Friday 25 Feb 2022

February 25: James 5:9-12

Key Verse: James 5:9
Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!

Devotion:
I wonder if you have ever said something to a friend about another person only to find they are standing right behind you! I know I have put my foot in it many times, so nowadays I try to not say things about others – but still we get caught up in gossip...

Jesus did not go round talking about people behind their backs – if there was something to be said, He would say it to their faces because they needed to hear it. Unfortunately for us, our minds play havoc with us and we start imagining stuff which is not true, ending up believing the untruths and falling into the trap of gossiping about others because of what we have heard and not because it is true!

One of the earliest passages in our bibles is believed to be the book of Job. In that book we hear of the jealous workings of the evil one who wants to trip someone up. The evil one says God is looking after Job too much and protecting him from everything; he surmises that if he were able to hurt Job, he would turn against God. This did not happen. Job was willing to put up with terrible things which happened to him and continued trusting in God even though he lost so much.

God rewarded him later with blessing which far outweighed the blessings he had before and took away the angst he had because of the things which happened. God wants to be able to protect us all the time and comfort us in every part of our lives. Unfortunately, we live in a world filled with evil and we are influenced by the world. We cannot help but be caught up in some of the terrors of this world, like dictators and tyrants who rule with fear and deceit instead of with honesty and truth.

Points to Ponder:
Do you allow the world to unduly influence you?

Will you ask God to influence you more than the world can?