Devotional: What We Can Control

Ephesians 5:16:
Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

When I saw "The Lord of the Rings~The Fellowship of the Ring", I must confess that I didn't like the movie all that much.  It seemed to me that they could have saved time by cutting out some of the fight scenes and it was a great disappointment to me that they left the movie unfinished at the end.

All that aside, there was one redeeming thing about the movie that I appreciated.  The wizard made a statement to Frodo, when he wished he had never been given the ring, that was full of meaning.  He said, "We can not control what we are given, but we can control what we do with the time we are given."

Many of us have been given difficult lots in life. Some have physical problems due to illness, accidents or birth defects. Others have been put into difficult circumstances in their jobs, or living conditions.  We can not control these things.

We are all given time, and we can control what we do with it.  We can spend it being sad or bitter over our difficult situations or we can spend it more productively by honoring God with an attitude that is pleasing to Him.

Joni Eareckson-Tada broke her neck and became paralyzed from the neck down. She has spent the rest of her life glorifying God and helping those in third world countries who need wheelchairs to get them. She is just one example of someone who is using what has been given her in a positive, God honoring way.  She is redeeming the time.

I know of another person whose marriage fell apart. Both parties were in the wrong.  Rather than being bitter and continuing on a self destructive path, he is now counseling with other couples whose marriages are heading the wrong way and warning them of the danger they are headed for if they continue on that path. They listen to him because he has been where they are. He is redeeming the time.

What have you been given?  How can you use it in service to God and others?  Let's redeem the time.