In last week’s devotion I shared how the Lord gave me the word “unlikely’s” during my quiet time. I’m sure you have heard someone use the saying that someone is “most likely” to succeed; so that suggests that they could also think the opposite about someone to be “unlikely” to succeed. However, God sees potential in everyone because He looks at our heart – and the plans He has for each of us – and therefore seeing us in Jesus as being “most likely” to succeed. Last week we studied a few “unlikely’s” in the Old Testament and this week we are looking at a few from the New Testament. Let’s begin.

To all the Simeon’s and Anna’s who are prayer warriors, I tell you that your diligence, faithfulness, and dedication to pray does not go unnoticed. It doesn’t matter if the world – or even our family or friends – do not always know our burden to pray – God is faithful to reward those who are obedient to carry out His mandate in First Thessalonians 5:17 to “pray without ceasing.” What we learn from these two who dedicated their lives to prayer, is the fact that sometimes the answers to our prayers are not immediate – BUT when we pray according to the Word of God – our prayers WILL BE ANSWERED! Hallelujah! Glory to God. His timing is always perfect. So I encourage you to stay your course to pray as God leads you and be convinced that He will reward you in due time. You can read about Simeon in Luke 2:25-35 and Anna in Luke 2:36-38.

To all the Nicodemus’ who struggle with religious and traditional beliefs that cause them to try to keep their belief in Jesus a secret; who may fear what others may think of you; know that God sees your heart searching for the true Savior. Though Nicodemus’ early encounter with Jesus was in private, his belief in the Savior led him later to openly help Joseph of Arimathea take Jesus down from the Cross and bury Him. The lesson we learn from Nicodemus is that we are not to keep our faith in Jesus a secret unto ourselves. There is danger in a “quiet” faith because it makes it easier to deny Christ when times get rough and Jesus says in Matthew 10:32-33 that if we confess Him before men, He will confess us before the Father, but whoever denies Him, He also will deny before the Father. You can read about Nicodemus in John 3:1-3, 19:38-40.

To all the Peter’s who struggle in impetuous behavior, be encouraged that God wants to use your zeal to promote the Gospel of Jesus. Most of the time people first think of Peter as the disciple who denied Christ – but so did the others too. What we should remember is that even though Peter got himself into trouble because he often acted without thinking clearly, it was he who first recognized Jesus as the Son of God, and it was he who got out of the boat and walked on water! Also on the Day of Pentecost, Peter’s preaching resulted in 3000 souls believing in Jesus. All of us should strive to be more like Peter with a zeal to share Jesus with others. You can read about Peter in Matthew 14:25-31, 16:15-16, Acts 2:14-41.

To all the Thomas’ who struggle with wanting to “see” before they believe, God knows this natural weakness in mankind but wants to move us from weakness to strength – and that is only done as we increase our faith by hearing and hearing the Word of God. (Romans 10:17) What we learn from Thomas is that we need to be in the process of always increasing our faith by spending time with our Lord. So, I encourage you to set aside time each day to fellowship with your Savior Jesus, read the Bible, and pray. You can read about Thomas in John 20:24-29.

To all the Saul’s/Paul’s who’s zeal and religious training tends to lead them to be against God; please understand that God knows how to remove the scales from your spiritual eyes and set you free to be who He calls you to be. Once our spiritual eyes are opened to the truth of the Word of God, our understanding is enlightened; we receive wisdom and revelation of Him; and we know the hope of His calling, the riches of the glory of His inheritance in Christ. (Ephesians 1:17-18) When our faith is strong, we are more able to walk in obedience in the gifts and callings of God on our lives. You can read about Saul/Paul in Acts 9:1-30, 13:9.

The Disciples, who were hand-picked by Jesus, were ordinary people who because of their faith in Jesus turned the world upside down. Their willingness to “go into all the world” preaching the Gospel with undaunting persistent faith, reached across lands and nations, in every walk of life; from generations to generations. When we look at their faith, we can be encouraged to step out of our comfort zones and obey God’s calling to “walk on waters of faith” He has planned for us.