The Right-Of-Way

THIS WEEK’S BOLD STEP DEVOTION

Respecting other drivers on the road is essential, but oftentimes the rules can be tricky. Stopping at a red light or stop sign is straightforward, but what about the rule on who has the right-of-way? Recently on one of our trips to visit my mom in Spain, Dee and I came upon a roundabout in one of the small towns where four roads converge together. The question arose of who yields first? As a rule of thumb, we came to a complete stop rather than just slowing down at the yield sign, but knowing who gets the right-of-way can make the difference between a life-or-death scenario.

In a spiritual context, yielding to God is just as important, if not critical. Allowing God to have the right-of-way in our lives requires a spirit of humility that then positions us to receive the grace of God. Our existence is only possible by the grace of God in our lives. So why is it that we default to a prideful and arrogant spirit in our relationship with God and others that says “God, I don’t need you or other people. I got this thing called ’life,’ and I’m just fine going about it on my own.” That kind of attitude repels the grace of God that the apostle James emphasizes in James 4:6:

“But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: ‘God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.’”

When James writes that God opposes the proud, he’s using a military term that connotes assembling an army to go against something. Essentially, we put God on the defensive when we insist on getting what we want for ourselves and refusing to trust Him to provide what we need.

Remember that your spiritual power is in direct proportion to your yielding in submission to God. The question to ask yourself is this: Are you attracting grace or repelling it? Maybe it’s time that you come to a complete stop and consider coming under God’s authority rather than attempting to be the God of your own life.

Listen to the sermon series: Yielding to God

Part 1Part 2

Ministry Update from Mark

I love the part of my role as president of the Moody Bible Institute when I get to interact with our students. Whether it’s in our President’s Chapel or in and around our campus, the students bring life and hope here at Moody and beyond. The other part of my job that I love is exposing students to organizations and ministries that are doing kingdom work around the world. That’s why, every year in February, we host a Missions Conference right here on our campus to educate and connect students to future ministry opportunities. Please pray that next week’s conference would be a blessing—not only for our students but for the many ministry representatives who come to our campus. Pray that they would experience the same enthusiasm and energy for the gospel that I see in the younger generation.