1 Timothy 1:16 For this cause I obtained mercy, that in the first Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering… to them which should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting.
Read 1 Timothy 1:16-20.
One of the greatest things that God does, as the Gospel works in your life and mine, is to make us strong at the point where we were weak. Let me tell you a story about my father, Charley Cook, that illustrates this truth. One day I said to him, “Pop, I’ve noticed that you are often very shy when you are with people. But when you are talking about the Lord Jesus, you’re as bold as a lion. Why?” “Boy, I’ll tell you, When I was a youngster I was so shy that when anybody came to our farm I would run away. My stepmother decided that she would break me of this trait. So one day she dressed me in nothing but a bed sheet and tied me to a tree in our front yard so that everybody who went by would see this miserable little guy tied to a tree. Well, all that did for me was to make me decide to run away for good. So I did. I found work, later joined the army for the Spanish-American War, and came back and married your beautiful mother. About that time an evangelistic campaign was held in our area. We heard that there was a need for personal workers to be trained. Your mother and I went to that class and there we learned for the first time the sheer joy of telling somebody about Jesus.”
“That experience changed our lives. We were never quite the same after that. So if I’m not embarrassed on some occasions, it’s because God makes me strong where I was weak.” What God did for Charley Cook He can do for every one of us, if we let the Gospel of our blessed Lord Jesus work in us.
This devotional was written by Dr. Robert A. Cook. You can subscribe to his free email articles and listen to his Spirit-filled 15-minute messages at www.walkwiththeking.org. Used with written permission.
