Daily Devotional for Thursday 11th July
Giving Control to Jesus
Have you ever made a promise to someone and not kept it? I remember saying to my sister that I would save her some chocolate for when she got home from somewhere, but before I knew it, I ate the entire box! I couldn’t believe it! I swear there were hundreds in there but I couldn’t find any left. Safe to say she wasn’t at all pleased with me after I gave her my word there would be some left for her.
In this story, we see Peter making a promise to Jesus. “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” That is a very big claim to make about yourself. If you kept reading, you’d see that Peter denies Jesus not just once, but three times.
We are all guilty of making promises we haven’t kept. We promise God our hearts but we take control when we feel scared or worried about something. Fear drives us to make rash decisions to protect ourselves and not pursue the plans God has for us. Fear is what Peter had when he was challenged about knowing Jesus. He chose to protect himself above his relationship with Jesus. I wonder how many times I have done this in my life. Putting myself above the words I have said to protect myself?
Matthew 6:34 says, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” We all want control. You might be thinking “I don’t mind not being in control”. But what if I said you were driving at 70 mph and then your steering wheel stopped working? Control would be the first thing you wanted at that moment (understandably). Letting go of control is hard because we no longer look after ourselves but are in the hands of someone or something else. When we no longer worry, we are saying to God, “You are in control and I trust you”. That is a hard step and one Peter learned the hard way, but we can learn with the small things, being thankful for all we have, tithing your money, or praying as a first point of call when you feel out of control.
Time to reflect…
Do you feel in or out of control and struggle to give it over to Jesus? How can we as a church seek God to take control of our lives?
Pause to pray…
Jesus, thank you for your love and grace. We are sorry when we take control instead of trusting you. Thank you that you want the best for us and help us trust you each day. Thank you for all that I have and I pray you help me be grateful for them. In Jesus' name, we pray, Amen.
