“For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in m mother’s womb. I will praise You for I am fearfully and
wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.”—Psalm:
139:13-14
According to the Scriptures, John the Baptist, the cousin of
Jesus, was created by God, to be a prophet to the nation and prepare the way
for Jesus. Luke 1 and 3 record the
ministry of John the Baptist. He spent
thirty years in the deserts of Judea preparing for the ministry that lasted
only a short time before He baptized Jesus.
Nevertheless, in this brief amount of time John turned an entire nation
to God.
John the Baptist did not take the normal approach and go where
the people were. He was out in the
wilderness and the people came to him.
He had no advertisements other than the testimonies of those who had
heard him. He was not the best dressed
man around; he wore camel hair and a leather belt and definitely did not eat
the best food available. He did not do
anything the way the religious leaders taught it was suppose to be done; yet it
worked. In a few months, John the
Baptist stirred an entire nation to anticipate the coming of Jesus.
God accomplished this amazing feat through a man who was not
“normal.” Too often our “herd instinct” keeps many of us from being used by God. We are so afraid of what someone else will
think about us if we do what He tells us to do and live by His Spirit and
Word. We try to be like everyone else,
and then we wonder why we are getting the same results as everyone else.
John the Baptist was completely yielded to the Holy Spirit,
and he succeeded against all the odds.
Dare to follow the Holy Spirit, even if it means going against the
crowd, and you will get supernatural results too.
Prayer—Father I thank
you that you have made me a unique individual and I purpose today to follow the
leading of the Holy Spirit instead of what other people are doing, in Jesus
Name. Amen.
