Weekly Devotion

I discussed last time that our purpose is something that will continue for your whole lifetime. It is something that will never end, it is something that will become you and will best suit your personality. The Lord knows what is best for you. It could be the job that you do or want to do or your purpose could also not necessarily be the work that you do. If your purpose is to serve others, then do it there at your working place, if your purpose is to motivate others, start there with your colleagues and brighten their day if you see that they need it. In other words I am not saying you must quit your day job to follow your purpose. Maybe if the Lord requires that of you, then yes do it, but the Lord also requires of us to be responsible. If we have a family and we need to take care of them and our day job is the only job that provides the financial means to continue forward, then try to live out your purpose right where you are. And when the Holy Spirit calls you that the time and the financial means are right, then move out and go wherever He leads you. But never ever move out in the flesh!

For example let's say you discover that the Lord wants you to be lawyer and currently you are a debtor's clerk in a big financial organization, don't immediately quit and start studying, without thinking of the consequences. If you have financial responsibility then stay in your job and apply for bursaries to study, or apply for a clerk position in a lawyer firm or pray that the Lord would give you the energy to study towards being a lawyer, whilst still working in the job where you are at.  If the Lord wants you to do something, He will provide the means to do it. All you need to do is to be pro active. Do some homework about being a lawyer, go see lawyers, talk to them, obtain information and apply for bursaries and jobs wherever you can and then leave the rest to God. Just remember to do your part. Don't sit and wallow in your current job until you retire, still waiting for the Lord to magically help you become a lawyer. No, you must act pro actively and the Lord will then do what we cannot.

I told my husband the other day, I know there are probably millions of people writing books and writing devotions as I am. My website is one of millions of others. So I can quickly become discouraged and think: What is the use? Why even bother? There are millions of others doing the same thing, why should I continue? BUT if I didn't write this website and if I didn't write my books, then the Lord would have nothing to work with. Isn't that so? It is like desperately wanting a specific job and praying and trusting the Lord for it, but then you don't apply for the job. What is the chance that you will get the job? Zero. The Lord is not a magic wand we can swing whenever we want something and then He magically gives us the job we desperately want. No. We need to give the Lord something to work with. (Again I want to emphasize this, the Lord can obviously do anything, He is Almighty, but He does not want to be a magician. We are His hands and feet on earth.) So what chance do I have of succeeding as a motivational writer/speaker? One in probably hundred million, but still I have a chance, even if it is just one. If I didn't do what I do, my chance would be zero in hundred million and the Lord would have zero to work with. So my message? Do your part and leave the rest to God.

Another thing I would like to make clear is that despite your main purpose, you also have decisions that need to be made on a daily/weekly/ad hoc basis. These decisions can influence your overall purpose or it can't. For example you know the Lord has called you to be an engineer, but you doubt your ability and you therefore decide to rather go and study economics. That will obviously influence your overall purpose. But let's say you know your purpose is to motivate people and now you are led by the Lord to go and live in England for example. That will not influence your purpose, because you can also motivate people there. Now what I actually want to say is that, despite knowing what our purpose in life is, we need to make decisions frequently and we therefore need to know how to ask God for guidance on these issues as well. We will get to that a bit later on. For now, just know that you are extremely special and you have a unique purpose to fulfill on this earth, here, today. Believe it and hold on to it. Without you, the world has lost something valuable. But with your input, the universe will rejoice, because if all of us do what we are supposed to be doing, the world would be a much better place. The Lord will guide us, He is extremely faithful!

Thank you Jesus that we have a purpose here on earth. Thank you that we can look up to You and trust that You would provide insight to us as to our specific purpose. Amen

Your task/s assigned to you by the Lord will be well suited for you. The Lord knows your strengths and weaknesses and will never give you anything that is not appropriate for you. And as we have discussed, it might take time before you start your task/s and there might be difficult times before or during your task/s. But what I would like to touch upon now, is that when you start your task/s there might be times when you get tired and fed up and simply want to give up. There might come times when everything simply gets too much for you. Now there was a time in the famous prophet, Elijah's life where he felt exactly the same way.

Elijah was one of the most famous prophets of all time. He predicted the beginning and the end of a severe three year drought, he raised a child from the dead and he appeared with Moses in the Transfiguration scene in the New Testament alongside Jesus. He also represented God in a showdown with the priests of Baal and Asherah. You all know the story of how Elijah asked king Ahab to bring all the people together at Mount Carmel, along with the 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah. He ordered that two bulls be brought to them. He let the prophets of Baal chose one of the bulls and ordered them to sacrifice the bull to Baal, but they were not allowed to set fire to the sacrifice. They were to ask Baal to set the fire on their behalf, in order for all of Israel to see if he really exists. They danced, sang and shouted the whole day, asking Baal to light the fire, but of course Baal didn't send the fire. When it was Elijah's turn to ask the Lord to set fire to the sacrifice, he wanted to prove the awesome power of the Lord and even poured twelve large jars with water over the wood to make it even more difficult to set fire to the offering. But the instant he prayed, the Lord sent fire from heaven, burning up the bull, the wood, the stone alter and all the water. It was such an awesome sight that all the people fell down on their faces and proclaimed "The Lord is God!" Upon the command of Elijah all the prophets of Baal and Asherah were captured and killed.

What an awesome sight that must have been. Elijah must have been on an absolute spiritual high! The Lord used him to unveil His mighty power to the nation. Wow, what a tremendous privilege! But guess what happened right after this? King Ahab told his wife Jezebel what happened and she immediately set out to kill Elijah. Upon hearing the news, Elijah instantly fled into the desert and went to sit despondently under a broom tree. There he prayed to the Lord to end his life. He was tired of it all. Despite the amazing spiritual experience he had, he didn't want to live anymore. It all became too much for him to handle. And what did the Lord do? He didn't become angry or upset. He allowed Elijah to sleep and He sent an angel to bring Elijah food and water in between his sleep. In other words He attended to Elijah's physical needs and allowed him to rest. This caused Elijah to feel better once again and once he was ready, the Lord sent him back to his work. Even the mighty Elijah got tired and discouraged. How much more do we need to rest?

The same thing happened to me a while ago. Everything that I believed the Lord wanted me to do was going wrong. My first publisher was a disaster and conned me out of my money, a whole lot of my books got lost in the mail, my second editor made huge mistakes in my book, my website initially was a disaster, my books were not selling as I hoped, I wasn't getting enough sleep as my son didn't sleep very well etcetera etcetera. I can go on and on, but the point is, I felt like giving up. I was extremely tired, I couldn't go on anymore. And what did the Lord do? He sent me to the doctor and they discovered that I had an iron deficiency which could be corrected by pills. The Lord also gave me some time off to rest. I normally have an urge in me to always stay busy and productive, but the Lord 'ordered' me to rest and I suddenly had no urge in me to do anything but to sleep the chances that I got. And you know what? After one week I felt so much better and energized once again to continue with what He has called me to do.

The same might happen to you. You might become weak and weary along the way. But don't be too hard on yourself. Listen to your body and allow yourself the time to rest, to eat properly, to exercise and the time to spend with your family and friends. Otherwise the road may become too long for you and you might want to give up. Look up to the Lord, He will bring you to peaceful water streams and give you the time to recharge. Then go back and do your best for Him.

Lord, we sometimes grow weak and tired. But thank you that You do understand our fallible bodies. Thank you that You care for us and give us the time we need to rest. You are awesome! Amen

In the world we live in certain jobs and certain looks and certain abilities are honored and highly regarded. Whilst other tasks and jobs are looked down upon and considered of less value. That is how distorted our lives have become. But that has been that way since the beginning of time. As I have discussed, the Lord has a special place and a special task for each of us. Some might be considered more important and some might be considered less important in the eyes of the world. But to the Lord they are all equally important and if you do the best you can with what is required of you, you will be rewarded in heaven.

You all know the parable Jesus told of the man who gave five bags of gold to one servant, two bags of gold to another and one bag of gold to yet another. He went on a trip and told his servants to invest the gold while he was away. The servant with five bags of gold quickly doubled it, as well as the servant with the two bags of gold. However the servant with the one bag of gold hid it in the ground till the master returned and didn't do anything with it. When the master returned he praised both servants who doubled their bags of gold. Note here that he didn't expect the one with the two bags to suddenly also have ten bags like the servant who initially got five. No, he simply expected him to do his best with what he had. He praised both of them equally for doubling what he gave them. The only one he was unhappy with was the one that didn't do anything with what was given to him.  Now the same applies to us. The Lord wants us to be faithful with what we have and do what He requires of us. He doesn't want us to look at the others and feel that He expects the same from us. Or look at others and wish we could be doing what they are doing. No, all He wants is that we do something and not stagnate. I want to illustrate this further with two examples out of the Bible, one where someone got jealous of another's calling and one where he didn't.

The first example where they got jealous of someone else's calling was Miriam (Moses' sister) and Aaron (Moses' brother). While the Israelites were at Hazeroth, Miriam and Aaron started criticizing Moses:

Numbers 12:2 "Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Hasn't He spoken through us too?"

Now at that stage Miriam was a prophet and a composer. She sang and danced a song of deliverance, after the Lord saved them from the Egyptians. She was therefore not an ordinary person and Aaron was the first High Priest. They were therefore two important people and had important tasks to complete, but they were jealous of Moses and his special relationship with the Lord. They were jealous of his authority, they were jealous of his god-given task. And how did the Lord react to their jealousy? He called them and reprimanded them, He even struck Miriam with leprosy. Moses interceded for them and he managed to save their lives. The point is that the Lord doesn't take it very lightly. We should be happy with what He has given us to do. We shouldn't look at others and sneer at what the Lord has entrusted them to do. We are all equally important in Him sight and should do our best with what we have.

The second example is a beautiful example of someone that was not jealous of another's task but even assisted him in accomplishing it. And that was Jonathan. Jonathan was the son of the first king of Israel, namely Saul. He was therefore the rightful heir to the throne and was next in line to become king. But Saul sinned in the eyes of the Lord and the Lord rejected him and instead anointed David as king. Now as you probably know, Jonathan and David became best friends. They were very close and loved one another dearly. But it soon became clear to Jonathan that David has found favor with the Lord and that the Lord was using David in a mighty way. Saul became very jealous of David and tried to kill him on a number of occasions, but not Jonathan. He helped his friend whenever and wherever he could. He realized that David was going to be the next king and not he. Now think about it for a second. Here you are, destined to become king and lead a life of royalty. And now here comes another guy and the Lord decides that he would be king instead of you. How would you feel? I must admit I think I would have been a bit jealous, because David was going to live the life I was destined to live. He was going to be the famous king of Israel and not me. He was going to take my rightful place.

But Jonathan was not like that. He was a man who trusted in the Lord and knew that the Lord's ways was the best. He defended his friend till the end and never tried to undermine him or even speak evil of him. Jonathan was truly someone to look up to. Someone who was not jealous of another's calling even though he had the right to be, someone who followed the Lord his whole life. He is a true hero to me, someone who lived his calling fully. We therefore need to be more like him. Look at what the Lord is doing in your life, don't look at what He is doing in the lives of others. Your calling is most suitable to you. The Lord knows best, don't try to enforce another's calling on yourself. Instead, be like Jonathan and help others in their walk with the Lord.

Lord, help us to look at what You want us to do. Help us not to be jealous, but to follow Your calling for our lives. Amen

What we have established thus far, is that God has a plan for each of us. He has something in store for us that will blow our minds. It will be something different for each of us, but it will be something that will be well suited to our personality and circumstances. Now we will talk about God's specific plan for you at a later stage, but for now know He has something wonderful that awaits you. Okay, so once you have established God's plan for your life and have worked through your weaknesses and insecurities, you are hopefully ready to start and ready to take the first step. You might be very excited and ready to go, but remember one thing. God's timing might not be our timing. You can start with your task immediately like Moses and Gideon did. Or your task and God-given purpose might be delayed, awaiting God's perfect timing.

Let's look at David for example. David was anointed by Samuel when he was still very young (my Bible's explanation says he was 16 years old). And since being anointed, David faced many trials and tribulations. After he killed Goliath, the giant of the Philistines, Saul kept David at the palace. David immediately befriended Jonathan, Saul's son, and they became best friends. David was also made a commander in Saul's army and everything that David did, he did successfully. Everything looked good for the young man until Saul started to be jealous of him. He realized that the Lord had left him and was now with David. It was then that David's trouble started. Saul tried to kill him in various ways: he hurled a spear at him twice, he asked for 100 Philistine foreskins before David could marry his daughter and in the process he hoped that David would be killed, he sent troops to David's house to kill him as he came out in the morning. The list goes on and on. David had to flee for his life, he had to live as an outcast while Saul continued searching for him to kill him. A couple of other outcasts joined David and together they formed their own army in a foreign land. This continued for years. For years David were on the run so to speak. He must have started wondering if the Lord truly meant what He said when he was anointed as king. Here he was; a fugitive in a foreign land with no hope of a better future. But as we know, the Lord keeps His promises and He looks after His children. David did indeed become king of Judah at the age of 30 and king of the whole Israel at the age of 37. But it was several years after he was anointed.

So as you can see, your task can be delayed by a few weeks, a few months, a few years or even a decade or two. But remember that what God promised He will come to pass. I believed that the Lord told me that I would start with my purpose for Him when I turn 30. Thirty incidentally was the age in Israel's history where one typically started with your life's purpose. Jesus started His ministry at the age of 30, David became king at the age of 30, Joseph was exalted to the position right below Pharaoh at the age of 30 etc. So I truly believed the Lord told me that I am going to start at the age of 30 (I received scriptures and experienced the guidance of the Holy Spirit). I was looking forward to that day and anticipated how the Lord was going to do it. I was so excited, I couldn't wait. And do you know what happened on my 30^th birthday? Nothing, absolutely nothing. I was shocked and dismayed! I couldn't believe it. I truly believed that the Lord told me I would start and now there was nothing happening and no sign of anything happening in the near future. I felt like crying. Did I hear wrong? I became very negative. And do you know how the Lord consoled me? He told me (through the guidance of the Holy Spirit and Scripture) that I have actually already started with my task. Preparation is part of the process. He still wants to teach me a lot of things and lead me in His ways and when the time is right, He will be with me and show me what to do. Until that time I need to grow and continue in my walk with Him.

 To illustrate this point He showed me a Camphor tree in our garden. We planted the tree two years ago and it was still quite small. The Lord then asked me whether I believed that the tree will grow big. I said yes, except of course if something devastating happens, but other than that I truly believe that the tree will grow big. I have seen other Camphor trees and they are huge. He asked whether the tree needs a lot of water and I said yes. And He asked whether it will still need lots of water later on when it is big and I said no, its roots would be bigger then and would be able to search for underground water. Then He said: "It is the same for you. You are a small tree now and you need a lot of time to grow spiritually, but later on you will become a big tree. Believe it, the same way you believe that this tree will grow big. You cannot put a seed in the ground and the next day expect a tree. You need to grow into it. Spend the time on the small tree now, the big tree will come!" It was truly encouraging to me and I hope it will be encouraging to you too.

There could also be different reasons for the delay. Maybe it is to test your faith, maybe it is there to teach you something, maybe the Lord wants to use the delay to prepare you for your task that lies ahead. Like David for example. I am certain that the delay in his kingship gave him the chance to see what it is like to run a kingdom while he played harp to Saul, he had the chance to fight in military battles and learned a lot about how to fight and about strategies, he learned how to lead with the group that started to follow him, he also learned how to serve the Lord with integrity while circumstances may look bleak. I think David grew up to be a man after the Lord's own heart in the years that he had to wait. Whatever the case may be, don't despair and don't give up.

And whatever you do, don't rush God's timing. For example think about something that excites you, something you look forward to. Like your birthday, or a holiday around the corner, or somebody coming home etc. Now you can go and adjust all the clocks and all the calendars in your home to that specific time and date that you are looking forward to. You can adjust it to the very minute, but it is still not going to bring that event any closer. You need to wait out the time, you cannot rush it. Because if you do, you will be out if sync. For example you can set all the calendars to your birthday, but no one is going to call you and there is not going to be any presents or cake. You simply have to wait. And this is the same for a spiritual task. If you rush it and start without the Lord's guidance, you will be out of sync and things will not develop as you may have anticipated.

Also if you rush everything and just live for the time when you can start with your task, you may miss a whole part of your life. That is also not what the Lord wants. Joyce Meyer the famous Christian writer and speaker often says: "We need to learn to enjoy life where we are, while we are on our way to where we are going!" And it so true. We need to enjoy the ride and not just the destiny.

Lord, please help us to wait for Your timing. Help us to be patient and not expect that You move on our timing. We trust in You and Your divine timing. Amen

Welcome back. The previous time we discussed the significance of your task. In the eyes of the world your presence here on earth might seem insignificant, but don't believe that lie. Every action of yours has an impact, and it could have a wonderful impact on someone if you act according to the Word of God. As I said there were a number of 'unsung' heroes in the Bible that did their part. They never became famous, but I can promise you that the Lord was very pleased with them. I am going to discuss a number of these examples now.

One such example is Jason. I have read Acts a couple of times and this morning was the first time I actually read Jason's name (you know how we sometimes read over 'unimportant' names). I paused for a second and contemplated what he did. He was a believer in Thessalonica, who started to believe in Christ after Paul and Silas preached to them. He opened his home to them and hosted them there. In this way he helped them in being able to perform their task of preaching God's Word in Thessalonica. And when the Jewish leaders became jealous of Paul and Silas's success in Thessalonica and also the fact that they can perform miracles and heal the sick, they incited a mob against them and started a riot. They attacked the home of Jason and dragged him and other believers in front of the city council. After a hearing they were released on bail. Now think about what happened here. Jason tried to help Paul and Silas and make their mission more bearable and more comfortable for them. And here his home was attacked and he must have feared for his life. He must have gone through a terrible time even after Paul and Silas left, as his fellow countrymen were angry at him for hosting these two. But the Lord knew what he did. He faithfully played his part in helping to spread the gospel. He was faithful with the little God has entrusted him with and the Lord will award him for it. He was not the famous Paul who spread the gospel over the known world of that day, but he helped Paul to be able to continue with his important task.

The same goes for Luke. Now Luke is famous today as he wrote one of the gospels that we have in our Bible today, as well as Acts. But when he lived he wasn't as famous as Paul, Peter, James etc. He was a doctor, who was inquisitive and wanted to search for the truth. His inquisitive nature resulted in him gathering evidence of the life of Jesus and allowed him to write a detailed story of Jesus. But besides writing, he was sometimes a companion of Paul on his missionary journeys. If you read Acts you will not read a lot about him. You will read more about Paul, Peter, Barnabas etc. Luke therefore stayed out of the limelight. He most probably assisted Paul on a physical level as Paul was quite often abused on his journeys. And Luke, being a doctor, could look after him and help him. Now we don't read a lot about Luke medically helping Paul, but I am sure that he did. And sometimes I wonder if Paul would have been able to do everything he did if the Lord didn't equip Luke to help him. What would have happened if the Lord didn't put Luke on his path to care for him? I think if we look at the life of Luke today, I think he was a great man. You never read anything bad about him, in fact only good things. But Luke could have looked at himself and felt that he was not the one that was doing the 'important' work like Paul. He could have become dismayed and decided to rather practice his medicine somewhere where he was important and looked up to, somewhere where he can make money working as a doctor. But he didn't and that has made all the difference. Today he is a hero.

If I look at my own life, I also have someone that helps me to be able to do my writing and motivational work. It is our domestic worker and Nanny, Jenette. If it wasn't for her help looking after my youngest in the mornings and with her help cleaning the house, I would never have the time to be able to write or to spend time with the Lord and convey His message to you. I would truly battle to do what the Lord has called me to do. And therefore I truly believe she is doing what the Lord requires of her. Now in the eyes of the world she is not doing anything important, but to me she is vital and I know that the Lord looks favorably at her.

And so it might be for you as well. Maybe your goal in life is to encourage people wherever you meet them every day, whether it is in the grocery store or next to the sports field. Maybe your goal and task in life is to plant the seed in another person's life. Maybe your task in life is to support missionaries financially. Maybe the Lord wants you to pour the tea at church every Sunday and give a smile and an encouraging hug to anyone who might need it. Maybe you are called to be an intercessor in prayer for those standing in ministry. It is such an important task, but not necessarily one in the limelight. Maybe you are technically inclined and the Lord wants to use you to help with the electronic equipment at the church service. Now it might seem insignificant, but it is such an important task, otherwise the whole atmosphere of the service might not be the same. Maybe you are called to be a full time mother and to bring up your children in a godlike manner. Whatever it may be, you are important. You are doing what God requires of you and if you do it with joy and if you do it to the best of your ability, you will be rewarded for it. In this life you will be rewarded with the Lord's joy and peace that transcends all understanding because you are doing what is suitable to your personality and you are doing what the Lord wants you to do. But you will also be rewarded in the life to come. The Lord will exalt you in Heaven and be happy that you lived out your task here on earth.

Lord, please help us and shield us from the feelings of unworthiness. Help us to realize our full potential. We love You and want to serve You. Amen

When I listen to famous Christian leaders talk about this subject of God's plan for your life, I envision this major thing happening in my life. I imagine big things, things happening in the limelight, something major etc. The way it is sometimes preached it sounds like it is going to be something significant. But when I started looking at the Word of the Lord it is not necessarily the case. There are many unsung heroes in the Bible that often go unnoticed. In the eyes of the world they didn't necessarily amount to much in their lifetime, but in the eyes of the Lord they completed their tasks and they will be exalted in Heaven because of it.

There are several examples in the Bible, but I am quickly going to go through just a few of them. The first one that came to mind for me was the young boy with the five barley loaves and two fishes. You all remember the story I am sure. Jesus was teaching large crowds and they all followed Him especially after He performed many miracles and healed the sick. Now one day there were five thousand men (let alone all the women and children!) that followed Jesus. It was getting late and there was not food for all these people as they were gathered on a hill near the Sea of Galilee at Bethsaida. Now Jesus was telling the disciples that they should feed the crowd. They were astounded at this request and Andrew spoke up:

John 6:9 "There is a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?"

I want to pause there for a second. This boy must have had wonderful faith. Think about it for a second; here he was, simply a small boy, amongst this vast crowd. There was no food for miles and no hope of finding food. He had enough food to keep him going for the next few days, but after that, he probably did not know where his next food was going to come from either. He didn't know that Jesus was going to perform a miracle with the food. He didn't know that the Lord was going to multiply it in such a way that twelve baskets of bread were left over after everyone ate their fill. All he knew from his perspective was that they were in a dire need for food and he had a little bit. But not even enough to sustain himself for the next week. But he stood up and gave what little he had. He could have hid it away and secretly ate of it when he became hungry. But he didn't. He believed and shared what he had. It is wonderful for me to see. He fulfilled his purpose for being there that day. We do not know what his name was or what happened to him. We don't read in the Bible that Jesus exalted him in front of the crowds for his faith. He didn't receive any recognition or praise. But I promise you that the Lord saw his heart and knew of his faithfulness. And because of what he did, five thousand men received food that day and that must have strengthened his faith tremendously. He gave the little that he had and the Lord used it mightily.

I am sure most of you have read of that event in the Bible and have never given another thought to that boy. This could be the first time that you actually think about it. What I am actually trying to say is that this boy was not praised and his role could be seen as insignificant. But it wasn't. He gave what he had and he did what the Lord required of him and that makes him a hero in the spiritual world. He is one of many unsung heroes of faith in the Bible and in the world today. You are probably also one. Sit still for a moment and think of a time in your life where you did something, something insignificant in the eyes of the world. Think back to that time. Maybe you gave someone a hug when they were on the verge of a breakdown, maybe you helped an old lady across a very busy street which maybe saved her from being hit by a car, maybe you saw a lost child walking alone in a supermarket and helped him find his parents and you saved him from possible child abductors. Who knows? But know this, you made a difference that day. Your action might seem insignificant, but you made a world of difference to someone and you are a hero for doing that. Don't become discouraged, but look forward to the next 'insignificant' task that the Lord places over your path. You could mean the world to someone.

Lord, please help us to look up to You and know that You see all our actions and You are very pleased when we do something without receiving recognition for it. Thank you Lord.

The Lord works in ways we never thought of. He works in ways we never expected. When we start with our God-given task we might think that it might work out this way or that and then something totally different happens and we stand in awe. When the Lord called Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt he most probably thought that he would go to Egypt, ask Pharaoh to go and by the Grace of the Lord then lead the Israelites out of Egypt. But the Lord had other plans. He wanted to teach the Egyptians a lesson and He wanted to display His awesome power through the ten plagues. The same thing happened with Gideon.

In the first place things got much worse for Gideon once the Lord called him (Just like Moses!). The Lord told Gideon to pull down his father's altar to Baal and to cut down the Asherah pole beside it. He was to build an altar to the Lord and sacrifice a bull on it. Gideon obeyed and did just that. He was a bit afraid to do it, so he did it at night when no one could see him. But at least he did what he was told. And the very next morning when the people saw what was done, they were angry and immediately searched around for the culprit. When they found out that it was Gideon who did it, they wanted to kill him (PS It is just beautiful to me how his father stood up for him when the mob came to kill Gideon). What a start to his campaign to rescue his people! His very own people wanted to kill him, never mind the enemy. Just like Moses when he first went to Pharaoh, his own people wanted to get rid of him too as their circumstances deteriorated because of him.

So once again when you start doing what is required of you, don't be surprised when things firstly get much worse and your own people turn against you and even want to stop you.  The Lord works in different mysterious ways. Simply trust in Him that things would work out as it should. Just don't give up.

As I said, the Lord works differently than expected. Once Gideon was fired up and ready to go and rescue the Israelites, his first mission was to get as many warriors as possible to get rid of this ferocious army once and for all. He blew the ram's horn to summon all the warriors of Israel. He called on the clan of Abiezer and sent messengers throughout the tribes of Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali to gather armed men. He managed to get 32 000 men in total to be part of his mighty army. But the Lord once again had other plans. He asked Gideon to send away all the men who were afraid. Twenty-two thousand left. That must have been a very disheartening sight for Gideon. Imagine feeling quite safe with your army of 32 000 and suddenly two thirds of them leave! And to top it off, the Lord goes further and divides the men into two groups and sends home another 9 700. Of the 32 000 only 300 remained! Wow, Gideon must have been scared to death! Here he was with only 300 men to take on the army of Midian, Amalek and the people of the east. The Bible says they were like a swarm of locusts and their camels were like the grains on the seashore. What an intimidating sight that must have been! And here he was with merely 300 men. The Lord works in mysterious ways.

However, even though He works mysteriously, and even though everything may look dismal and hopeless, He will give us the courage to go on. He did just that for Gideon.

Judges 7:9-11: "Go down to the Midianite camp, for I have given you victory over them! But if you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah. Listen to what the Midianites are saying, and you will be greatly encouraged. Then you will be eager to attack."

Gideon did go and he heard how one of the Midianites had a dream that the Lord will give victory to him over all the armies united with Midian. Which the Lord then did. All Gideon and his 300 men did was to blow on their ram's horns and break their jars and shout "A sword for the Lord and Gideon!" and the alliance forces were thrown into turmoil. They even started killing one another. All Gideon did was stand and watch. And once the momentum was gained he rolled into action and mobilized his forces. But ultimately the Lord rescued them and brought the victory, in a totally unexpected way.

The Lord would do the same for you. If you feel that the odds are against you, if you feel that you will not be able to cope, if you are afraid, remember that Gideon felt the same way. The Lord will encourage you, the Lord will fight on your behalf. The Lord will bring the victory, maybe in totally another way than you expected, but the Lord is true and just. He will make all things work for good for those who trust in Him (Romans 8:28).

Gideon had victory over the forces and he reigned in peace for 40 years. May you also experience peace after the storm. But firstly you need to be obedient. Gideon would probably have died in that winepress if he didn't obey. Or most likely the Lord would have found someone else, and he would have died still as the least in his entire family. But now he died peacefully as the leader of a mighty nation. He died as a mighty hero. Why? Because he obeyed the Lord.

Lord help us to obey You. Even if Your ways looks so strange and not as we expect it to look. Help us to take action even thought we feel afraid. Thank you that we can know that You will encourage us. Amen

Now, we have discussed at length that the Lord can use anyone He pleases. Anyone that is willing to make them self available for His Service. One of the people we discussed was one of Israel's judges, Gideon. The Lord called him a mighty hero and asked him to come and rescue the Israelites from the Midianites. But Gideon was only an ordinary man, busy trying to hide the food for his family from the enemy. He was the least in his family and his family was the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, which in turn was only one tribe in the nation of Israel. And here the Lord calls him to rescue the nation from their oppressors. He was dumbstruck and couldn't believe that the Lord was actually calling him. Why not one of the more influential people in Israel? Why him? But as we said, the Lord sees potential and He knows what you can become.

Now contrary to Moses, Gideon didn't make further excuses as to why he wasn't good enough, but instead he wanted proof that the Lord will indeed be with him. He wanted absolute assurance that the Lord will be with him when he starts out with his task of rescuing Israel, as he knew that if he was on his own, he would die within the first attempt. He therefore asked not for one, but for three signs before he would go.

In the first place Gideon brought an offering to the Lord. He brought a young goat and unleavened bread. (Just as a thought, at that stage the Israelites were starving after the Midianites took everything, so for him to bring a goat and unleavened bread as an offering was a major sacrifice. At this stage he didn't know when and if the Lord was going to free them. But in faith he brought probably some of their last food as a sacrifice. The Lord rewarded him for his faith.) Once he brought the sacrifice, the angel told him to pour broth over it and once he did, the angel extended his staff and a fire flamed up and consumed it all.

The second sign that Gideon asked was that he will put a fleece outside on the threshing floor. In the morning he asked the Lord that the fleece be wet from dew and the ground dry. And the next morning it happened exactly that way. Then he had the nerve to ask the Lord for a third sign and to do the opposite the next morning, and only then will he go and rescue Israel. And indeed the following morning the fleece was dry and the ground wet.

Now please note here that the Lord did not once become upset or angry. He wanted to use Gideon and provided him with the necessary assurance that He would be with him. The fact that Gideon asked for three signs shows a bit of unbelief, but the Lord was patient with him. Because after these three signs Gideon started to move and successfully freed the Israelites from their enemy.

The lesson for us today is that we can ask the Lord for guidance and confirmation. If we believe that the Lord has asked us to do something and we simply want 100% confirmation, I believe that we can ask for it. BUT, remember that Gideon did not have a Bible to read and learn from (I tend to forget it sometimes that they didn't have any of the resources that we have today). All he knew of the Lord was all the stories that he heard being passed down from his predecessors. He didn't have the Bible to study and he didn't have the Holy Spirit to guide him. Luckily for us we have both. The Living Word of God as well as the Living Presence of God in the world that can guide and lead us. 

As Paul so rightly says in 2 Timothy 3:16, 17: "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God's way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do."

So yes, please ask the Lord for confirmation. Ask Him to show you what to do. Go to a quiet place at your home or in the garden and sit still in the presence of the Almighty God. He will lead you with His Word and with the Voice of the Holy Spirit to receive confirmation of what you need to do.

The Lord can also use various other ways, like fellow Christians giving advice, maybe receiving visions and dreams, maybe receiving a prophecy from someone, the Lord can obviously do anything and use anything in His creation. He even used clouds once to talk to me. But don't just wait for the supernatural to happen, the Lord can lead you through your everyday Bible study. Just be ready when you receive your confirmation. Because when you do, you need to be ready to move like Gideon did.

Thank you Lord for not getting angry with us. Thank you that You understand us. Thank you that we can ask You for confirmation when we are not certain. We love You and look forward to Your Plans for our lives. Amen

I have discussed in my previous devotion that the Lord uses anyone He pleases. I have discussed how He uses ordinary people as well as people who committed some or other 'big' sin. But of course the Lord uses influential, important people as well. There are a couple of examples, but I will quickly pause at three.

One of the most influential, mightiest people of his time was Solomon. He was the son of David and a mighty king. His father had defeated most of their enemies and they had peace during the reign of Solomon. The Lord was pleased with Solomon, as Solomon loved the Lord. The Lord appeared to him in a dream and asked him what he wanted. He could have anything his heart desires. And the Lord was very pleased with his answer when he asked for wisdom. And because he asked for wisdom, the Lord replied:

1 Kings 3:12-14 "I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding mind such as no one has ever had or ever will have! And I will also give you what you didn't ask for - riches and honor! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life! And if you follow Me and obey My commands as your father, David, did, I will give you a long life."

The Lord blessed him beyond measure and used him to write down his wisdom in order to preserve it until today where we all can read it and apply it to our lives. We all can benefit from the wisdom that God bestowed on Solomon. The Lord used a mighty king to further His Kingdom.

Another up and coming person was Paul. He was a young member of the Pharisees. He was well educated and a student of the well known Gamaliel. He received the finest education available at that time. Just to be one of the scholars of Gamaliel, was considered to be quite an honor. Paul was therefore on his way to become one of the top religious leaders of the time. He would have had status and be honored wherever he went. He could have made it to the top of the religious ladder. But then Jesus called him to follow Him. At first it would seem like a downgrade of his social status. Immediately his life was in danger as the Jewish leaders, his own friends at that time, decided to kill him. The future he would face was one of turmoil and danger. He would be stoned, beaten, imprisoned, left for dead numerous times, homeless, the list goes on and on. But at the end of the day he was the person, besides Jesus, that shaped the history of Christianity. He spread the gospel and he fearlessly preached to the Jews and Gentiles alike. He didn't look at the status that he might lose by following Jesus, no, he looked up to God and realized that following Jesus was more important than anything else. And today he is one of the most famous Christian leaders of all time and the Lord honored him.

Another example is Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus who were both members of the Jewish High Council. Joseph especially was a leader and an honored member of the High Council. They were both therefore important men of the time and highly regarded. But the Lord used them. He used them to prepare His Son for burial. Joseph came and asked Pilate's permission to take Jesus' body down from the cross and together with Nicodemus, who brought seventy-five pounds of embalming ointment, they wrapped Him in a long linen cloth and placed Him in a new tomb in a garden close by. The Lord therefore used these two important men to give His Son a dignified burial. They were open to the Lord's call and they were granted the honor of caring for the human body of the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. They didn't count the loss they might experience due to this act, they looked up to the Lord and did what was right. They most probably lost their important positions in the Jewish High Council, but we can know today that the Lord honored their selfless act of kindness and they received their treasures in heaven.

So if you have an important position today. It you have a bright future ahead of you, don't look at the prestige or wealth that you can lose by following Jesus, look at the Kingdom that you can gain by following Him. I am not saying quit your job or don't use your qualifications for good. No, I am saying listen to the Voice of the Lord. He is calling you and wants to use you. It might be right where you are, He might use you as the best surgeon in the country, He might use you to be an honest lawyer, He might use your athletic ability to minister to thousands of people, He might use you as a religious CEO of a big company conducting business in a godly manner. Whatever it may be, let the Lord guide and use you. It would be worth it! As our Lord Jesus Himself said:

Matthew 19:29 "And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for My sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will have eternal life."

Lord Jesus, please help us not to count the cost of following You. Let us rather look up to You and know that we can gain so much love and joy if You are the centre of our world. Amen

God can use anyone. We have spoken about it in the previous devotions, but truly the Lord can use anyone He pleases. We have touched on the fact that He uses ordinary people. He used people like Moses, Gideon, David etc who were nobodies in the eyes of the world. There are various examples of ordinary people that He used, for example Mary. She was just an ordinary girl engaged to an ordinary man, Joseph. But the Lord used her in a mighty way to change the course of history forever. Jesus' own disciples that He chose were ordinary men. Peter, James, John and Andrew, to name but a few, were fisherman. In those days if you weren't called by a Rabbi to follow him and learn more about God, you had to return to your occupation that you were taught by your family. Now the fact that Peter and the others were still fishermen showed that no Rabbi considered them good enough to follow them. They were not the best, the cream of the crop, but Jesus saw the potential in them and called them to follow Him.  Jesus' own brother was also an ordinary man, namely James. But the Lord used him in a mighty way to be the leader of the young church once it started.  I can go on and on. The examples are endless. The examples all around you today are also endless. The Lord wants to use us. That is how He works. We are His Hands and Feet here on earth. Don't ever think you are not good enough, because you are. The Lord sees the potential in you and He smiles. He is excited to use you.

Let's continue with this theme and quickly have a look at some of Jesus' ancestors.  I think most of us would have considered it a great honor to be part of Jesus' ancestors. So I want to highlight a few of them to illustrate once again that the Lord truly uses anyone. The first one is Judah, who was one of Jesus' ancestors. He had a daughter in law whose name was Tamar. She was married to one of his sons and when he died she married the second son in line. He also died and Judah promised that she could marry his third son once he is old enough. That was the tradition in those days. The widow will marry the next brother in line and have a child with him. But this never happened; because Judah didn't want his third son to marry her, he was scared that he would die too. Tamar soon realized it and wanted to get what was rightfully hers. She disguised herself as a prostitute and upon hearing that Judah was on his way to the town she presented herself to him. He was enticed by the offer and without realizing that it was his own daughter in law, he slept with her. She became pregnant and had twin sons. One of them, Perez later became one of Jesus' ancestors. So basically one of Jesus' ancestors was born out of wedlock, in an act of prostitution.

Another one of His ancestors was Rahab. She was a prostitute from Jericho. Now you all know the story of how the Israelites sent out spies to spy out the new country, the Promised Land, that they wanted to enter and conquer. Now these spies arrived at Jericho and were helped by the prostitute, Rahab. And when the Israelites attacked Jericho, she and her family were saved and she became one of Jesus' ancestors.

Ruth was also one of Jesus' ancestors. She was a Moabite woman who married a Jewish man. He subsequently died and she became a widow, but she stayed and helped her mother in law. They went back to Israel and there whilst collecting food for her mother in law and herself to eat, she met her future husband Boaz, who in turn was an ancestor of Jesus.

Solomon was also an ancestor of Jesus and his mother was Bathsheba. She was originally married to Uriah, but David saw Bathsheba whilst her husband was at war. David desired her and had an affair with her. She subsequently fell pregnant, much to David's dismay, and to cover up the affair David arranged for her husband to be killed in battle. Once he died, David married Bathseba, but the baby born out of wedlock died shortly after birth. David and Bathsheba were both devastated, but shortly thereafter she fell pregnant again and Solomon was born.

The kings following Solomon, who reigned over Judah, were all part of Jesus' ancestral line. Some were good, but most were bad and allowed pagan religions to reign over the hearts of the people. Some like Ahaz and Manasseh were very evil. Ahaz even sacrificed his own sons, whilst Manasseh practiced sorcery, divination, consulted mediums and psychics. He also sacrificed his own son and murdered several innocent people in Jerusalem. Another king Hezekiah, was not evil, but he became proud of his achievements and bragged about everything he had to the Babylonians. The Lord predicted through Isaiah that everything he showed to them will be carried away by the Babylonians themselves, which did indeed happen later on.

The list can go on and on. In short the following people formed part of Jesus' ancestral line: a deceiver (Jacob), a dreamer (Joseph), prostitutes, a foreign widower, an adulterer, murderers, Satanists (Mannaseh), proud kings etcetera etcetera.   

What I am trying to say is that no matter who you are, the Lord can and wants to use you. Whether you are an ordinary person or someone who have committed some atrocious sin, it doesn't matter. The Lord has a place for you and is waiting for you to act. Don't look at yourself and consider yourself not worthy, because you are worthy. You can do more than you think you can. The Lord can be trusted with your life. He knows what is best for you.

Lord Jesus, please help us to look up to You and not to our fallible bodies. You are the One we should please and no one else. You are our everything. Amen