Daily Devotional

A Ministry of the Kerwin Baptist Church

September 19, 2018

by Pastor Hawtree

I AM PERSUADED THAT HE IS ABLE:

TO DO THE TALKING

Matthew 10:16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. 17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; 18 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. 19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. 20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.

I notice first in this passage that God never said that things were going to be easy. He describes us as being sheep surrounded by wolves. Sheep are at an automatic disadvantage when compared to wolves. Wolves are stronger, faster, and far more vicious. It would be an unfair fight. So, Jesus said we have to be “wise as serpents, and harmless as doves”. No pressure there. This whole thing seems a bit too much to ask. How do we face this? How do we know what to do? What do we say?

That is exactly where God wants us to be. HELPLESS! It is when you and I think we know what to do and how to handle something on our own that we really make a mess. God wants us to be fully dependent on Him.

* II Corinthians 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

God says that when we are at this point, “take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak”. This way, we will only say those things that are of the Lord. This way, we will only do those things that are in accordance with His will. That’s why God wants to run the show. God wants “not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you”.

This means that God did send us as sheep in the midst of wolves, but He did not send us helpless or alone. God is with us as we face every person and every obstacle. Not only that, God will do the fighting for us, and the talking through us. We don’t have to know everything and understand everything. God will give us what we need when the time comes. It would be an impossible task if we were on our own, but we are not on our own. Isn’t it great today to know that we don’t have to know what to say, God can do the talking.

I challenge you today, ask God to speak through you today to others. Ask God to give you wisdom, to know how to answer people, to know what to say to be an effective witness for Him. Ask God to direct your words and your conversation, that it would bring glory to Him. Trust me, we need God to do the talking.