Romans 4:20-21 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.
A story is told of Napoleon Bonaparte. As he was busy conquering Europe in the 1800s during one of his military campaigns, Napoleon accidentally let the bridle of his horse slip while he was looking through some papers. The horse reared itself, and the Emperor lost his balance. One corporal quickly leaped forward and caught the bridle just in the nick of time, bringing the horse under control and saving Napoleon from what might have been serious injury or even death. Napoleon saluted the corporal and said, "Thank you, Captain!" "Of what company, Sire?" asked the corporal. "Of my guards," replied Napoleon.
The young corporal took his musket and hurled it aside and walked across the field toward the Emperor's staff, tearing off his corporal's stripes as he went. When he took his place among the officers, they asked him what he was doing. I am the captain of the Emperor's Guards, he replied. "By whose order?" they asked. "By the order of the Emperor himself," he replied.
A man of less faith might have been happy returning back to his ranks as a corporal and boasting for the rest of his life about how the Emperor once called him Captain. But no, He took the Emperor at his word. And He knew his potential.
In the same way, some of us have been happy just hearing about the promises of God without ever laying claim to them. Others of us have never realized the strengths with which God has gifted us. May it not be! We who know the Lord must become aware of our status as sons and daughters of the King! We must believe that God has promised great things to those who love and serve him, and we must also recognize the potential God has placed upon us from the beginning of time! Let's start practicing some faith today!
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy Devotions. This devotional was originally published on Worthy Devotions and was reproduced with permission.
How to display the above article within the Worthy Suite WordPress Plugin.
[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]As parents trying to raise kids in this world, we’re constantly reminded by the Lord of Proverbs 22:6, ‘Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.’ The Hebrew word ‘train’, in this passage is, ‘Chanak’ which can be translated, ‘train up’ or ‘dedicate.’ It’s the root word from which we get the word, Chanukah.
Some time ago, we wrote about pearl harvesting as an illustration of how the Lord takes us into His “shell” like an irritating grain of sand, and over time, covers us with His beautiful covering, forming us into polished and precious gems for his glory and delight. This image of sanctification takes the metaphor in one direction: but here is another interesting thought. The beautiful pearl inside the oyster cannot be seen or enjoyed without a great price being paid. The oyster must die. It must be torn open in order to find the treasure within. This speaks to me of the original foundation and source of our beauty. Yeshua (Jesus) our Messiah had to be bruised, afflicted, torn and killed so that the beautiful treasures God intended us to be from the beginning, could be discovered and released from the darkness of sin.
Lately we’ve been receiving more and more calls and emails asking us what we think might happen in the near future and how they should prepare. I love what John Calvin had to say about the matter…
In his book, Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan has written one of the most beautiful allegories about the journey we all travel as a believers. The book describes the hero, Christian, and his journey from the City of Destruction to his heavenly destination, the Celestial City. Now there’s one part of Pilgrim’s Progress that I want to focus on today — walking through the Swamp of Despondency!
While many around the world are apathetic and lack understanding about the times in which we live, we as believers should realize these are merely signs of the times and have a sense of urgency to be about the Lord’s business.
In Ancient Greece, mythology and history were hard to distinguish. Tales of gods and demigods abounded. The chief god of Mount Olympus was Zeus. It is told that Zeus became enamored with the princess Europa and decided to seduce and ravish her. Zeus shape-shifted, transforming himself into a tame white bull. Europa, the daughter of King Agenor of Sidon, was picking flowers, when she saw the bull, and then climbed on his back. Zeus carried her away. The Romans later recounted the tale which became known as the “seduction of Europa”, (with the Roman “Jupiter” replacing Zeus).
Some time ago, an old mule fell into an abandoned well which was no longer in use. The farmer who owned him tried and tried to pull the mule up out of the well — however after many attempts he realized he was not going to be able to rescue his mule. So the farmer decided to solve two problems simultaneously— by burying the mule in the well. Tragic as it was, he would, bury the mule alive, and in the process, prevent future accidents of this kind by filling up the well hole.