Archive for devotional
God is a Control Freak!
Posted by: | Comments
Entrust your loved ones to Me. They are much safer with Me than in your clinging hands.
Sometimes you confuse loving others with rescuing them. When a loved one has a problem, you often feel responsible to come up with a solution. Then you plunge headlong into problem-solving mode, as if you’re obligated to provide sound advice. I want to help you stop feeling responsible to fix people since that is My role–not yours.
It is My prerogative to bring about change in people’s lives as I choose to do so. You can be part of the process, but remember that I am the Author and Director of the drama. You need to follow My script rather than creating your own. Do not usurp My role in people’s lives, no matter how much you long to help them.
When you feel compelled to rescue a loved one, take a good look at the quality of your love. Learn from Me, because I have all authority in heaven and on earth: I could rescue or control anyone at will. Yet I intentionally created people with the capacity to choose good or evil. I wanted them to be free to love Me–or not. Love that has no choice is not real!
Subordinate your deficient, controlling love to My perfect, empowering Love. Prayerfully release your loved ones into My protective care. Restrain your urges to solves their problems. Instead, use your time and energy to listen to them and pray for them. Trust in My Love and My unsearchable wisdom. I can work changes in your loved ones’ lives beyond anything you might ask or imagine. As you release these precious ones to Me, linger awhile in My unfailing love–for them and also for you.
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:18)
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)
Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. (Psalm 143:8)
Will You Finish Your Race?
Posted by: | CommentsWe each have a race we are running. Whether you know it or not, you find yourself in a marathon of life. If you have been blessed with a family, that is a clue to the race you are running.
Will You Finish Your Race?
God did not give you the gift of family to merely start the race, He blessed you with family so you might finish the race He has surrounded you with. The apostle Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 9:26 “Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.” And in Deuteronomy 6 we are reminded that God gave us His commands upon our hearts, so we might “Impress them on your children.”
In the video clip, I think you would agree, John Stephen Akhwari models great character. To any parent who really cares about their children, nothing is of greater importance than training for discipline and instruction in principles. Character is the way we act when nobody is looking. You have a race to finish… and it is never too late to impress character upon your children and children’s children.
You Do Not Have, Because…
Posted by: | CommentsYou want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. James 4:2
We are all familiar with our external battles like verbal conflict. But there is another battle a bit tougher to identify; our internal struggle for control. This takes place when we’re presented with the choice to either fulfill God’s plan for our lives, or to fulfill our own desires for life separate from God.
We can wear ourselves out by clamoring for dreams and goals that were never meant to be ours. And when we try to claim something that doesn’t belong to us, we are guaranteed a nasty fight.
Ultimately, when we desire possessions of this world, we are selling ourselves short of the greatness and grandeur God has in store. If you base your value on the have’s or the have-not’s, then you will always find yourself fighting for rank, yet still falling short in the world’s economy. Instead, prayerfully surrender to the truth of God’s perfect plan and ask Him to take control. He is the only one who truly has your best interest at heart, even more than YOU. And remember—in God’s economy, your true value and worth will never waiver.
A Prayer for Today
Dear God, I know I struggle with wanting to maintain control. I realize that Your plan is better than anything I can devise on my own. Help me to surrender control to You so that I can experience the ultimate plan You have for my life. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
