Surrender...part 2

A couple of weeks ago, I listened to a great word on surrender.  Surrendering things in life that hold you back, that keep you from walking in God's purpose for your life, that keep you from experiencing the fullness of life.  Some things that we need to surrender are easier to surrender because its very apparent that it is a struggle.  Some things may be more subtle - things you don't even realize that are an issue.  That's what God has been showing me lately.  There are things in my life that I may focus or get hung up on and don't even realize its an issue.  I've realized that I need to surrender certainty. Certainty is knowing something for sure, established without doubt. None of us know what tomorrow brings.  For that matter, we don't even know what the next hour brings. How many of us spend time worrying and occupying our minds with thoughts about what could happen?  The what ifs? The if this, then that?  I can't tell you the number of times that I will play out a scenario in my mind that ends up not even being factual by the time it has played out in reality. I recently had a conversation with my youth pastor son, who gave me some wise advice.  I had an issue that I needed to deal with and wasn't really sure how to confront this person. I had multiple scenarios in my mind, yet for all of them I was assuming I knew how the other person was feeling. I was certain that I knew the circumstances and I was responding to those circumstances based on my feelings. My son told me never to assume, instead confront with love and listen to that person before I come to conclusions and make decisions based on my feelings. And he was right. The circumstances were nothing as I was imagining and the situation turned out to be very positive.  I felt certain that I knew the situation, yet it was uncertainty that was driving my thoughts. I realize that God wants me to trust in Him.  I can't trust my feelings, because they will fail me.  I can't know what my tomorrow, my next month or my next year will look like, but I don't have to know.  All I have to do is keep my eyes focused on Him and walk according to His will. He will do the rest. There is a lot of freedom in that!  Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. (Hebrews 11:1 NLT). Thank you for your assurance God knowing that He is in control and that I can trust Him. What do you need to trust Him with?  

Surrender...

There are many things in our lives that we need to surrender to God -fears, our families, control, emotions...God has revealed a few to me that I don't even think I would have considered until He put light on it.  First off, why must we surrender?  If we are to walk in what God has truly designed for us, we must surrender fully to Him. We must completely submit that He is in control and trust that we can depend on Him for everything. Easier said than done, right? How many times are we dropping that thing that is keeping us from hearing God, saying I surrender all, only to pick it back up to continue to worry and stress about it!  Maybe you've yielded those things to God and feel like you are able to trust Him in the difficult places in life. How about the not so difficult times?  How about when everything is going smoothly-bills are paid, kids are happy, no worries, all is good?  That's when complacency creeps in.  It keeps us from fully surrendering our lives to what God has for us.  It keeps us from dreaming, from stepping out in faith, from being. It keeps us satisfied with life as it is, not as it could be. It keeps us satisfied with what WE can do in life instead of focusing on what HE can do in our lives. Scripture in Revelation 3:15-17  “I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You’re not cold, you’re not hot—far better to be either cold or hot! You’re stale. You’re stagnant. You make me want to vomit. You brag, ‘I’m rich, I’ve got it made, I need nothing from anyone,’ oblivious that in fact you’re a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless." 

God, I surrender complacency in my life.  I surrender the desires of walking on a steady, stagnant path.  Instead, I pray that you use me to bring life, to have passion and vision, to consume me with your thoughts and your dreams, to use me to fulfill the plan and purpose you have created me for!  Let me never feel satisfied or have the feeling that I have arrived, but instead help me to seek and search for MORE of you!  What do you need to surrender to fully walk in what God has purposed and designed for you?