Surrender
What does it look like to live a life surrendered? I hear this word all. the. time. in sermons, podcasts, books, and even movies. If you google it, you'll read that it says to completely let go of something. I want to say that I live my life with open hands to whatever the Lord has, but that is way easier to say than to live out.
Right now, I am living thousands of miles away from my family, close community, and a lot of the "safety nets" of life. With that, the Lord answered one of my biggest prayers this past year with bringing me my husband...He made a way when I truly believed there was no way. Every day I wake up and can't believe that I am married to the best man I know. I feel so grateful. :)
It really is a bitter sweet season. I could not be more thankful to be a wife, and for the new rhythms of life we have started together as a couple. On the same hand, it is also hard. Hard to be so far away, and difficult to wonder why the Lord has us in a place that sometimes feels so uncomfortable and new.
I find myself not wanting to say yes to God when it doesn't match what I want for my own life. It reminds me of the verse in Romans 7:15 where Paul talks about why do I do what I don't want to do!? I pray for God to use me, to grow and challenge me and yet, when God has me in a season of surrender, I say "i can't" when it is something that is outside my comfort zone.
I find myself clinging to the comforts of home, and only wanting to open my hands to His plan when it is 'easy' for me. I have to practice day by day living surrendered in the uncomfortable.
I do believe that through trials God continues to work on something in my heart that produces a new found Hope. Scripture says that persevering through a trial and leaning into the uncomfortable produces Hope that will not disappoint us (Romans 51-5).
That brings me comfort! That in the waiting He is working. In the unknown, He has a plan. In the uncomfortable surrender, He is producing something in me that I don't yet see, but it will glorify Him and His Kingdom.
He doesn't care about our perfect performance, He cares about our daily surrender and trust in His plan. So, my prayer is to let go of the worldly expectations I place on myself, and say yes to rejoicing in Hope throughout the unknown. His plan does not always make sense and some questions we will never have answered but He is "gentle and lowly in heart and a refuge for our souls" (Matthew 11:29-30). That verse calms my whole spirit! He has a plan! I can place my cares on Him, He cares so deeply for me, wipes the tears from our eyes, and He is FOR me.
Romans 12:1-2 "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."
I am in good hands when I am in the hands of the Father!
Questions I need to consider:
What does it mean for my mind to be renewed?
How have I conformed to the world's way of thinking in my day to day life?
Does my thought process align with scripture and God's character, or does it conform with the patterns of the world?
