Thursday Reading: Ephesians 5:15-21
Key Verse: Ephesians 5:21
21 submitting yourselves to one another in the fear of God.
Key Verse: Ephesians 5:21
21 submitting yourselves to one another in the fear of God.
Devotion:
There are so many things in life that will let us down, but the one that will probably let us down the most is ourselves. Unless we are going to be careful about things, then we are going to find that we will let ourselves down simply because we give in to things around us. If we are going to allow ourselves to walk and talk like a fool, should we wonder then why we should not be treated like a fool? If we are not going to worry about what we let into our lives, then why should other people worry about what they do to us? If we do not worry about how we act, why should others treat us the way that we want them to? If we wear the hat, then we should expect to be called by that hat.
There are so many things in life that will let us down, but the one that will probably let us down the most is ourselves. Unless we are going to be careful about things, then we are going to find that we will let ourselves down simply because we give in to things around us. If we are going to allow ourselves to walk and talk like a fool, should we wonder then why we should not be treated like a fool? If we are not going to worry about what we let into our lives, then why should other people worry about what they do to us? If we do not worry about how we act, why should others treat us the way that we want them to? If we wear the hat, then we should expect to be called by that hat.
God has given us time as something for us to use. He has given us a time on earth for us to use and not abuse. We have all the instructions that should allow us to use that time in the best possible way so that is what we should be aiming at doing. Far too often, though, we ignore those instructions and carry on regardless – without giving thought to the consequences! Looking back we can see that that is not wise, but at the time we did not give thought to whether our actions were wise or not.
When we feel down we often seek the fastest fix that will lift our spirits without giving regard to either those around us or to what will happen in the longer term. We run for the quick fix and then wonder why we feel even more down in the dumps after our quick fix wears off and leaves us in the same trouble that we were in in the first place; but this time we know that our quick fix has changed nothing and that gets us down even more! If we do want to lift ourselves up, then we have to go about things in the right way. Ignore the quick fix scenario and aim for something that goes beyond our time on earth. If we aim to our eternal future with God, then we can expect things to fall into place here on earth while we work in God’s care.
Points to Ponder:
Does your life go more smoothly when you listen to authority?
Does your life go more smoothly when you listen to authority?
Do you submit to God’s authority?