Lately I’ve been contemplating the following themes:
-Surrender
-Giving up control to the Lord
-Letting go of our plans for His
I’m realizing more and more that it’s not just a one-time surrender when you give your life to Jesus but that it’s a daily, moment by moment, surrender that we choose to do as prompted by Him.
But the more recent revelation I’ve received from Him is that as we choose (because it’s a CHOICE) to surrender again to Him, amidst our current circumstances, He honors our sacrifice and relinquishing of our control over things and He actually, in turn, gives us more responsibility and authority to make our plans and to be in control of our reality. In essence, as we give up control, He actually gives us control of the situation and even more freedom to make decisions as directed by His still small voice.
He just wants our surrendered heart and with that as the foundation, He can do anything. And, He trusts us. He trusts you likely more than you trust yourself. And He honors your humility to come sit at His feet and say, “I give up, Lord. I don’t know what I’m doing. I surrender to your perfect plans. You have my heart. Do with it what you will.” And, voila. This is a pleasing sacrifice to Him, for “a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” (Psalm 51:17b)
When we come to Him and surrender our dreams and plans and lay everything down on the table, we are re-aligning our hearts and fixing our eyes on Him. With humble, pure, re-aligned hearts, the Lord can move mountains and may actually give you the thing you desire because now your heart posture is ready to accept it. Or, He may not give it to you. He may say, “Not yet.” or “No, this is not my best for you. I have better. Trust me.” Either way, once we move from our head to our hearts, we know that we know that we know that we can trust God and that He’s working all things for our good and that we are okay as long as He’s with us and He promises to never leave us or forsake us.
Seeking after the will of God for your life is a dance. There’s no manual that will tell you verbatim how to follow the Lord and carry out the plans He has for you specifically. You learn as you go and part of the thrill of the journey is entrusting the unknown future to our known God. We don’t know what He has up ahead for us but we do know that it is good and that He is faithful to bring it to pass. But, He does choose to partner with us. And, we have a responsibility to listen to His voice and to obey. And also to wait on His timing at times.
But more than that, since it is a partnership with Him, He gives us a say. He lets us decide some things and whatever choices we make, He promises to make good out of them. He uses our failures for our good and as part of our testimony of His love and faithfulness in our life. The good news is we can’t mess up the will of God for our lives. We’re not that powerful! But, we also carry more authority than we often realize and we get to step out in faith and take action even when we’re scared or not 100% sure of what we’re doing because God trusts us and He will match us step for step. But, oftentimes, He won’t make the next move until we do. Even if it’s the smallest itty-bittiest step of faith, He honors that and shows up EVERY TIME and whooshes in with His favor and blessings because He’s so so proud of us risking it all for Him.
At G42, we have a saying, “You are the will of God.” It means that you, as the unique individual you are in the grand Body of Christ with your unique personality, giftings, spirit, and piece of the Father’s heart, simply being you is God’s will for your life. Once you accept Jesus and receive salvation, Holy Spirit enters your heart and begins the lifetime process of transformation into who you actually are as a son or daughter in Christ as He peels off all the things piled on you that aren’t really you and are lies from the world/ yourself/ others/ the Enemy in your life to conform you into Christ as He chisels down to the God in you that was placed in you from the beginning as you were created in the image of God.
As you seek after the Father and become more and more like Him by spending time with Him and with His people, by studying His Word and by being refined by the trials of life, your mind is renewed to be the mind of Christ. “For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:16) So, God will increase your responsibility and authority as you become cemented in your identity in Christ, aware of your unique giftings and weapons in the Kingdom and get better at using your gifts and taking captive your thoughts and transforming each place you plant your feet into heaven on earth.
He trusts you. And, as an earthly parent lets go of the reigns little by little each year until you reach adulthood so that you can step out in freedom and make your own choices and face the consequences of those decisions and learn from them, likewise your Heavenly Father increases your freedom more and more as you grow in Him and He trusts you more and more. He wants you to step out in faith and make decisions after seeking His heart. And, He’ll start asking you, “What do you want, babe?” If it’s a choice between two good things, He may let you choose because He trusts you. And He knows that you will be a good steward of what you’ve been given and you will follow through on your decision, no matter the cost. Because that’s who you are. It’s who you’ve become. A son or daughter of the King with the mind of Christ.
So, yes. We must daily surrender to the Lord and receive His new mercies every morning to take on the challenges of the day. But, know that the more you grow in relationship with Him, the more He will prompt you to step out and risk and make decisions because He trusts the discernment of your pure heart and the wisdom of your renewed mind.
So, today, Lord I surrender to your will and your plans for my day and my life and I seek after your heart. And, I commit to taking one tiny step of faith as you prompt me into the uncomfortable because I know you’re good and I’m worthy of your trust and that your favor is upon me and you will bless my obedience. Amen.
Yes! Amen! 🙂