening was about to happen.

Elijah was most emphatically informed by God, "I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him" (1 Kings 19:18, NKJV). God was trying to tell Elijah that he had his people stationed in key positions all across the nation. Believers were standing tall and true in spite of the corruption around them.

God has been encouraging me to open my eyes to the great calling out of saints that is now taking place in our time. God said to Elijah, "Thousands have not bowed." To us, I believe he is saying, "Millions have not bowed!"

Glory be to God that we are not a tiny remnant! We are an army, a blood-washed multitude, in every walk of life, unbending and uncompromising in an age gone crazy. Satan would like God's people to think their numbers are dwindling fast; he wants true believers to think the majority have already defected to his camp so fear will drive them into hiding. Don't believe the lies of Satan! God is still at work, pouring out his Holy Spirit and drawing hungry hearts to himself.

What is it going to take to get us out of our miserable lives of guilt and depression? Aren't you tired of living a life of fear and mental torture? Haven't you yet learned there is a better way? What will it take to make us see that a far more glorious life awaits us?

Do you want this glorious, liberated life? Paul said, "Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light" (Colossians 1:12, NKJV). Do you now believe it is your inheritance? Do you now believe God wants desperately for you to have it? Accept it by faith, and move into it! Claim it as your own. “The just shall live by faith” (Galatians 3:11). You simply put your faith in what God said he would do for you. This liberated life of righteousness, joy, and peace in the Holy Ghost is a gift. You can't work for it.

The greatest joy of all is knowing you are no longer "guilty" before God. It is the joy of knowing your faith makes you right before him.

"Blessed and happy and to be envied are those whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered up and completely buried. Blessed and happy and to be envied is the person of whose sin the Lord will take no account nor reckon it against him” (Romans 4:7-8, AMPC).

Abraham became the father of nations simply because he took God at his Word. He could have doubted and lost everything. “He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what he had promised he was also able to perform. …Now it was not written for his sake alone…but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead” (Romans 4:20-24, NKJV).

God forgives us in order to save us; we must believe that he will keep us. The faith that brought Christ into our lives keeps us from falling.

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:1-2).

The apostle Paul says of God, “Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began” (2 Timothy 1:9, NKJV).

Every person who is ‘in Christ’ is called by the Lord. We all have the same mandate: to hear God’s voice, proclaim his Word, never fear man and trust the Lord in the face of every conceivable trial.

Indeed, God made this promise to his prophet Jeremiah when he called him (see Jeremiah 1:1-10). Like Jeremiah, we don’t need to have a message prepared to speak before the world. He has pledged to fill our mouths with his Word at the exact moment it’s needed. That will only happen, though, if we trust him.

Paul tells us that many are appointed as preachers, teachers and apostles, and that they are all going to suffer for that reason. He counts himself among those. “I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For this reason I also suffer these things” (2 Timothy 1:11-12). He was saying, “God has given me a holy work to do. Because I have that calling, I am going to suffer.”

Scripture shows that Paul was tested as few ministers have ever been. Satan tried to kill him time after time. The so-called religious crowd rejected and ridiculed him. At times, even those who supported him left him abused and forsaken.

However, Paul was never confounded before men. He was never dismayed or put to shame before the world. Paul never burned out. On every occasion, he had an anointed word to speak from God, just when it was needed.

The fact is Paul simply wouldn’t be shaken. He never lost his trust in the Lord. Instead, he testified, “I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep what I have committed to him until that day” (2 Timothy 1:12). He was saying, “I have committed my life fully to the Lord’s faithfulness. Live or die, I am his.” Not only that but he urged his young charge Timothy to do likewise. “Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 1:13).

Jesus said, "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32, NKJV). God wants to give me a kingdom? Where is it?

“The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21). It is something you possess in your inner man. It is a liberated life!

Scripture also says, “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered his rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from his” (Hebrews 4:9-10).

You may wonder, “What does it mean to enter this promised rest? What should it look like in my life?” I pray that God will remove the scales from our eyes and allow us to grasp this. Simply put, entering into his promised rest means fully trusting that Christ has done all the work of salvation for you. You’re to rest in his saving grace by faith alone.

This is what Jesus means when he urges, “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). It means the end of all your fleshly striving, all your human efforts to obtain peace. It means relying totally on Jesus’ work for you.

Our battle is not against flesh and blood. It takes place in the spiritual realm. The Old Testament makes this crystal clear. Time after time, Israel made empty, futile promises to God. “We want to serve you, Lord. We’ll do whatever you command us.” History proves they had neither the heart nor the ability to follow through on their word. God had to strip them of all faith in themselves. Everything we need is to come from our precious Lord’s presence.

Paul states, “In him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). This speaks of uninterrupted fellowship. Through the victory of the cross, our Lord has made himself available to us every hour of the day or night. We have to make a decision. “I want Christ in my life. I want to be set free from all flesh. I’m going to move forward into his presence and claim my possession. I want Jesus to be my only source of satisfaction.”

One of my close friends was feeling really sick, so he went to a doctor. The doctor ran a couple tests on him, looked at them and said, “Well, here’s your problem. Your cholesterol and blood pressure is extremely high. I’m going to prescribe you some medication.”

My friend asked him, “Give me three months before we resort to medicine. I’m going to start eating right and exercising, then I’ll come back. If my cholesterol and blood pressure aren’t down, you can write me those prescriptions.”

Now I believe there's a time and place for medicine. We need to be very careful about this, but it worked out for my friend. He went back three months later, and his doctor told him his cholesterol was actually below normal. His blood pressure was down to a healthier level. His health issues were linked to his lifestyle, and once he addressed those, some of his medical issues were fixed. Now he maintains that healthy life.

A similar principle holds true for spiritual health. For example, take opioid addiction that’s tearing apart so many people’s lives right now. Leaders all around the world are saying that the opioid crisis is far beyond anything they’ve ever seen before. We can’t just tackle the addiction, though. It’s the fruit not the root. My father founded Teen Challenge because so many addicts on the street weren’t finding help in typical programs that just wanted to deal with their addiction. My dad knew that addiction or any kind of sin can only be truly fixed by addressing the deeper realm of the heart and soul.

If a broken part of our hearts or souls is left unaddressed, we will turn to other things to comfort us. Maybe it’s alcohol or drugs or the arms of someone you’re not married to or even things that are normally okay like food or hobbies. I believe addictions are caused when this soul brokenness hasn’t been mended. When we allow God to come in and do his work, when we fully surrender ourselves to him, he can completely heal and restore us. This is the blessing that we have access to as the children of God. “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23, ESV).