Thermometers and Thermostats: Which Are You?

Thermometers measure temperature. Thermostats prevent a room from getting warmer (or
cooler) than is needful. Especially at the time of this writing, (a cool early Spring day), we seek to
regulate the temperature in a room by using a thermostat. The latter permits us to set our desired
temperature, and when the room temperature drops or rises above the preset level, the thermostat responds by restoring the preferred temperature. Likening these two useful devices to our spiritual functioning, it may help to determine which one of them better typifies our responses to the day-to-day stuff of life. Do we function more like a thermometer, permitting environmental (i.e., cultural) and circumstantial changes to threaten our peace, or do we avail ourselves of the more “thermostatic” powers of His indwelling Holy Spirit? How much trust do we really place in our Lord’s gift of peace described in John 14:27?

Is your “personal house” set at 72 degrees, spiritually speaking, or are you functioning more like a
thermometer, allowing tumultuous events from the outside world to adversely affect your inner calm? Unfortunately, many of us who name the name of Christ, are mere spiritual thermometers; we are more REACTIVE to pressures beyond our control than people should be who are given to TRUSTING, RELYING, and LEANING upon the LORD! Our God would have us to function at a constant temperature, much like a spiritual thermostat, in light of who HE is! [Isaiah 26:3; Colossians 3:15] If you are trusting in Jesus, is He the CONTROLLER of your spiritual temperature, or are you more of a thermometer, merely registering and reacting (sometimes BADLY) to the storm clouds or the full-blown gale winds of adversity? We may not always be able to change what’s going on in the world or in our own lives; HOWEVER, if we have at a moment in time invited Him to be our LORD and Savior, pursuant to Acts 16:31 and John 1:12, then we CAN confidently cry out to Him on the basis of His word, controlling our RESPONSE to all that God permits in His perfect sovereignty as the LORD of all! Romans 10:11 says it well—“Whoever believes in Him will NOT be disappointed.”

PRAYER: Dear Abba, please forgive us for sometimes resorting to hand-wringing and fretting when the gravity of unsettling world, or even personal, events rise up and try to eclipse our God-given perfect peace—which is our spiritual birthright because of our faith in Your only begotten Son, Christ Jesus. We love and thank You, in His name. Amen!
By Sis. Denise Diggs