Strength in Being Correctible
How easily do you change your opinion about something?
Verse of the Day
‘When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began praising God.”
Today’s Devotional
Let me start today by confessing that I have a lot of opinions. About everything. And I tend to share them liberally. This is one of the things I do not like about myself. I really, truly wish that (a) I was not so opinionated, and (b) that I could keep those opinions to myself. Seriously. There are so many times that I will review my conduct and words after a social interaction and be so embarrassed by how liberally I shared my opinions.
Now, to set the scene for today’s verse. Peter has arrived back in Jerusalem after sharing the gospel of Jesus to the Gentiles. In order to do this, Peter had done some things that the Jewish Christians found distasteful and unlawful. So, naturally, the Jewish believers were critical of Peter’s actions.
At this point Peter takes the time to share the whole story with those who are criticizing him. He gives them all the details, including the supernatural signs and visions that God had given him. He tells them that the Gentiles received the Holy Spirit, just as they all had. Peter tells them, “And since God gave these Gentiles the same gift he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God’s way?” (Acts 11:17)
At this point, the most amazing thing happened. Read today’s verse again. “When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began praising God.” THEY CHANGED THEIR OPINION! I don’t know if anyone else recognizes the magnitude of this. The people I know, including myself, don’t change their opinions about things very easily. I find this story to be a beautiful example of Godly strength.
Those with Godly strength are willing to change their minds in the face of Godly evidence. The truly strong are willing to be corrected. The strong are willing to change course if they see that their prior actions (or words or thoughts) were not in alignment with God’s will. There is so much strength in being teachable and correctible. Because today we do not have all the answers and information that we may have tomorrow. We must constantly be praying for God’s strength to be willing to change our minds.
Today’s Scripture is a beautiful example of strength. They thought one thing. Peter explained. They realized they were wrong and they changed their minds. They changed their opinions so drastically that they went from criticizing to praising God. It takes Godly strength to be willing to make such drastic changes in thinking.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
How easily do you change your opinion about something?
What opinion did you once have that is different today?
Who do you know that is incredibly teachable? What qualities does this person have that you could practice?
Pray today that God will show you an area where He needs to change your mind. This is a very brave thing to do. Pray for God’s strength to be teachable and correctible.