We’ve got your daily encouragement, written by Polly Barcol.
Bible Reading:
1 Corinthians 6:12
12 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.
Word:
Did you know that God is a gentleman? He will never force you to do anything! He chose to give you freedom to choose. What an awesome God! However, we see in today’s reading that Paul says not all things we COULD CHOOSE are beneficial and that he will not be mastered by anything.
Have you ever chosen something that was not beneficial? I know I have. From riding an insane roller coaster and ruining the rest of my day at a theme park, to having sex before marriage and getting pregnant while still young and in college, not even sure I wanted kids (and 28 years later our son is still alive by the grace of God).
Or even worse, have you become mastered by something you chose? Like smoking, drugs, alcohol, pornography, sexting, overeating… the list goes on and on. We can get addicted to anything we are trying to fill a desire with. God is the only one who can fill that desire for love, worth, joy, belonging, peace, etc.
When we seek anything else we become addicted to it, and it masters us. Those type of masters are not nearly as gracious as your Heavenly Father who wants to master our lives. You see, God is still going to love you when you choose something not beneficial, but He gives us parameters in His Word and His Holy Spirit to guide us that we might live our best life now.
God wants what is best for you! And when He is master of your life, He gives you the ability to live a disciplined life that you might reap GOOD benefits.
Prayer:
Lord, may I relinquish all masters besides You. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
Skillwork:
Spending time talking with God. Ask Jesus to show you what desires you are trying to fill with these other masters, and then ask Him to fill it instead.
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