STAND STILL! by David Wilkerson

The three most common words heard among Christians in times of crisis are: "Lord, do something!" It is against our nature to stand still and do nothing when we face perplexing trials. In fact, waiting patiently for God to act is probably the most difficult thing about the Christian walk. Even devoted believers panic when the Lord does not move according to their timetable.

We constantly give God deadlines and time limits. We cry, "Lord, when are You going to do something about this? If You don't act now, it will be too late!" But God is never too late. He always acts according to His schedule, not ours.

Our God is always searching the earth for those who will trust Him in every crisis, trial and hopeless situation. Indeed, He often leads us into situations that are critical and difficult in order to test us. He wants to see if we are willing to stand still and wait for Him to bring supernatural deliverance.

The Bible states very clearly: "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way" (Psalm 37:23). The Hebrew word for ordered here means "prearranged, step by step, fixed, ordained by God."

This means it is God, not the devil, who leads us into difficult places. We may cry, "Lord, why are You allowing my crisis to continue?" But the truth is, not only does He allow our trial, but He does so deliberately — for a purpose. And that is hard for us to accept.

God allows these hard things in our lives in order to produce faith in us. He is shaping us into godly examples of faith, to be His testimony to a faithless, ungodly age.

I firmly believe every step I take is ordained by our heavenly Father and He would never lead me to the brink of a difficult situation only to abandon me. He would not say, "Okay, David, I've directed you up to this point. Now you're on your own."

No! God is absolutely faithful to His children, in every crisis. He is always asking us, "Will you be one I've been searching for, one who will not panic, who will not charge Me with forsaking, abandoning and hurting My children? Will you stand still in your crisis and trust Me to see you through?"