sokin's devotional 53 - surrender the control to God
"Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit' - yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.' As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin."
James 4:13-17
---
Notice that the first statement and the second revised statement essentially has the same action points.
Both have a plan in mind and both have actions that will follow.
But the key significant difference is that the second fully acknowledges God's sovereignty and control in all things, while the first acknowledges man's sovereignty of their own life.
Stewardship over our lives is necessary and to be certain, the first statement implies a man that most likely will turn a profit in their business dealings. However, he is forgetting a crucial fact - God ultimately is in control and full surrender must be given to Him in all things.
God must receive the praise and honor, not man. Failing to do this will result in arrogance which is evil, which will in turn poison the heart of the individual.
James addresses a reason why this must be so in his reminder to us that life is short. We are a mist that appears for a little bit but vanishes. In the grand scheme of life, you and I are very finite beings - at most we will live for 80 years in total. It is doubtful that most people will live past 100. With that in mind, for the average person reading this post, we are most likely near the 1/4 mark or even for some, the halfway point of our lives.
We can't expect to live our lives devoid of the eternal God at the helm. We can go at any moment.
Therefore, we must fully acknowledge that the eternal God must and needs to be in control over our lives.
While the two statements have similar action points, the former flows our of a heart that ignores God while the latter sees that God is the giver of all things.
Implications?
Live in such a way that "whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (1 corinthians 10:31)
He is in control. He knows best.
We must surrender and dedicate all things to Him because He will work for our good.
Dedicate everything you do, to God first...and then let that freedom of knowing He is in control dictate your actions.
James 4:13-17
---
Notice that the first statement and the second revised statement essentially has the same action points.
Both have a plan in mind and both have actions that will follow.
But the key significant difference is that the second fully acknowledges God's sovereignty and control in all things, while the first acknowledges man's sovereignty of their own life.
Stewardship over our lives is necessary and to be certain, the first statement implies a man that most likely will turn a profit in their business dealings. However, he is forgetting a crucial fact - God ultimately is in control and full surrender must be given to Him in all things.
God must receive the praise and honor, not man. Failing to do this will result in arrogance which is evil, which will in turn poison the heart of the individual.
James addresses a reason why this must be so in his reminder to us that life is short. We are a mist that appears for a little bit but vanishes. In the grand scheme of life, you and I are very finite beings - at most we will live for 80 years in total. It is doubtful that most people will live past 100. With that in mind, for the average person reading this post, we are most likely near the 1/4 mark or even for some, the halfway point of our lives.
We can't expect to live our lives devoid of the eternal God at the helm. We can go at any moment.
Therefore, we must fully acknowledge that the eternal God must and needs to be in control over our lives.
While the two statements have similar action points, the former flows our of a heart that ignores God while the latter sees that God is the giver of all things.
Implications?
Live in such a way that "whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (1 corinthians 10:31)
He is in control. He knows best.
We must surrender and dedicate all things to Him because He will work for our good.
Dedicate everything you do, to God first...and then let that freedom of knowing He is in control dictate your actions.
Comments
Post a Comment