Reading Your Bible for today November 12

November 12: Proverbs 15:1-3

KJV Key Verse: Proverbs 15:3
3 The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.

Devotion:
At this time when much of the world is trying to uphold the law and stop terrorists, it is hard to think of times when the people out there fighting will not want to use harsh words and brutal force against the enemy. And in our lives we often find it all too hard to resist when people wind us up by teasing us or by saying bad things against us. The first thing we want to do is to retaliate and harm them back in some way.

Have you ever tried taking the other approach and using quiet words to make your side of an argument? Sometimes the best way to diffuse an argument is to put in a few kind words, or just to keep quiet! I can remember back in my school days when our basketball team would win many matches over other teams that were regarded as being very good teams. Yes, the team could play well, but they always kept their cool (hard when the temperature is 30+) and allowed the other team to become angry and upset – hence ruining their own game.

If you were to “engage brain before mouth” each time you got into a situation, I am sure you would find the quickest way out of the situation time after time, and the more you did that, the more it would become second nature to do the right thing before engaging your mouth and spewing out a string of angry words!

“But it's only me against them, nobody else is around!”... Wrong! Read verse 3 again! The Lord is watching over us all the time, waiting patiently for us to acknowledge Him as our Saviour. Waiting patiently for us to open up our hearts to Him. Waiting patiently for us to engage our minds before letting the words of wrath flow out of our mouths. The more you talk down or badly the someone else, the more likely they are to get wound up about what you are saying and the more likely they are to blow a fuse and get back at you.

Points to Ponder:
Are you quick to retaliate with words?

Do you ask God to help you keep your heart in it?