“Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” Genesis 11:7 NIV
The title of today’s devotion originated from Apollo 13, a manned spacecraft which had just experienced an explosion. The astronauts command center was Houston. The quote, is actually “OK Houston, we’ve had a problem here.” The words were changed to make it more impactful in the movies. For us, as Christ followers, our communication issues started with today’s verse. God is speaking. He has just come down to see the Tower of Babel that is being built. He immediately realizes the heart issue going on in the people. They are proud of their work, so proud, they’ve forgotten about God. Today’s verse is God’s response to the problem. He confuses their language. They can no longer communicate with each other.
I recently attended a church service that has an interesting practice. They have a responsive bi-lingual scripture reading in their service. When we attended, one person read in Korean, the congregation read in English. I had never heard the Bible read in another language before that day. I didn’t understand what He was saying, but I felt the power of the words. When we are following Jesus, it doesn’t matter what language we speak.
When we follow Jesus, it doesn’t matter what language we speak.
Talking to God can seem like the hardest thing to do. This morning, in my Bible reading I read a verse that immediately convicted me of some pride issues in my own life. I realized I had taken credit for work God had done. I don’t ever want to take credit for work God has done. And yet, we as a people can easily take credit for work we did not do, just like the people of Babel did. They were proud of themselves for building the tower, but they didn’t realize, without God, none of it would have happened. They needed God’s reminder of who truly was in control, just like we do. I needed God’s reminder this morning too. If I didn’t talk to God, I would have missed the reminder.
Talking to God isn’t has hard as people think. The simplest prayers are the most powerful: “God help me;” God show me the way;“”God give me words.” God isn’t expecting perfection, He just wants you. He is our command center, just like Houston was Apollo 13’s. All we really have to do is say, “Ok God, we’ve had a problem here.” God will know exactly what you are talking about, and like with the people of Babel, He has a solution.
Question of the Day:
What problem do you need to give God today?
Further Reading: Genesis 11:1-13:4 NIV, Matthew 5:1-26 NIV, Psalm 3:1-8 NIV, Proverbs 1:10-19 NIV
