Equipped and Anointed for God’s Purposes
After God delivered the Israelites out of Egypt, He told Moses to have the people build a tabernacle for Him. Until then, the Jews had only built altars with unhewn stones to make sacrifices to the Lord. Yet now they were to build and furnish a tabernacle in the wilderness—a wasteland with no resources—and it had to be portable.
The people had been in slavery, making bricks out of mud and straw. How could they build a magnificent sanctuary for the Lord?
The answer is found in Exodus 31:1-5, where God tells Moses,
“See, I have called by name Bezalel… And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship” (NKJV).
I used to do woodworking as a hobby but never became really good at it. I can’t imagine working in gold, silver, and bronze, or cutting jewels. And here Bezalel gets a download from the Holy Spirit that enables him to do all of this.
The same Holy Spirit who filled him is in us. And He can give us the same wisdom, understanding, and knowledge in all manner of workmanship. He will equip us with everything we need to know for the task that He has assigned us to do.
As Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us,
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
A good prayer to pray is, “I have no idea what I’m doing, but You know everything, and You can show me.”
God promises in Jeremiah 33:3,
“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”
We need wisdom. We need understanding. We need discernment. We need to know the way to go. We need the inspiration of the Holy Spirit breathing through everything we do. And we need to consecrate ourselves daily to do the work of the Lord.
The same wisdom God used to create the heavens is the wisdom He used to create you. And in His eyes, you are greater than the heavens.
If you feel discouraged or inadequate, remember this. We can do great things for God because He has called us, equipped us, and anointed us to do His work. God bless you.
Streams in the Desert – February 3
- 20233 Feb
And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness (Mark 1:12).
It seemed a strange proof of Divine favor. “Immediately.” Immediately after what? After the opened heavens and the dove-like peace and the voice of the Father’s blessing, “Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” It is no abnormal experience.
Thou, too, hast passed through it, O my soul. Are not the times of thy deepest depression just the moments that follow thy loftiest flight? Yesterday thou wert soaring far in the firmament, and singing in the radiance of the morn; today thy wings are folded and thy song silent. At noon thou wert basking in the sunshine of a Father’s smile; at eve thou art saying in the wilderness, “My way is hid from the Lord.”
Nay, but, my soul, the very suddenness of the change is a proof that it is not revolutionary. Hast thou weighed the comfort of that word “immediately”? Why does it come so soon after the blessing? Just to show that it is the sequel to the blessing. God shines on thee to make thee fit for life’s desert-places–for its Gethsemanes, for its Calvaries. He lifts thee up that He may give thee strength to go further down; He illuminates thee that He may send thee into the night, that He may make thee a help to the helpless.
Not at all times art thou worthy of the wilderness; thou art only worthy of the wilderness after the splendors of Jordan. Nothing but the Son’s vision can fit thee for the Spirit’s burden; only the glory of the baptism can support the hunger of the desert.
—George Matheson
After benediction comes battle.
The time of testing that marks and mightily enriches a soul’s spiritual career is no ordinary one, but a period when all hell seems let loose, a period when we realize our souls are brought into a net, when we know that God is permitting us to be in the devil’s hand. But it is a period which always ends in certain triumph for those who have committed the keeping of their souls to Him, a period of marvelous “nevertheless afterward” of abundant usefulness, the sixty-fold that surely follows.
—Aphra White
Engraved Hearts
From: Today Devotions
SCRIPTURE READING — PROVERBS 3:3
Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.
I remember hearing a popular Christian speaker ask his audience if their lives would look any different if they had “Christian” tattooed on their foreheads.
Similarly, what if you had a scarf around your neck that had “Love” and “Faithfulness” written on it? Or a T-shirt with those words on it? Would it change anything about the way you lived?
Scripture does not shy away from urging us to keep the commands of God in focus. Moses taught the Israelites, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart . . . soul and . . . strength. These commandments . . . are to be on your hearts. . . . Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:5-9).
Humans are incredibly forgetful, and the Spirit knows how often we neglect to focus our hearts and minds on the Lord. We often seek the wisdom of the world before we seek the wisdom of God.
Galatians 5 lists love and faithfulness with the fruit of the Spirit, who calls us to live like Jesus. Jesus always showed these characteristics. As we engrave love and faithfulness on our hearts, we will grow more open to being led by the Spirit before being led by anything else.
What might help you today as a symbol or reminder of God’s love and faithfulness?
Spirit of God, guide me to write your virtues and your will on my heart, that I may follow Jesus. Amen.
Today’s Devotions
February 3
Exodus 12:13 13The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.
The Exodus is a story of deliverance. After God showed the Egyptians that He was greater than all things they worshipped as gods, they still refused to let the Israelites leave to worship Him. The last plague was the death of the firstborn. Pharaoh was worshipped as god by the Egyptians, and his son would take his place. This was the last god of the Egyptians to be plagued, because God is merciful.
God gave His people a way to escape the angel of death. They were to take an unblemished lamb and kill and eat it. The blood was to go upon the doorposts. If the blood marked their dwelling, God would pass over (pasah) them. The word in Hebrew is used of a mother bird hovering over her chicks. God is not going to hop over their home, but stand as their protector, their shield (Isaiah 31:5). If the blood was applied, no destructive plague would touch them.
The Lamb has been slain. The Lamb God promised Abraham that He would provide died on Calvary. His blood was spilled that you and I could mark the doorposts of our home. When we do, we can be assured that He will hover over us to shield us from the plagues that come upon the world (Psalm 91). It is not that we will not face difficulty and tests, but that they will not be destructive to us. Instead they will grow us. The trials will be productive instead of destructive, and so we can count it all joy when we face them. If the blood is on your heart, the Lord will pasah you. The Destroyer will not be allowed to enter your dwelling.
Prayer: Keep me safely under the shadow of Your wings, Lord Jesus.