Friday 26 Apr 2013

Friday Reading: James 3:2-6

Key Verse: James 3:6
6  And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

Devotion:
Have you ever taken a good look at the control surfaces on any aircraft. When you compare them with the size of the aeroplane as a whole you begin to wonder how they can keep control and change directions so quickly; after all we can wave our hands through the air without the rest of our bodies being shoved around! A boat is moved by something even smaller because water is denser; though when we wave our hands through water we begin to understand how we can swim. Then we can look at the tiny bit that is placed in a horse’s mouth and can be amazed at how that is used to control the whole horse.

We can also look at things and see how aircraft, boats and even horses could be totally out of control if the small control surfaces were to break loose; and so it is with our mouths. They may be small and used for several things but if we lose control of our mouths then we lose control of our whole body! Don’t believe me? Try it!

It does not take the biggest things in our lives to change our whole lives and that is going to work both ways – changing for the good as well as for the bad. But notice also that in order to keep things in control there may well have to be a constant stream of tiny changes; changes that have to be done in the right order and at the right time in order to keep things running smoothly. Then you have to look at who is going to be the one in control, the one making the tiny adjustments at the right time, the one who has an overall picture of everything around so that they can plan their moves.

It should be at this stage where we realise that we do have problems because we cannot control even the smallest parts of our lives without making mistakes. We then see that we don’t have enough of a view of what is going on around us. We actually do need God in our lives! He has the ultimate view of all that is going on as well as knowing what is best for each of us. He is able to control the smallest things in our lives just as easily as the biggest things in the universe and He will if we allow Him into our lives. God wants us to be in control of things so that we can enjoy life; being out of control is not enjoyable.

Points to Ponder:
Do you feel out of control?

Are you allowing God to be in control?