Mark 9:23 ‘Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.’
DAILY READING Luke 3:21-38; Ezekiel 42-43; Isaiah 63
Smith Wigglesworth is often referred to as ‘the Apostle of Faith,’. He was one of the greatest pioneers of the Pentecostal revival that occurred a century ago. Smith got born again at the age of eight, and immediately began to win souls for Jesus Christ. His mother was his first convert. As a young boy serving with the salvation army, he fasted every Sunday for souls and used to see nothing less than 50 souls saved each week. He had the promise of a future great ministry and served God with zeal. He met and married his wife in 1882 and they both shared a great passion for Christ. While Smith worked as a plumber, his wife, Polly often went around various churches to minister. However as time went on Smith Wigglesworth began to get more involved with his plumbing business and his fire and zeal for the Gospel began to wane. There came a period of very severe winter when plumbers were in great demand. And for the next two years, Smith was swamped with work. And in those days of overmuch business and prosperity, his attendance at church declined, and his heart began to grow cold toward God; However, his wife’s evangelistic zeal never abated, which made Smith’s own laxity all the more apparent, and it irritated him. One night a climax came when she came back late from preaching and he locked her out. However, she found her way through the front door and turned the whole episode into a laughing matter. She laughed so hard that Smith had to join her in the laughter. And afterwards his heart was pricked as he began to realize how he had drifted from God. He repented of his backsliding and locked himself up in a fast for some days to seek God’ face. Soon his zeal and fire for the Gospel returned and in no time he began his own ministry. Through him God brought salvation to multitudes, hundreds were healed of serious diseases, the dead were raised, and supernatural signs followed his ministry. However, It is amazing to realize that none of these would have happened had Smith Wigglesworth given up on God’s calling and settled for less as a plumber.
In Genesis 15, God told Abraham he was going to have a son. He was 75 years old and his wife Sarah was 65 years. Because what God said looked impossible to Sarah, she decided to settle for less. She arranged for Abraham to have Ishmael. But Ishmael was not God’s promise. Often times, like Sarah, when God speaks to us, instead of coming up to His level and believing for the supernatural, we bring it down to our level. But God is not a man that He should lie. He says what He means and means what He says. God doesn’t get talked out of what He has promised, He doesn’t water down what He’s spoken to us. We therefore must keep our eyes on His promise and not settle for Ishmael, while our Isaac is on the way.
In a court case often before people go into litigation, they are given an opportunity to settle. And a lot of people settle not because they’re innocent or guilty but they settle because it costs so much to litigate the case.
The vision God gave you may have tarried long and it may have been harder than you thought, but refuse to settle for less than the best of what God has promised you. Sometimes, what God says may not make sense to your mind. But God is not asking you to figure it out, He’s only asking you to believe.
Mark 9:23 says ‘Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth ‘.
Indeed nothing is impossible with God. Decide therefore today to take the limits off God and believe Him for the miraculous. Believe Him for the supernatural breakthrough, believe Him for the speedy healing and divine intervention. We must raise our sights and aim higher and refuse to be satisfied with less than what God has for us.
However, faith is the master key for taking the delivery of our inheritances in Christ. While revelation shows us the picture, it is faith that makes it happen. We must, therefore, pay the price to diligently study God’s Word so as to build up our faith. To become all we are created to be, we must keep the fire burning in our spirit, with a holy determination and a resolve never to settle for less than God’s best.
PRAYER: Lord, I thank You for Your great faithfulness in my life. By Your grace I shall never settle for less than Your best for my life. Thank You Lord for the speedy manifestation of Your promises to me in Jesus Name.
QUOTE
The study of The Word will keep shame and disgrace far from you