Deeper Life #259

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

—Proverbs 11:30

DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT is like to fish all night? I do. About three or four in the morning, before the early dawn, you feel so cold that you do not care about anything.

There is an exact counterpart in the work for God. Do you have a passionate devotion to Jesus Christ, so powerful that you stand steady and faithful through every cold night, watching and waiting to win men and women for God? Those cold nights of waiting, fishing, praying, and preaching are the test of your commitment.

Unless we have a divine passion for souls burning in us, we will quit the work of God. Soul winning requires patience, gentleness, and endurance. Nothing else will do it! A sense that people are perishing won’t do it; a sense that they are going down to hell won’t do it. Only one thing will do it—a blazing, passionate devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ, an all-consuming passion!

Prayer Thought: Oh, for a consuming devotion to Jesus Christ!

SUGGESTED READING: Luke 5:1–11