Devotions

Sadly, great numbers of Christians do not know God’s voice. Some can go for months, even years, without ever receiving an intimate word from the Lord in their inner man. Oh, God did speak to them at one time; but over the years, they’ve learned to silence his voice in their hearts. Others have been turned off by so much foolishness among those who believe that every word that pops into their minds is divine. Such people boast, “God told me”; yet the ‘word’ they hear is only their covetous flesh taking voice!

If you want to know and hear God’s voice, be ready to have him speak of cleansing before he speaks of direction. Many Christians want God to tell them how to hold on to what they’ve earned, how to provide for their family, how to keep their business or career afloat. The truth is, though, before God gives us a word of direction in any of these matters, he’ll speak to us about his commandments.

“These things I command you, that you love one another” (John 15:17 NKJV). God will first speak to you about your actions at home with your spouse and children, about your quick temper, your grudges, your unforgiving spirit. He’ll point out every hidden, secret thing in your life; and he’ll lovingly tell you, “I want to be your adviser, your counselor, your guide, your protector, your provider. I want to walk with you through every trial and hardship. I want to favor, bless and keep you by my Spirit. But first, you must get honest with me about the hidden idols in your heart. Right now, you’re holding on to them, but you must give them up! We simply can’t walk together unless we agree on these matters of your heart.”

“Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part you will make me to know wisdom” (Psalm 51:6). Honesty and transparency before God is the first step toward peace, harmony and blessing.

In desperation, David cried out, “Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications” (Psalm 130:2, NKJV). This sounds to me like the plea of a dying man. David obviously wasn’t just uttering “thought prayers.” He was face down on the ground, broken, contrite, pleading from the very depths of his heart, “O holy God Jehovah, you must hear my cry! I can’t go on any longer. My sin is ever before me, and I’m sinking with fear and dread. Please, God, have mercy on me.”

David knew his soul needed a release, and he turned to God alone to find that release. He concluded, “I’m in such a dire condition, only the Lord can help me now. I can’t rely on counselors, friends, even family. My only hope is in prayer, so I’m going to cry out night and day until God hears my plea.”

Have you ever been as desperate as David was? Have you shut yourself in with the Lord, falling on your face and crying out to him? Dull, quiet, lazy praying won’t accomplish anything. If you’re not unburdening your soul to God, you don’t really want healing; you want out of discomfort or guilt. David testified, “I am feeble and severely broken; I groan because of the turmoil of my heart” (Psalm 38:8-9). You have to cry out, as David did, “Lord, hear my plea! I’m not letting go of you until you answer!”

“The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry” (Psalm 34:15). “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit” (Psalm 34:18). His eyes are upon us…his ears are open…he is near…he saves us!

We can pour our hearts out to God with complete abandon. “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16). Call on him. He is listening eagerly for your voice.

God’s forgiveness can be obtained only by faith. We can’t reason it out. Christ’s gift to us of his blood atonement is so deep, so gracious, so mysterious, it’s far beyond any human ability to understand. We may see the law clearly applied to our sin. We may feel condemnation, fear and guilt over our trespasses, but our heavenly Father always stands lovingly beside us, ready to forgive.

The blood of Christ, the love of the Father, the Lord’s desire to pardon: all these blessings are known only by faith. “But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for ‘the just shall live by faith’” (Galatians 3:11 NKJV).

You may wonder, “How many times will the Lord forgive me for indulging in the same sin again and again?” Rest assured his incredible forgiveness is unlimited. Every time you sin, you can go to Jesus and find deliverance. Yet the Lord’s forgiveness is not unwise or blind. To be sure, our heavenly Father forgives us; but at a certain point, he chastens us to keep us from continuing to sin. “For whom the Lord loves he chastens and scourges every son whom he receives” (Hebrews 12:6).  He tells us, “My forgiveness is unending, but while you are on the earth, you will experience the consequences of sin.” He reminds us that sin separates us from intimacy with him and from one another, and it keeps us in a cycle of failure and despair. Our Lord’s deepest desire is to bring us out of that cycle for good to a place of strength and rejoicing in him.

Jesus’ followers said to him one day, “Increase our faith” (see Luke 17:5). He replied, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea.’ And it would obey you” (Luke 17:6). His illustration showed them that when they stepped forward with the smallest kernel of faith, he would respond with vigor!

Give yourself the opportunity to walk in the joy and grace of the Lord. By faith, accept his forgiveness, take his hand, and live the new life that awaits you!

After all his weeping and crying out to the Lord, David ended up declaring, “But there is forgiveness with you, that you may be feared” (Psalm 130:4, NKJV).

The Holy Spirit began to flood his soul with memories of God’s mercies, and suddenly David recalled all he had learned through the years about the Father’s loving, forgiving nature. “But you are God, ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abundant in kindness, and did not forsake them” (Nehemiah 9:17).

Soon David was rejoicing, reminding himself, “For you, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon you” (Psalm 86:5). “Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases” (Psalm 103:3).

Here is one of the foundational promises of the New Covenant. Jeremiah declares, “I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” (see Jeremiah 31:34). Paul adds in the New Testament that he has made us “alive together with him, having forgiven all your trespasses” (Colossians 2:13).

God has promised us his forgiveness for every sin! He pours out his love upon us, and we have, through redemption, hope for this life and eternal life to come. As our Father, it is in his very nature to forgive. We are not left out in the cold; we are drawn into the shelter and safety of God’s loving arms through forgiveness.

“He will again have compassion on us, and subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19).

“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more” (Hebrews 8:12).

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7).

“Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins” (Acts 13:38).

“I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake; and I will not remember your sins” (Isaiah 43:25).

We live in an age of ‘Big.’ With one click, we can take a global tour and become immersed in the world’s problems. Think about the catastrophic headlines that flow through your phone. It takes your breath away, and it’s easy to become overwhelmed. We may rightly ask, “Why doesn’t God sweep in and save those poor people?”

We think big problems require big, dramatic solutions, but God doesn’t think that way. In his world, it happens the other way around.

My friend John Bueno and his wife, Lois, were missionaries to El Salvador for more than 25 years. Late one night during their first year, John was driving home from a meeting when he saw a young boy selling newspapers on the street. “That’s odd,” he thought. “It’s nearly midnight.” Then it hit him. The boy couldn’t go home until he’d met his quota, so there he was at midnight, trying to sell the last three papers. John bought them all, and the boy ran off, elated.

The Holy Spirit wouldn’t let John forget about this boy and the hundreds of other children working on the streets of the city. He felt the Spirit say, “If someone doesn’t help them, this will be the story of their lives.” John initially pushed back. “But Lord, I don’t have enough money or ability to make a difference.” God persisted, and today, more than 60 years later, the school for disadvantaged children that John and Lois founded has 37 campuses. They estimate that nearly one-sixth of El Salvador’s six million people have passed through their school.

You may think, “I’m not a missionary; I’m just an ordinary, unremarkable person.” Good! This is an attitude God can work with. Think of our heroes of the faith. Men and women like Moses, Daniel and Esther were ordinary people who simply stepped up. Many were poor and felt like they didn’t have much to offer, but God didn’t need their resources or resumes. He used their willing hearts and hands to accomplish his purpose. 

Mother Teresa understood that every kindness, every act of mercy, matters. “Never worry about numbers,” she once said. “Help one person at a time and always start with the person nearest you.”

Jesus says, “‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40, ESV). Give God your loaves and fishes, and he will feed the world.