There is absolutely no need
to understand why Christ died for us while we were still sinners, or why God
allowed His only begotten Son to suffer such a horrendous scourging,
crucifixion and death or how one man’s death can pay the penalty of the sins of
the whole world. We simply accept this by faith and trust that God loves us
enough to finish the work in us, which He started on Calvary’s cross (Philippians
1:6). God makes clear to us in His Word
that He only honors faith, trust and obedience. He wants complete surrender
from us in every area of our life.
Some of us prayed the prayer
for salvation many years ago, but we never relinquished our life to Christ. We
continued to retain control of our daily schedule and relationships. We failed
to seek God’s will for our life; or if we did, we did not follow His leading.
Now we are lost, wounded, stressed and weak. The cure for half-hearted devotion
is to look at what our Savior did for us. He gave us His all on Calvary's
cross. How can we give Him anything less than our all?
God asks us to completely
surrender our life to Him. He has a perfect plan for each of us that He set in
motion before He ever created the world (Jeremiah 29:11). Surrendering your life to the Lordship of Jesus
Christ is the last act we ever have to make with our human will. From then on
out, we live according to God’s will for our life. The words we use in our
prayer of surrender are not as important as the act of surrendering. The secret
is to simply let God be God in our life.
Our Heavenly Father is not
hindered by time and does not live within its parameters as we do. His plan for
each of our lives is the only path that will bring us ultimate fulfillment. As
we focus on the eternal matters of life and allow the temporal aspects to take
a back seat, we live more serenely and the negative trials do not affect us as
strongly. Sure, the path may be twisted, steep, rocky and even treacherous at
times, but He holds us in the palm of His hand.
God uses these trials to
work His character into our lives. Even Jesus learned obedience to the Father
through the things that He suffered (Hebrews 5:8). We can be sure that the end result of our progress
in our trials will be a peaceful life full of hope and joy. As we seek God and
His kingdom first, He gives us everything we need as we need it. In the path
God chose for us, we can let His light shine through us, so that everyone
around us can see that our kindness, compassion and patience come from Him.
This causes them to give Him the glory for His work in our life.
For instance, as we trust in
His provision and protection and enjoy his mercy and grace, we live a life that
is blessed and meaningful. This example stirs the hearts of unbelievers to join
us in our journey with God; so they too can have the peace we exhibit, even
with an insecure and troubled world all around us. Our will becomes one with
God’s will as He changes us from glory to glory into His own image (2
Corinthians 3:18).
Prayer:
Lord
God, You knew us before we were even born, and You chose us to be conformed
into the image of Your Son. He is the firstborn and we are His many brothers
and sisters (Romans 8:29). Help
us to remember that You chose the path for our life long before You ever
created the world. We find fullness of joy when we walk in Your ways and stay
on Your path for us.
Thought for the Day:
God
and Satan both have a plan for your life. The one you choose to embrace affects the rest of your life.
