Saturday 22 Nov 2014

November 22: James 4:7-10

Key Verse: James 4:9
Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.

Devotion:
How many times have you thought you were prepared for something only to fall flat on your face because you have forgotten one thing or another? Yes it happens to me all the time… I work late through the night and the next morning just as I think I have got it all sorted out, I get to the part where I realise I have forgotten that one crucial step, or the computer goes wrong, or the sound system does not work… Then we need to admit that we have failed and move on quickly!

I have learned this well! I know that I am going to fail from time to time and so I accept it and deal with it when it happens. I know that if I get up tight about it and stress over what is happening all I am going to do is to delay the recovery, so I place it firmly in God’s hands and ask Him for a clear head to handle my mistake. God never disappoints! We may not listen. We may not obey. We may not handle it. We may fall apart still. But God is there, trying to get us back on track as quickly as possible.

A bit of humility will go a long way to allowing us to get back on track a whole lot quicker than we realise. This is when it pays to have a team of people around you whom you trust! I am thankful that I am part of a team who get on and do things and I try my best to love and support those that need me as well. It is not about being the brightest star so that we stand out amongst our friends because that gets a bit close to boasting. It is about being the brightest we can for others to see how much we depend on God!

Giving every situation to God before we start will help us to prepare for the bad times and will help us to handle them better because we will know we have help both from our teams and from God. I love the way that God tells me “I am here for you” and that is why I try to tell others that I am there for them, not just because I love them, but because it is God’s will.

Points to Ponder:
Do you fall apart when things go wrong?

Have you tried being a willing servant first?