Day 87 "He who waits upon the Lord speaks the words of a Holy God."

Day 87

Matthew 10:18-20 "You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you."

Today, I felt convicted for the times I have accused satan for attacking me, when in reality, I should be praising the Lord for using me. All too often we get hung up on blaming the devil for causing trials and hardships in our lives when, in reality, God is allowing challenges to either bring us to a greater understanding or to be a witness to and for Him.

Think about it, was Stephen stoned because satan was attacking him, or was he stoned because God was preparing Saul's heart for the transformation to come? As I think about the events of the past few days and the things I shared yesterday about our trip, I realize even more how God was using the close calls to remind me of both the spiritual battle and of His sovereignty. The amazing promises in this passage should be of great comfort to each of us–the promise of being persecuted for His sake, as well as the promise of His hand upon us and His spirit within us. God does not make promises He doesn't keep; therefore, we can be assured that if we step out to testify of His glory, we will be brought before people, we will be persecuted, and we will be challenged to defend that which we believe. However, we are also assured that this same God of all creation says to us that He will lead us, He will tell us what to speak, and His Spirit will inhabit and guide us. Wow! I mean, how cool is that? God allows us to speak on His behalf, and we really don't need to worry about what we say because He will tell us what to say when we need to say it!

Now, we all know that this does come with the condition of being in communion with God; however, I would always advise that you never openly testify and witness unless you are in communion with God and covered by the blood of Jesus. Those who testify of Christ without being in communion with Him are committing spiritual suicide; they are, in fact, fighting a battle they cannot win, against an enemy they don't understand, and in an arena which they cannot see. Anyhow, back to the point at hand, the fear of the unknown, feelings of inadequacy, or fear of consequences should never keep a believer from testifying to the glory and greatness of our God, for He will be our all in all.

Daily Prayer: Father, I look forward to the times when I am challenged to defend or testify of Your glory, and thank You for the promise of Your Spirit guiding me in that day. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

"He who waits upon the Lord speaks the words of a Holy God."

Pastor Gene Burroughs