If I had to pick one word for 2013, it would be "surrender." It's a word that lays heavily on my heart because of its expectations: selflessness, humility, submission, and great strength of character. These are qualities that, honestly, I don't often exhibit.
To surrender our lives to Christ means something different for every Jesus follower:
- It's giving up control in areas we have a tight grip on;
- It's avoiding temptations that threaten our walk with the Lord;
- It's turning over fear, worry, doubt, anger, and resentment to our Prince of Peace;
- It's trusting God with an aspect of our lives we've only trusted ourselves with;
- It's yielding "me"--and all that entails--to Him.
We say "no" to self and "yes" to Christ.
We stop worrying about me and think only of Him.
We rest in God's promises while the world, even fellow Christians, scoffs us.
We do everything for Him who is our Everything because we believe without Him we are nothing.
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| Photo credit: Kudumomo |
If God asks my family to leave our home and possessions to start up a church in Africa, then we must go. If God tells me to stop wearing make-up or dress more modestly, then I must obey. If God gently nudges me to trust Him wholly and completely with every aspect of my body, then to disregard that nudge would be tantamount to death.
As hard as any of those requests would be, I MUST comply.
Jesus said:
"If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me and for the gospel will save it."
Mark 8:34-35We always have a choice: We can listen and obey His calling for us, or we can resist Him at every step and fall farther and farther away. Eventually, though, if we do not yield, we will lose Him. Yes, we'll be content in the snug little world we've created, but no one will be able to distinguish us from unbelievers. We will be lost.
"...any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.
Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out."
Luke 14:33-35a
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| Photo Credit: SoraZG |
How do we ensure we're truly His disciple? By surrendering everything to Jesus.
Surrendered Christians take their calling seriously. They listen to that voice inside, and rather than ignoring it, they act. They may experience fear, doubt, ridicule, ostracism, anger, physical suffering, even death, but their faith in the goodness of God and His promised salvation keeps them going.
The saltiness of the surrendered Christian sets her apart. No matter how challenging the call or how scary the sacrifice, she lays everything down at the feet of Jesus.
I struggle with God's will versus free will; yet, I know in my heart that He is calling me to surrender every aspect of my life to Him today, to be salt in this low-sodium world.
What about you? What do you need to surrender to Jesus?
Give it to Jesus today.
Surrender it all to Jesus.
I am praying for you.
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Linking up with: The Better Mom, Raising Arrows, Mama Moments Monday, The Modest Mom, Time-Warp Wife, Teach Me Tuesdays, Titus 2 Tuesdays, Leaving a Legacy, Women Living Well Wednesdays, Raising Homemakers, Raising Mighty Arrows
Terrific word, Keri!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Meghan. It's causing me to pray a lot right now!
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