Author: Billy Conrad

January 6

Hold fast to the LORD your God. — Joshua 23:8

Scripture reading: Genesis 32:24–33:11

If God is ever disappointed when you wait in His presence, it will be because you are not fervent. If you are not serious and intense, you disappoint God. If God is with you and you know it, be in earnest. Pray and believe: “Hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end” (Hebrews 3:6). If you do not, you disappoint God.

Jacob was that way. God said, “You are not real enough; you are not hot enough; you are too ordinary; you are no good to Me unless you are filled with zeal—white hot!” The Angel of the Lord said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks” (Genesis 32:26). Jacob knew if God went without blessing him, he could not meet Esau. If you are left alone with God and you cannot get to a place of victory, it is a terrible time. You must never let go, whatever you are seeking—fresh revelation, light for your path, some particular need—never let go. Victory is ours if we are earnest enough.

You must always master that with which you are wrestling. If darkness covers you, if a fresh revelation is what you need, or if your mind needs to be relieved, always get the victory. God says you are not earnest enough. You say, “The Word does not say that.” But it was in God‘s mind. In wrestling, the strength is in the neck, chest, and thigh; the thigh is the source of strength. So God touched Jacob‘s thigh. With that strength gone, defeat is sure.

What did Jacob do? He hung on. Jacob said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” (v. 26). And God blessed him: “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel” (v. 28). The change of Jacob to Israel was wonderful! Now Jacob had power.

What happened after that? Read how God blessed and honored him. Esau met him. There was no fighting now. What a blessed state of grace! They kissed each other: “When a man‟s ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him” (Proverbs 16:7).

“What about all these cattle, Jacob?”

“Oh, they are a present.”

“I have plenty; I don‘t want your cattle. What a joy it is to see your face again!”

What a wonderful change! Who caused it? God.

Could Jacob hold God? Can you hold God? Yes, you can. Sincerity can hold Him, dependence can hold Him, weakness can hold Him, for “when [you are] weak, then [you are] strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). I‘ll tell you what cannot hold Him: self-righteousness cannot hold Him; pride cannot hold Him; assumption cannot hold Him; high-mindedness cannot hold Him—thinking you are something when you are nothing, puffed up in your imagination. You can hold Him in your prayer closet, in the prayer meeting, everywhere: “If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20).

Can you hold Him? You may sometimes think that He has left you. Oh, no! He does not leave Jacob, Israel. What changed his name? Jacob obtained the blessing because of the favor of God and his yieldedness to God‘s will. God‘s Spirit was working in him to bring him to a place of helplessness. God worked to bring him to Bethel, the place of victory. Jacob remembered Bethel, and through all the trying circumstances, he had kept his vow. (See Genesis 28:20–22.) When we make vows and keep them, God helps us and
leads us to victory.

Thought for today: Let us in all our seeking see that we have the favor of God. Keep His commandments. Walk in the Spirit. Be tenderhearted and lovable. If we do these things, our ministry will be a blessing to others.

January 5

Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. — Genesis 32:24

Scripture reading: Psalm 62:5–63:4

Jacob was given time to think. Oh, to be left alone with God! In the context of the Scripture, we read that several things had preceded his being alone. His wives and his children had been sent ahead. His sheep, oxen, camels, and donkeys had gone ahead. He was alone.

Often, you will find that you are left alone. Whether you like it or not, you will be left alone as Jacob was left alone. His wives could not make atonement for him; his children could not make atonement for him; his money was useless to help him.

What made Jacob come to that place of loneliness, weakness, and knowledge of himself? He recalled the grace with which God had met him twenty-one years before, when he saw the ladder and the angels and heard the voice of God: “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you” (Genesis 28:15). He remembered God‘s mercy and grace.

He was returning to meet his brother Esau, who had become very rich. Esau had been blessed abundantly in the things of this world. He had authority and power to take all that Jacob had and to take vengeance upon him. Jacob knew this. He also knew that there was only one way of deliverance. What was it? Only God could keep Jacob safe. God had met him twenty-one years before when he had left home empty-handed. Now, he was returning with wives, children, and goods, but he was lean in soul and impoverished in spirit. Jacob said to himself, “If I do not get a blessing from God, I can never meet Esau,” and he made up his mind he would not go on until he knew that he had favor with God. Jacob was left alone. Unless we get alone with God, we will surely perish. God intervenes when conflict exists. The way of revelation is plain. The Holy Spirit‘s plan is so clear that we have to say God was in it after all.

Jacob was left alone. He knelt alone. The picture is so real to me. Alone! He began to think. He thought about the ladder and the angels. I think as he began to pray, his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. Jacob had to get rid of a lot of things. It had all been Jacob! As he got alone with God, he knew it. If you get alone with God, you will find it to be a place of revelation. Jacob was left alone, alone with God. We stay too long with our relations, our camels, and our sheep. Jacob was left alone. Hour after hour passed. He began to feel the presence of God, but he still had not received the desired blessing.

Jacob said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” (Genesis 32:26). And God blessed him: “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel” (v. 28). The change of Jacob to Israel was wonderful! Israel! Victory all the time! God is building all the time. God is sufficient all the time. Now Jacob had power over the cattle, power over Esau, power over the world. All was in subjection as he came out of the great night of trial. The sun rose upon him. Oh, that God may take us on in the same way.

Thought for today: God intends for people to be severed by the force of His power, so hold fast; He will never let go. If we let go, we will fall short.

January 4

Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. — 1 Corinthians 10:31

Scripture reading: Proverbs 15:28–16:9

On a ship one day, some people said to me, “We are going to have a program. Would you be a participant in the entertainment?”

I replied, “Come in a quarter of an hour, and I will tell you.”

They came round again and said, “Are you ready?”

“Yes,” I told them, “I have got a clear witness that I have to be in the entertainment.”

So they said to me, “What can you do?”

“I can sing,” I offered.

They said, “Where would you like to be scheduled in the entertainment? We are going to have a dance.”

I said, “Put me down just before the dance.”

I went to the entertainment, and when I saw the clergymen trying to please the people, it turned me to prayer. My turn came, and I went up to the piano with my “Redemption Songs.” When the lady saw the music, she said, “I cannot play this kind of music.”

I said, “Be at peace, young lady. I have music and words inside.” So I sang:

If I could only tell Him as I know Him.
My Redeemer who has brightened all my way;
If I could tell how precious is His presence,
I am sure that you would make Him yours today.
Could I tell it, Could I tell it,
How the sunshine of His presence lights my way.
I would tell it, I would tell it,
And I‘m sure that you would make Him yours today.

I sang the song, and when I finished, the people said, “You have spoiled the dance.” Well, I was there for that purpose, to spoil the dance. From the least to the greatest, they were weeping. They never had a dance, but they had a prayer meeting. Six young men were saved by the power of God in my cabin.

A preacher came to me afterwards and said, “How dare you sing that?” “Why,” I said, “how dare I not sing it?” It was my opportunity. He was going to India, and when he got there, he wrote in his periodical and mailed it to England. He said, “I did not seem to have any chance to preach the Gospel, but there was a plumber on board who seemed to have plenty of opportunities to preach to everybody. He said things that continue to stick with me. He told me that the book of Acts was written only because the apostles acted.”

You see, I was in the drama of acting in the name of Jesus. And so that opened the door and provided me a place that I could speak all the time. The door was open in every way. Glory to God!

Thought for today: You are in the right position when you allow the glory of the new life to cause you to act. Live in the Acts of the Apostles, and every day you will see some miracle worked by the power of the living God.

January 3

They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit. — Acts 6:5

Scripture reading: Acts 6:8–15; 7:55–60

God has privileged us in Christ Jesus to live above the ordinary human plane of life. Those who want to be ordinary and live on a lower plane can do so, but as for me, I will not. The same anointing, the same zeal, the same Holy Spirit power is at our command as it was at the command of Stephen and the apostles. We have the same God that Abraham and Elijah had, and we do not need to lag behind in receiving any gift or grace. We may not possess all the gifts as abiding gifts, but as we are full of the Holy Spirit and divine anointing, it is possible, when there is a need, for God to make evident every gift of the Spirit through us as He may choose.

Stephen, an ordinary man, became extraordinary under the Holy Spirit‘s anointing until, in many ways, he stands supreme among the apostles. “And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people” (Acts 6:8). As we go deeper in God, He enlarges our capacity for understanding and places before us a wide-open door. It is not surprising that this man chosen to serve tables was later called to a higher plane. You may ask, “What do you mean? Did he stop taking care of his responsibilities?” No, but he was lost in the power of God. He lost sight of everything in the natural and steadfastly fixed his gaze on Jesus, “the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2), until he was transformed into a shining light in the kingdom of God. May we be awakened to believe His Word and to understand the mind of the Spirit, for there is an inner place of purity where we can see God. Stephen was an ordinary person, but he was in the place where God could move him so that he, in turn, could affect those around him. He began in a humble place and ended in a blaze of glory. Dare to believe Christ.

Thought for today: Chosen for menial service, Stephen became mighty for God.

January 2

Seek out from among you seven men of good reputation,full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. — Acts 6:3

Scripture reading: Acts 6:1–10

During the time of the inauguration of the church, the disciples were pressured by many responsibilities. The practical things of life could not be attended to, and many were complaining concerning the neglect of their widows. Therefore, the disciples decided to choose seven men to do the work of caring for the needs of these widows—men who were “full of the Holy Spirit.” What a divine thought. No matter what kind of work was to be done, however menial it may have been, the person chosen had to be “full of the Holy Spirit.” The plan of the church was that everything, even everyday routines, must be sanctified to God, for the church had to be a Holy Spirit church. Beloved, God has never ordained anything less.

The heritage of the church is to be so equipped with power that God can lay His hand upon any member at any time to do His perfect will. There is no stopping point in the Spirit-filled life. We begin at the Cross, the place of disgrace, shame, and death, and that very death brings the power of resurrection life. Then, being filled with the Holy Spirit, we go on “from glory to glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Let us not forget that possessing the baptism in the Holy Spirit means that there must be an ever increasing holiness. People know when the tide is flowing; they also know when it is ebbing. How the church needs divine anointing. It needs to see God‘s presence and power so evidenced that the world will recognize it.

Thought for today: When we please God in our daily service, we will always find that everyone who is faithful in the little things, God will make ruler over much (Matthew 25:21).