Sometimes God has to break us down so He can rebuild us His way. And often the more impressive the edifice of our own making, the longer and more painful is the process of dying to self and surrendering to God.
To many people fear seems to be a legitimate reason not to do something. But I want you to see that the master in Jesus’s parable was not sympathetic toward the servant who buried his talent. When the servant said, “I was afraid,” the master did not put his arm around him and say, “There, there, it’s all right. You poor little servant.
Against all human logic God chose David to be the next king of Israel. But before David could sit on the throne, he would have to go to the wilderness.
We’ve all heard clichés such as, “Where God guides He provides” or “What God ordains He sustains.” And while there is an element of truth in trite adages such as these, they can often give a false impression that if someone is in God’s will, everything will be easy.
Some people are waiting for God to do everything for them. Some people have an attitude that says, “If this vision is from God, then it will just happen on its own.” But my friend, it doesn’t work that way!
Perhaps you’ve heard of someone who became an overnight success. The reality is that these sudden sensations are usually just an illusion. Someone told me, “It took me thirty years of hard work to become an overnight success.”
In the lobby of our ministry’s headquarters in Orlando, Florida, we have an enormous picture covering an entire wall that shows a vast crowd at one of our African evangelistic campaigns.
It almost sounds as if Jesus contradicted Himself. When asked why the disciples had not been able to exorcise the demon, He said it was because of unbelief. But now He seems to be saying that it is because they had not fasted and prayed enough. Which is it?
