Time Out! Devotions

Psalm 25:15 (NCV)

My eyes are always looking to the Lord for help. He will keep me from any traps.

John 1:12 (NCV)

But to all who did accept him and believe in him he gave the right to become children of God.

John 7:38 (NCV)

If anyone believes in me, rivers of living water will flow out from that person’s heart, as the Scripture says.”

Acts 15:9 (NCV)

To God, those people are not different from us. When they believed, he made their hearts pure.

Romans 4:1-5 (NCV)

So what can we say that Abraham, the father of our people, learned about faith?² If Abraham was made right by the things he did, he had a reason to brag. But this is not God’s view,³ because the Scripture says, “Abraham believed God, and God accepted Abraham’s faith, and that faith made him right with God.”⁴ When people work, their pay is not given as a gift, but as something earned.⁵ But people cannot do any work that will make them right with God. So they must trust in him, who makes even evil people right in his sight. Then God accepts their faith, and that makes them right with him.

Romans 4:18 (NCV)

There was no hope that Abraham would have children. But Abraham believed God and continued hoping, and so he became the father of many nations. As God told him, “Your descendants also will be too many to count.”

Romans 10:4 (NCV)

Christ ended the law so that everyone who believes in him may be right with God.

Romans 11:20 (NCV)

Those branches were broken off because they did not believe, and you continue to be part of the tree only because you believe. Do not be proud, but be afraid.

1 Corinthians 2:5 (NCV)

This was so that your faith would be in God’s power and not in human wisdom.

1 Peter 2:6 (NCV)

The Scripture says: “I will put a stone in the ground in Jerusalem. Everything will be built on this important and precious rock. Anyone who trusts in him will never be disappointed.” (Isaiah 28:16)

2 Corinthians 1:24 (NCV)

We are not trying to control your faith. You are strong in faith. But we are workers with you for your own joy.

Ephesians 6:16 (NCV)

And also use the shield of faith with which you can stop all the burning arrows of the Evil One.

Hebrews 10:22 (NCV)

Let us come near to God with a sincere heart and a sure faith, because we have been made free from a guilty conscience, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

Hebrews 10:38-39 (NCV)

Those who are right with me will live by faith. But if they turn back with fear, I will not be pleased with them.” (Habakkuk 2:3–4) ³⁹ But we are not those who turn back and are lost. We are people who have faith and are saved.

Matthew 9:28 (NCV)

After Jesus went inside, the blind men went with him. He asked the men, “Do you believe that I can make you see again?” They answered, “Yes, Lord.”

Mark 9:24 (NCV)

Immediately the father cried out, “I do believe! Help me to believe more!”

(by Dr. Charles Stanley from the February 2010 issue of In Touch devotional magazine)

Judges 7:1-8 (NIV)

¹ Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. ² The LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, ³ announce now to the people, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’ ” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.

⁴ But the LORD said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”

⁵ So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the LORD told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink.” ⁶ Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.

⁷ The LORD said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place.” ⁸ So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others. Now the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley.

The story of Gideon offers scriptural guidance for times when the odds are overwhelming and defeat seems imminent. No matter what your challenges are, the Lord is able to demonstrate His awesome power and deliver you.

God uses difficulty to build faith. Gideon was willing to believe God and go up against an army four times larger than his own. Trusting the Lord is a process which must be learned through experience. At times God takes the people He uses and places them in impossible situations—in that way, they discover that He is faithful. We may prefer to acquire faith by reading a book, but the Lord knows that the best classroom is a place of utter helplessness.

God may require us to do what seems unreasonable. The Israelites were already outnumbered, but the Lord instructed Gideon to reduce the army to a mere 300 men. That made the odds 450 to one! Although God’s ways may seem illogical to us, His wisdom and power are far greater than ours, and His plan can be trusted.

God leads us to do that which brings Him glory. The army was now so small that its men could in no way take credit for the victory. The Lord delights in demonstrating His awesome power and glory through our weakness and inadequacy.

Consider life’s challenges as opportunities for the Lord to build your faith and prepare you for ministry. He uses those who are willing to obey Him even when the task seems illogical or impossible. And He takes pleasure in showing His faithfulness to those who trust in Him regardless of the situation.

Matthew 9:18-30 (NCV)

¹⁸ While Jesus was saying these things, a leader of the synagogue came to Him. He bowed down before Jesus and said, “My daughter has just died. But if You come and lay your hand on her, she will live again.”¹⁹ So Jesus and his followers stood up and went with the leader.

²⁰ Then a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years came behind Jesus and touched the edge of His coat.²¹ She was thinking, “If I can just touch His clothes, I will be healed.”

²² Jesus turned and saw the woman and said, “Be encouraged, dear woman. You are made well because you believed.” And the woman was healed from that moment on.

²³ Jesus continued along with the leader and went into his house. There He saw the funeral musicians and many people crying. ²⁴ Jesus said, “Go away. The girl is not dead, only asleep.” But the people laughed at Him. ²⁵ After the crowd had been thrown out of the house, Jesus went into the girl’s room and took hold of her hand, and she stood up.²⁶ The news about this spread all around the area.

²⁷ When Jesus was leaving there, two blind men followed Him. They cried out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”

²⁸ After Jesus went inside, the blind men went with Him. He asked the men, “Do you believe that I can make you see again?” They answered, “Yes, Lord.”

²⁹ Then Jesus touched their eyes and said, “Because you believe I can make you see again, it will happen.” ³⁰ Then the men were able to see.

God changed a situation that had been a problem for years. Like the leper (Matthew 8:1-3) and the demon-possessed man (Matthew 8:28-32), this bleeding woman was considered unclean. For 12 years, she too had been one of the “untouchables” and had not been able to live a normal life. But Jesus changed that and restored her. Sometimes we are tempted to give up on people or situations which have not changed for many years. God can change what seems unchangeable, giving new life and hope.

The local synagogue rabbi didn’t come to Jesus until his daughter was dead — it was too late for anyone else to help. But Jesus simply went to the girl and raised her! In our lives, Christ can make a difference when it seems too late for anyone else to help. He can bring healing to broken marriages, release from addicting habits, and forgiveness and change to scarred lives. If your situation looks hopeless, remember that Christ can do the impossible!

Jesus didn’t respond immediately to the blind men’s pleas. He waited to see how earnest they were. Not everyone who says he wants help really wants it badly enough to do something about it. Jesus may have waited and questioned these men to make their desire and faith stronger. If, in your prayers, it seems as if God is too slow in giving His answer, maybe He is testing you as He did the blind men. Do you believe God can help you? Do you really want His help?

The blind men were persistent. They went right into the house where Jesus was staying. They knew Jesus could heal them and they would let nothing stop them — that’s faith! If you believe Jesus is the answer to your every need, don’t let anything or anyone stop you from reaching Him!

(from the Life Application Bible – Living Bible edition)

For reading & meditation: Job 21:1-9
“Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?” (Job 21:7)

[Let's examine] the question with which the psalmist struggles in Psalm 73: Why is it that the wicked seem to prosper while the path of the righteous is beset by so many difficulties? Look now at how the psalmist views the condition of the ungodly: “They suffer no violent pangs in their death, but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they smitten and plagued like other men. Therefore pride is about their neck as a chain; violence covers them as a garment – as a long, luxurious robe” (Psalm 73:4-6, Amplified Bible). What a graphic description this is of the person who has no time for God, yet goes on from day to day with few troubles. It is probably the most perfect picture in all literature of the so-called successful man of the world. Note that the psalmist begins his description of the ungodly with a reference to the way they die: “They suffer no violent pangs in their death.” Throughout time the notion has been universally present that a good life ends in a good death, but the psalmist makes the observation that in his experience the reverse is true. Have you not struggled with these same feelings whenever you have heard of a Christian dying in great agony while a non-Christian passes away peacefully in his sleep? What do you do with those feelings? Ignore them? Deny them? Repress them? Remember, it is only exposed problems that can be resolved. I say again, if you are not willing to face a problem, how can you go about getting it resolved?

Prayer:

O God, save me from denying the difficult problems and feelings I encounter in life. Help me understand that it is easier to deal with things when they are up and out than when they lie buried within. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

For further study: Luke 12:15-21

For reading & meditation: Psalm 19:7-14
“Clear me from hidden and unconscious faults.” (Psalm 19:12, Amplified Bible)

We said [previously] that exposed problems are the only ones that can be resolved. Is this just an interesting theory, or is it something that can be supported from Scripture? Let me see if I can convince you that this statement has a biblical basis. Come back with me to the Garden of Eden and think again about the questions which God put to the first human pair: “Where are you? Who told you that you were naked? What is this you have done?” (Genesis 3:9-13). Does anyone believe that God needed to ask those questions in order to gain information for Himself? Of course not; being omniscient (that is, having all knowledge), He already knew what they had done. Then why did He put those searching personal questions to them? Surely the answer must be that the direct questions encouraged them to face something that they preferred not to look at. God knew that before the problem could be dealt with it must be brought out into the open. Some people may think that by far the best way of dealing with unacceptable thoughts and feelings is to push them back into the unconscious but, as we are now seeing, that is a fallacy. Problems that are buried inside us rather than brought out into the light work to drain us of spiritual energy. It takes a lot of emotional energy to keep things repressed. This is why people who repeatedly use the defense of repression end up feeling overtired. Healthy people are those who, like the psalmist in Psalm 73, bring their thoughts and feelings into awareness – no matter how “unspiritual” those thoughts and feelings may appear to be.

Prayer:

Father, I now begin to see why You bring me face to face with so many disturbing questions, for You know the havoc that is wrought within when issues are ignored or denied. Help me face anything and everything. In Your Name. Amen.

For further study: Lamentations 3:40