Devotions

In Hebrew, there is a wonderful word: chanak. It has two etymological roots. The first refers to setting in motion, guiding or helping to discover. It’s in “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6, ESV). This passage evokes the divine and precious call of every parent to develop his or her child in the path that God has chosen for that child.

I am not talking about leading your child to the path you wanted in your youth. Don't seek to live your dreams vicariously through your children. Instead, accompany them in the discovery of their future with love, respect and a listening ear. Don't force your child to take the path that seems to work well for their sibling or other children. Refuse to compare your child to anyone else. Your child is unique, and God has a unique path and purpose prepared for them.

The second root of the word chanak was used to describe the palate. ‘Doing chanak’ could be translated “putting a finger on the palate.” This refers to the tenderness of a young mother who tastes her baby's food in order to create in him the desire to taste it too. Chantal and I are a respite home for young mothers who are going through difficult times and need help. We were taking care of a beautiful little girl who was about three years old. Faced with her blatant lack of interest in any vegetable, Chantal practiced chanak. “Mmm! It's so good! Do you want to taste it, my dear? It's so much better than candy!”

The little one, under the spell of my wife's undeniable theatrical talent, repeated, "Mmmm!" It's good, Grandma!” She ended up eating the entire plate of vegetables.

Training up a child in the way he or she should go could just as well translate into giving your child a taste for walking in the paths that God has created for him. The Bible says, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!” (Psalm 34:8). Our responsibility is to give them a taste of the presence of God, his Word and his heart. As a father, I want my life to impact my children and leave them hungry and thirsty for all the riches and blessings of an abundant life in Jesus.

^{Claude Houde is the lead pastor of Eglise Nouvelle Vie (New Life Church) in Montreal, Canada. Under his leadership New Life Church has grown from a handful of people to more than 3500 in a part of Canada with few successful Protestant churches.}

We think our Lord gets enough pleasure from what we do for him, but there is so much more. Consider this verse: “Which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’?” (Luke 17:7-8, NKJV).

We may have no trouble at all identifying with the servant in his duty to the master. No trouble in putting on our apron and serving up the Lord a full table of praises. We love to feed our Lord! It is our greatest joy to minister unto the Lord, but we have difficulty with the last part: “Afterward, you will eat!” That may feel like too much for us to comprehend. We do not know how to sit down and allow him the same joy we experienced in serving him. We rob our Lord of the joy of ministering to us.

Christ responds to our faith and rejoices when we repent. He talks to the Father about us and delights in our childlike trust. However, I am convinced that his greatest need is to have one-to-one communication with those he left here on earth. No angel in heaven can meet that need. Jesus wants to talk with those on the battlefield.

Where did I get such a notion? It’s in the account of Christ appearing to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. They were grieved about their departed Lord, but when the resurrected Christ drew near, they did not recognize him. He wanted to talk; he had so much to say to them. “So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus himself drew near and went with them…and beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:15, 27).

There could have been no finer experience for those disciples; they went away saying, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked with us?” We think of the joy of the disciples, but what about the joy of Jesus? He was fulfilled, and I see him overjoyed by this communion with his disciples.

Power to not yield to temptation does not come from stuffing our minds with scripture verses, making vows, spending hours in prayer, fasting or even giving ourselves over to a great spiritual cause. These things are all commendable and normal for Christian growth, but that is not where our victory lies.

The simple secret of bearing up under any temptation is to break the fear of Satan’s power. Fear is the only power over man Satan has. God does not give us the spirit of fear, but man is afraid of the devil, frightened of demons. We are afraid of failure, afraid our appetites and habits can’t be altered, that they will erupt and control our lives.

Man is afraid that he can’t quit his sin. He credits Satan with power he doesn’t have. Man cries out, “I’m hooked and can’t stop. I’m spellbound and in the devil’s power. The devil makes me do it!”

Fear is a torment. As long as you are afraid of the devil, you can never break the power of temptation. Satan thrives on fear, and Christians who are afraid of the devil have little or no power to resist. It’s all based on the lie that Satan has power to break down Christians under pressure. Not so! Jesus came to destroy all the power of the devil over blood-washed children of God. I have often wondered why God allows spiritual people to be so tempted. Scripture says, “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, NKJV). Why doesn’t God remove all temptations instead?

The answer is simple. Once you learn how powerless Satan is, that he can’t make you do anything, that God has all power to keep you from falling—from then on, you can “bear up” under anything Satan throws at you. You can go through it without fearing you will fall.

We are not delivered from temptation but from the fear of the devil to make us yield to it. We will keep on being tempted until we come to the place of “rest” in our faith. That rest is the unshakeable confidence that God has defeated Satan, that Satan has no right or claim on us and that we will come forth as gold tried in the fire.

Temptation is an invitation or an enticement to commit an immoral act. Right now, Satan is raging over the earth as a roaring lion trying to devour Christians through powerful enticements toward immorality. No one is immune. In fact, the closer you get to God, the more Satan will desire to sift you.

Sinners cannot be tempted. Rain cannot touch a body already under water. Sinners are already drowned in perdition; and as children of Satan, they do as he dictates. They do not have to be tempted or enticed because they are already immoral. As slaves, they are not free to choose. They simply go from dead to twice dead “to being plucked up by the roots.” Sinners can be teased by the devil but not tempted. Satan teases his own children into deeper and darker pits of immorality, but they are already dead in their trespasses and cannot fight the battles of the living. That’s why our Lord tells us to rejoice when we come against diverse temptations. We are experiencing something unique only to maturing Christians.

For believers, temptation is “training under combat conditions.” God limits it to the point of being “bearable.” He wants combat-seasoned warriors who can testify, “I was under fire. I’ve been in the battle. The enemy was all around me, shooting at me, trying to kill me, but God showed me how to take it and not be afraid. I have experience, so the next time I’ll not fear.”

Temptation is not a sign of weakness or a leaning toward the world. Rather, it is a graduation, a sign that God trusts us. The Spirit led Jesus into the arena of temptation in the wilderness. Actually, God was saying to Jesus, “Son, I have given you the Spirit without measure. I have confirmed you before the world. Now I am going to permit Satan to throw every device he has at you that you may go forth preaching that Satan is defeated, that he cannot snatch anyone I give to you out of our hand.”

That is why Christians are tempted today. Temptation is allowed in the saintliest of lives to teach us the limitation of Satan, to expose his weakness and to reveal Satan as a scarecrow.

I have a special word for all who face impossibilities: A recovery of faith depends on a fuller revelation of the love of our heavenly Father toward us.

“The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17, NKJV). Here is a glorious revelation of the steadfastness of God’s love for his people. Scripture tells us he rests and rejoices in his love for us!

The Hebrew word for “quiet” here means God hasn’t a single question concerning his love for us. In other words, he has fixed or settled his love for us, and he will never take it away. In fact, we’re told God is so satisfied in his love for us that he sings about it. Can you imagine this? Here is a manifestation in heaven of God’s delight over you. John Owen interprets the passage this way: “God leaps as overcome with joy.”

Moreover, Paul told us everything that is out of divine order, all that is of unbelief and confusion, is changed by the appearance of God’s love. “But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us” (Titus 3:4-5).

In the preceding verse, Paul said, “For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived…” (Titus 3:3). In other words, “Everything was out of order when we once lived in sin; but the kindness and love of God appeared, which the Father shed on us abundantly through Christ, and he redeemed us.”

When Paul says the love of God “appeared,” he uses a word from a Greek root meaning “superimposed.” In short, the Lord looked down on us poor, struggling souls, full of fear and questioning, and he superimposed this revelation: “My love will deliver you. Rest and delight in my love for you.”

I thank God for the day his love “appeared” to me. There is no faith that can stand against impossibilities unless every problem and affliction is committed into the loving care of our Father.