November 8

A Questionable Word

Part Two

To one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit.
—1 Corinthians 12:8

Scripture reading: Ecclesiastes 7:13-29

There is a saying that goes something like this: “No man fails to succeed in life because he makes a blunder; it is when he makes the blunder twice.” No person who fails once loses his “high calling” (Phil. 3:14 KJV). Therefore, the Word of God says that when you repent with godly repentance, you will never do the same thing again. (See 2 Corinthians 7:9–11.)

It is not for you to give in; you have to fortify yourself. The day is young; the opportunities are tremendously large. May God help you not to give in. Believe that God can make you new and turn you into another person.

Now, what was the trouble with me? It was that I didn’t discuss this transaction with God. Many of you are in the same place. What do we do afterward? We begin working our way out. So I began working this thing out.

“How much will you take for it?” I asked.

He named the price. I thought to myself — this was a human thought — “Now, the banking society will give me all I want. They are well acquainted with me; that will be no trouble.”

So the loan officer came to look over the house.

“It is a beautiful house,” he said. “It is very reasonable. You will lose nothing on this if you ever sell it. It is well worth the money. But I cannot give you within five hundred dollars of what you need.”

I did not have five hundred dollars; I couldn’t get it out of the business I had at that time, but I still tried a human way. I did not go to God. If I had, I could have gotten out of it. But I tried to work my way out.

The first thing I did was to try my relatives. Have you ever done that? What was wrong? They were all so pleased to see me, but I was either a bit too soon or a little bit too late; I absolutely just missed it. They all wanted to lend me the money, but I was there at the wrong time.

I had another human plan then: I tried my friends. The same thing happened.

Then I went to my lovely wife. Oh, she was a darling! She was holy! I went to her and I said, “Oh, Mother, I am in a hard place.”

“I know,” she said. “I will tell you what you have never done, my dear.”

“What?”

“You have never gone to God once about this thing.”

So then I knew she knew, and I knew what I would get if I went to prayer.

“All right, my dear, I will go pray.”

It is lovely to have a place to go in which to pray — those places where you open your eyes to see if you can see Him in reality because He is so near. Ah, to walk with God!

“Father,” I said, “You know all about it. If you will forgive me this time, I will never trouble you again as long as I live with anything like this.”

And then came the word of wisdom. He has it. Yet it was the most ridiculous word I ever heard in all my life. The Lord said, “Go see Brother Webster.”

I came downstairs. I said, “He has spoken.”

“I knew He would.”

“Yes, but you see He said such a ridiculous thing.”

“Believe it,” she said. “It will be all right. When God speaks, you know it means it is all right.”

“But Mother, you could hardly think it could be right. He has told me to go see Brother Webster.”

“Go,” she said.

Thought for today: When you get out of the will of God, then you try your own way.

Smith Wigglesworth Devotional: 365 Day Devotional
By Whitaker House

Smith Wigglesworth was a man who took God at his word, and God used his faith as a model for others. Explore these daily truths from Scripture and the writings of the Apostle of Faith, and you’ll quench your spiritual thirst, conquer defeating fears, be an effective soul winner, and see impossibilities turn into realities. 558 pages.

Buy from ChristianBook

Buy from Amazon

Smith Wigglesworth Devotional