The following really spoke to me this morning and I’m hoping it blesses you as well. It’s taken from Pastor Jon Courson’s home page – see bottom of page.
Daily Devotional January 3
And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
Matthew 4:3
In the wilderness, there are multiplied millions of round, limestone rocks which look remarkably like little loaves of bread. No doubt, as Jesus fasted, those rocks must have taken on the appearance of bread. And Satan took advantage of this. ‘If You’re the Son of God, turn these stones into bread,’ he hissed. ‘If You’re the Son of God, why are You hungry?’
Satan does the same to us when he whispers, ‘If you are a child of God, where is your Father’s provision? Why are those bills piling up? Why do you have need?’ ‘It’s up to you to take care of this situation,’ he insists. ‘Exercise your faith. Make something happen.’
But God would have us be patient. We are His children. And He promises He will meet our needs as we pray for our daily bread. We need to wait.
I can recall when my son Peter John was just a few months old, he needed some supplemental meals. On one occasion, it was my turn to feed him his middle-of-the night bottle. But as I heated it, his cries grew louder. ‘Hang on, buddy,’ I said. ‘The bottle’s heating.’
Just then, the Lord whispered in my own heart in a way I’ll never forget, ‘Jon, the bottle’s heating,’ for that day I had been doing some screaming of my own.
Most of us want to reach the Promised Land without ever going through the wilderness. We want to get there immediately, but the Father says, ‘No. There’s a time of preparation. Wait. Don’t panic. The bottle’s heating. I will provide.’
‘Lord,’ is it true that to You a million years is like a second?’ asked the impatient man.
‘Yes,’ He answered.
‘Wow. Is it also true that to You a million dollars is like a penny?’
‘Yes,’ He answered.
‘Well, Father, could I have a penny?’
‘Sure,’ the Lord answered. ‘Just a second.’
We need to realize the Lord’s timing is different than ours. Jesus knew that. He would not push or rush His Father by taking things into His own hands. He would wait. And soon — perhaps only hours later — angels would come to Him, bringing not dry little loaves of bread, but angel food cake!
How often I settle for bread because I try to do things in my own energy instead of waiting for the Father’s perfect timing and the angel food cake.
This Daily Devotional is an excerpt from the book “A Days Journey” by Pastor Jon. “A Days Journey” is a collection of 365 short devotions from the New Testament. If you would like your own copy of “A Days Journey” you may click here to go to the SearchLight Store at joncourson.com.
God bless,
Mark