Connected To God 2
Psalms 17:8: Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,
Luke 13:34: O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!
James 4:7: Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
1 Peter 5:6: Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
The way to stay connected to God is to stay under Him and the way to get disconnected from Him is to get out from under Him.
Devotional material is taken from Today With The King, written by Robert A. Cook. Copyright © 2017. All rights reserved. Used with written permission.
Ephesians 5:21: Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
Also read all of Chapter 5.
*Submitting* is an interesting word. In the original Greek it means *to place under.* Paul*s implication here is that submission is something we must do in relation to other people. We hear a great deal about standing up for our rights, but little about foregoing them.
After I had grown up and dared to ask my father some questions never posed when I was younger, I said to him one day, *Pop, you have a very forceful personality. You call it your *positive nature.* (And I chuckled.) How in the world did you and my mother get along so well, as everyone says was the case? Didn*t you ever quarrel?*
He thought a moment. *No, Boy, I don*t think we ever did quarrel. When I said or did anything that she disagreed with, she would explain to me, very carefully, how she felt, and then she would add, *Whatever you want, dear,* and I*d end up doing it her way.* That was a very wise lady!
Of course, not every *explanation* has that kind of result. But I can tell you this: the person who is willing to yield suffers far less trauma than the one who is not.
People say to me rather belligerently, *Do you want me to be a doormat?* No, not that. I am only urging you to put in perspective the things that really count. Some things you must not yield. But thousands of other issues in daily life are not worth quibbling about. In dealing with these things, explain your point of view lovingly, clearly, and without heat. Then be willing for whatever outcome may follow.
Small thought here. The willingness to cheerfully go out of your way to help other people, without being asked to do so, is one of the great trademarks of Christian faith in action. This may require you to take a back seat, to play second fiddle, to let the other person have his way -- all to the end that Jesus Christ may be honored and glorified through your life.
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