Daily devotion – Following Paul and Jeremiah into battle.
Necessity Is Laid Upon Me
1 Corinthians 9:16 — “For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!”
The Apostle Paul was small in stature, but he is one of my greatest heroes as I read of his love, his sacrifice, his suffering and his unwavering life for Christ.
Paul did not live for comfort. He did not live for popularity. He did not live to build his own kingdom. He lived with one consuming purpose—to know Christ, to serve Christ and to make Christ known.
Along with so many others in God’s Word, Paul is one of those great witnesses of faith who stir us on to keep running the race.
Hebrews 12:1 — “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”
There are many mornings when I wake with a deep burden concerning the work of God here in our nation.
I look around and see so many people consumed with their own plans, ambitions, possessions and pleasures, while seemingly unaware of the prophetic hour in which we are living.
The world continues to race forward as though nothing is changing. Yet Scripture tells us that history is moving toward the return of Jesus Christ.
The Church is not waiting for another event to make Christ’s return possible.
We are waiting for Christ Himself.
The Rapture of the Church could take place at any moment. And after the Church is caught away, the prophetic clock moves into a period Scripture describes with unprecedented judgement—the Tribulation.
That reality should not produce fear in the believer.
It should produce urgency.
There are people around us who have never heard the Gospel clearly. There are loved ones who continue to put off the things of God. There are children and grandchildren growing up in a world increasingly hostile to biblical truth.
And there are Christians who have become so comfortable in this present world that we can forget that this world is not our home.
Revelation 4:11 reminds us why we are here:
“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”
We were created for Him.
We were saved for Him.
We have been left here for Him.
And until He calls us home, we have a Gospel to proclaim.
Yet there are times when I become discouraged. I see the spiritual indifference around us, the rejection of biblical truth and the apparent lack of response to the Gospel, and I can become frustrated.
But then I am driven back to my knees.
I return to prayer.
I return to the Word.
And there, once again, I find Paul.
That diminutive man keeps swinging away, powering on through every obstacle, every beating, every rejection, every imprisonment, every disappointment and every danger.
He never allowed the darkness around him to extinguish the light within him.
And near the end of his life, Paul could declare:
2 Timothy 4:7 — “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.”
What a testimony!
Paul did not say, “I saw everything I wanted to see.”
He did not say, “Everyone listened to me.”
He did not say, “The world changed because I preached.”
He simply said:
“I have finished my course. I have kept the faith.”
That is what God asks of us.
We cannot manufacture revival.
We cannot force people to believe.
We cannot make a generation love the truth.
But we can be faithful.
So I reset.
I take my eyes off the response and put them back on Christ.
I remind myself that my life is not my own.
Jesus said:
Luke 9:23 — “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”
And then I think of Jeremiah.
Jeremiah knew what it was to preach to a people who did not want to listen. He knew rejection, loneliness, discouragement and opposition.
Yet the Word of God burned within him.
Jeremiah 23:28–29 — “Let these false prophets tell their dreams, but let my true messengers faithfully proclaim my every word. There is a difference between straw and grain! Does not my word burn like fire?” says the LORD. “Is it not like a mighty hammer that smashes a rock to pieces?”
There is a difference between straw and grain.
There is a difference between the empty philosophies of this world and the eternal Word of God.
There is a difference between the promises of man and the promises of God.
And the Word of God still burns like fire.
It still breaks hard hearts.
It still exposes sin.
It still brings conviction.
It still reveals Christ.
It still saves!
So I cannot stop preaching the Gospel.
I must preach it.
Not because everyone will listen.
Not because everyone will respond.
Not because the culture will applaud.
But because necessity is laid upon me.
And what about you?
What has God placed before you?
Who is the person you need to speak to?
Who is the loved one you need to keep praying for?
Who is the neighbour who needs to hear about Jesus?
Who is the workmate who may never hear the Gospel unless you speak?
The clock is moving.
The days are passing.
The world is changing.
Prophecy is unfolding.
And one day—perhaps sooner than many realise—the trumpet will sound, the dead in Christ will rise, and we who are alive and remain will be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air.
1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 — “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.”
Until that moment, we have work to do.
The Gospel must be preached.
Christ must be proclaimed.
The lost must be warned.
The Church must awaken.
And believers must remain faithful.
I may become discouraged.
I may become weary.
I may look around and wonder, “Lord, where is the harvest?”
But then I remember Paul.
I remember Jeremiah.
I remember the saints who have gone before us.
And above all, I remember Jesus.
So I get back on my knees.
I open His Word.
I lift my eyes toward heaven.
And I say:
“Lord, here am I. Use me.”
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is still “the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” — Romans 1:16
The world may be growing darker, but the light of the Gospel has not grown dim.
The hour may be late, but our calling has not changed.
The harvest may seem great and the labourers few, but Jesus is still calling His people to go.
And until the trumpet sounds, until we see Him face to face, until faith becomes sight—
I will keep preaching.
I will keep praying.
I will keep witnessing.
I will keep serving.
I will keep the faith.
Necessity is laid upon me.
And until He comes—let us be found faithful.