dry bones

I found this while I was looking for something else...........it is a devotion I gave a long time ago. It still applies today. For me.

The drying of your bones......

A Controlling Spirit

Remember, you are not a pilot in a plane. You are also not the air controller at the airport. You are not the president, a foreman, the head cheerleader OR Smoky the Bear. You do not have to take care of everything. Your role, whatever it may be, is to one, trust God, then to trust those that are over you to take care of matters.

Keep your place and you will have peace. There is a difference between controlling things and keeping your place. Keeping our place does call for actions and commands , but it should not dry our bones in the process. We all have responsibilities to take care of, it is when we step over the line that we become a controller. We just cannot let things go, we have to have our finger in the middle of everything. We want the last word, the last thought and everybody better agree. Don’t be a bully.

Proverbs 10:19 In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.

Proverbs 17:28 Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.

Can you just be quiet when a decision has been made by somebody over you? Can you trust someone else’s judgment on things?

Proverbs 12:1 Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish.

Can anybody instruct us in a matter……..or do we pretty much know everything? We need no instruction and surely not reproof.

Habakkuk 2:20 But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.

Sometimes we even know more than the Lord. This verse is for those that needed to be silent. If we are not being silent with our earthly relationships, it makes it harder to be silent before God. Learn to be silent before God.

Proverbs 17:27 He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit.

Colossians 4:6 Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

O.K., so you know some things. You have some knowledge in some areas that you think would be helpful to somebody. Did they ask for your help? Your opinion? Your input? If you do not spare your words, you are not making friends and influencing enemies. If you are asked for help, let your answer be full of grace. If somebody asks for your input, that does not mean that they are giving you full control over the situation, they just might want to know what you think. Do not take advantage here. Make sure your words taste good.

James 3:2 For in many things we offend all, if any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.

This is why we should be so careful. It doesn’t take much to offend. If you continually let loose on everybody concerning their lives, it will dry your bones. People will avoid you. Nobody will ask anything of you. Not your husband, your kids, your friends or your family. People will make sure that you don’t find out about things, because they know once you do, that you will have to have everything your way.

Proverbs 13:3 He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.

Do you want to keep your life? Do you want to have destruction? We have a choice. We don’t have to punch anybody, we don’t have to spend the rent money on a party, we don’t have to blow up a building. We can bring destruction with our mouth and destroy relationships. Something that little can ruin us.

We can usually spot a controlling person right off. We know who they are. We know their game and we know what to expect. That’s all fine and good……. But can you spot that terrible thing in yourself? Can you detect what you are doing to others? Can you put two and two together and see that that might be why you feel miserable all the time? Because you just can’t rest until you pick out the light switches, pick out the gas station, choose every movie, go your way on a trip, leave when you decide, pay what you think needs to be paid, get the kind of pet you want, choose your long distance service, have to be there when the pizza is ordered and you want a Dell, not a Gateway.

Proverbs 25:11 A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.

I love this verse and when I practice it, I have a merry heart. When I make sure my words are fitly spoken……..they make a beautiful picture. I must learn that I do not have to have the final word in everything. If I do not get my way, what does it do to that beautiful picture? What happens to my spouse? My children? My family and friends? Realize that resting in a decision somebody else made can bring peace. We can be better to all around us if we have a merry heart.