The Circle of Control | Wednesday
Devotional
Picture yourself drawing a circle around yourself. Everything inside that circle represents what you can actually control—your attitudes, your responses, your choices, your words. Everything outside that circle? That’s not your responsibility, no matter how much you wish it were.
One of the most liberating truths in life is this: we were never meant to control other people or circumstances beyond our influence. Yet how much energy do we waste trying to manage things outside our circle? We attempt to control our spouse’s mood, our children’s choices, our boss’s decisions, or even the weather’s cooperation with our plans.
When we try to control what’s outside our circle, we become manipulative, anxious, and frustrated. We withhold love when people don’t behave as we think they should. We use guilt, pressure, or emotional manipulation to try to get our way. But this approach always backfires, damaging relationships and stealing our peace.
The beautiful alternative is to focus intensely on what’s inside your circle. Fix everything you can control—your character, your responses, your faithfulness to God. When you do this consistently, you’ll be amazed at how much influence you actually have, not through control but through godly example.
Living within your circle doesn’t mean you don’t care about others or that you become passive. It means you love people enough to let them make their own choices while you focus on being the person God has called you to be.
Bible Verse
“See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and
defile many.” – Hebrews 12:15
Reflection Question
What people or circumstances outside your circle of control have you been trying to manage, and how might focusing on your own circle change your approach?
Quote
You draw a circle around yourself, fix everything inside that circle, and then live a godly life.
Prayer
Lord, help me to clearly see the boundaries of what I can and cannot control. Give me wisdom to focus my energy on my own circle while trusting You with everything outside of it. Free me from the exhausting burden of trying to control others. Amen.