~ Matthew 10:30
God is looking for people who will come to Him with completely open hearts, not demands. So often, we come to our prayer time with our list of desires rather than an open heart to seek and fulfill God's desire.
True surrender is complete and utter abandonment to all that God wants.
It's a putting away of the fleshly desires in one's heart and coming into full agreement with all that God has in mind. Many times we will be surprised at the outcome for as He declares in scripture: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD." Isaiah 55:8
A few weeks ago I was discussing with my husband all that I want and don't want. I had such a detailed list. I told him what my heart was longing for as well as some thoughts as to what terrible outcomes would be. He gently reminded me..."honey, what does God want?" I have to be honest, I cringed to think about what God might want. Once again I had developed my list of demands, longing for God to just stamp it with his approval, rather than seeking Him first for His mind on things.
All of this ended up showing me one thing -- my desires had to once again not only be placed entirely at the feet of Jesus, but created at the feet of Jesus!
Why would we want to go somewhere if God's not going with us?
Why would we want to arrive somewhere if God isn't there?
Why would we desire something that our character may not be strong enough to handle?
Why would we want to achieve something that God never intended for us to achieve?
We think we are ready. But, if we haven't continued to pray while daily releasing afresh, everything in our lives in abandonment to God -- are we really ready?
Why would we want to have something in a timing different than His perfect timing for us? We don't like to wait. But what if waiting saves us from destruction?
I hear people say things like, "I don't want to wait until I'm forty to get married."
Or, "I will never have kids."
Or, "I'm going to start my own business no matter what. I'm sick of working for people."
Okay...so what does God want? What if His perfect plan is that you marry at 42, have two children and work for an already established company? What if He wants to bless your socks off in ways you never dreamed through this, and instead you settle for your own way and end up in some horrible situations as a result?
Something I have learned as well is that my surrender isn't once and for all. It's daily. Because every time I turn around my flesh is concocting plans again. Wanting it's own way, it's own agenda, it's own timing.
Daily I must go before Him and say, "not my will, but yours be done."
Many times even God-related things can be a snare. I hesitate to say the "things of God" because if they are truly things of God they are not snares. But it's easy to convince ourselves that we know God's will on God-related issues because they most often appear to be only good things that would bless the world, and bless us.
Everything that appears to be a blessing may not be.
I have been fasting this month concerning this subject and doing increased studies in the Word on the subject of surrender. I am resolutely convinced and recommitted to the fact that I don't want to go anywhere, do anything, or act on anything that is not 100% God's desire for me.
Whatever He wants for me, I want.
Whatever He doesn't want for me, I don't want.
My flesh may initially think I want something else, but when I get into His presence and come into agreement, I see truth and act on it.
This requires living in His Word and His presence daily and holding onto everything with an open hand -- ready to release or accept whatever He desires.
Reaching one's destiny in Christ is only fully possible when completely relinquishing the option of having your own way. Daily. Moment by moment.
Living a surrendered life is the only way to truly move forward with what God has for us, even if what He has for us is something we previously never expected.
Much love,
I'm glad you're here. This ezine started ten years ago as a weekly e-mail to the women of Celebration Church, where I serve alongside my husband as co-pastor. It was a time to share what was on my heart with our ladies and invite them to join me with a cup of coffee at their computers. They ended up forwarding a lot of those emails and the list grew so large it eventually developed into this ezine with a lot more subscribers than I ever imagined in my wildest dreams! I'm thankful for each of you who join me here every week for coffee. Here I share a devotional thought, recipes, books I'm reading and whatever else strikes my fancy. Enjoy.
