The Bible – The Message
And don’t be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else. Where you are right now is God’s place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there. God, not your marital status, defines your life. Don’t think I’m being harder on you than on the others. I give this same counsel in all the churches.
Thoughts:
Several truths invigorated my devotional time as I read this passage this morning, as I was reminded of how Paul addressed the Corinthian church concerning marriages, specifically marriages with one partner being a Christian and the other not. I found it interesting to note how little our culture has changed over the thousands of years! However, I bolded a couple of places in these verses that, I believe, God wanted me to tune into. I once had the honor of spending some time with an elderly couple, and the gentleman once remarked how interesting it is to note how a person can find so much fault, and problems with a car, once they have made up their minds that they want to buy a new one!! Doesn’t this sound a lot like what Paul was addressing in this verse? For he reminded the Corinthians that God has placed you in a specific place to serve a certain purpose for Him, so stay put and allow Him to do His mighty work. Quit looking for all the faults with the other spouse, and be God to them. Portray the characteristics of God. You know them, because as you read the Word of God you learn His character and also the mind of Christ. The other part of Paul’s instructions that challenged me, is that we are to be careful not to allow our circumstances, or our company, or our workers, or our relationships, or even our church define us. God is our focus, He is our guide, He is our example, and it is He who should define our character. In other words, we should act, speak and love so much like Christ that folk should stand in awe at the image of Christ in us. In fact, because of Christ’s qualities being expressed through us, folk should want to run towards God, and not away from Him. So how is it with you friend? Are you looking for a way out of your present circumstances, or are you looking for ways to enhance them so that they will look more like the image of Christ because you are there? I trust that it is the latter!
Prayer:
Father, there are so many circumstances in our lives that we can apply this teaching to. For some it may be a relationship, or a marriage, or a church, or a job, or a home, or a multitude of other things. Too often we convince ourselves that if only we could escape the circumstances, then things would be better. But Lord You have shown us over and over again that our lives are to be all about You, and not driven by our circumstances or the people around us. The institution of marriage is in trouble today, probably worse than in Paul’s days of ministry. Please allow Your Word to be deeply embedded into the lives of couples who are struggling. Please especially speak to spouses today who have drifted away from You and allowing other worldly circumstances to drive their decisions. In many cases there are children watching dads and/or moms make disastrous decisions that will have strong, negative impacts on their survival as a child of Yours. Please bring this verse fresh in the hearts and lives of those that need this word today, so that they may refocus their lives and their marriages on You. Thank You Father for Your Word that is so powerful and relevant to every circumstance, even today. Thank You for guiding me to Your Word every day. Please challenge the hearts of Your children with a renewed desire to follow You, so that we can all be refresh and reminded of the Rule Book by which we should live. You are holy, and we are not, please allow a little of Your holiness to soak into our lives and our character, so that we may be more apt to obey You in all things. I ask all this in the precious name of Your precious Son, Jesus my Lord, AMEN!
NOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray.
Nuggets From God's Word 