You may be happy, healthy and on top of the world right now. If so, you probably do not need this message. But if you are feeling down for some reason, under a load of grief or pain, loneliness or suffering, this message is for you.
Very saintly Christians sometimes experience trials so heavy that they wonder if God is letting them hurt more than they can bear. Their heartbreak almost crushes them and they are on the brink of despair. Great men and women of faith have experienced dark and deep trials but God has brought them through to victory because they put their trust in him.
God still permits testing times, times during which the soul is permitted to go through a fiery trial which, according to God’s Word, is to try us. “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange things happened to you” (1 Peter 4:12). The prophet Jeremiah predicted that saints of God would be tried by fire: “Behold, I will refine them and try them” (Jeremiah 9:7).
Any spiritual growth that takes place in our life will always be accompanied by trials, for “He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10). While it is natural for us to want to shield ourselves from difficulties, it is an act of faith to entrust all our circumstances to our loving Father.
Avoid Christians who say to you, “If you were really standing on the promises of God and living by faith, you would always be happy and prosperous. You should be praising God and smiling and rejoicing. You must not have a negative mind.”
Not so! What you have is faith that God will never leave you or forsake you, even in your darkest hour. God is always God, He is still on the throne and he hears and answers your prayer. He cares about you and his promises will never fail you. Quietly wait on the Lord to bring you out into a safe place!
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David Wilkerson (1931 – 2011)
Founder of Times Square Church in New York City with over 100 different languages spoken in the congregation. Wilkerson wrote many powerful books such as: The Vision and Cross and the Switchblade. His ministry was prophetic as God called him to be a watchman to the Church in North America. He gave clear messages on repentance to the Church.Wilkerson also founded Teen Challenge where there are hundreds of centres for Christ-centered drug recovery and addiction recovery. He also organized and spoke at pastors gatherings in many countries where he gave prophetic strong messages to encourage pastors and leaders.
Recommends these books by David Wilkerson:
The Vision and Beyond, Prophecies Fulfilled and Still to Come by David Wilkerson
Knowing God by Name: Names of God That Bring Hope and Healing by David Wilkerson
God's Plan to Protect His People in the Coming Depression by David Wilkerson
David Wilkerson is an American Christian evangelist, most well-known for his book The Cross and the Switchblade. He is also the founder of Times Square Church in New York, an interdenominational church.
Wilkerson is well-known for these early years of his ministry to young drug addicts and gang members in New York City in the 1950s and 1960s. He co-authored a book about his work with the New York drug addicts, The Cross and the Switchblade, which became a best-seller, selling over 50 million copies in over thirty languages since it was published in 1963. The book was included among the 100 most important Christian books of the 20th century.
For over four decades, Wilkerson's ministry has included preaching, teaching and writing. He has authored over 30 books.
David Wilkerson is the founder and president of World Challenge, Inc., a nonprofit organization incorporated on September 22, 1971. Reverend Wilkerson, the author of over thirty inspirational books, is perhaps best known for his early days of ministry to young drug addicts and gang members in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Brooklyn. His story is told in The Cross and the Switchblade, a book he co-authored which became a best-seller. (The story has been read by over 50 million people in some thirty languages and 150 countries since 1963. In 1969, a motion picture of the same title was released.)
For over four decades, Reverend Wilkerson's evangelistic ministry has included preaching, teaching and writing. Throughout that time a distinctive characteristic of his work has been his direct efforts to reach the neediest members of the population with help for both body and soul. Even now, the almost 70 year-old minister often goes out alone or sometimes with an assistant to walk through the streets of New York City, along Broadway and Eighth Avenue or down 42nd Street and nearby "Crack Alley" on 41st Street. His mission is always to seek out the lost, the disoriented, and the addicted , to tell them of the power of the risen Christ to set them free.
David Wilkerson, born in Hammond, Indiana on May 19, 1931, was married in 1953 to Gwen Carosso. The Wilkersons' two sons are ministers, and their two daughters are married to ministers. They have 11 grandchildren. The Wilkersons served small pastorates in Scottsdale and Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, until Reverend Wilkerson saw a photograph in Life magazine of several New York City teenagers charged with murder. Moved with compassion he was drawn to the city in February 1959. It was at that time he began his street ministry to what one writer called "desperate, bewildered, addicted, often violent youth.