December 21.
Surrender. It’s hard. It’s not natural to us to surrender to a God we can not see. Yet people like us have been surrendering their wills and lives over to a God they can not see, for thousands of years. Faith. That is what it is called when we surrender all that we have and all that we are to God. It is believing that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. ( Hebrews 11:6).
Surrender is a gift to God and a gift to ourselves. When we become surrendered people something in us comes to life. So it was with Mary, the teenage mother of Jesus. Immediately after the angels explained to her that nothing is impossible with God ( Luke 1:37) she responded with surrender. On that day of mixed emotions, fear at the sight of the angel. confusion over what was happening, Mary responded by committing to being His. His, belonging to God. His, turned over to God’s will and plan for her. His, whatever the cost or sacrifice. His, on that ordinary day that changed everything forever.
Look UP!
Today’s Focus:
“I am the Lord’s servant, Mary answered, ” May it be to me as you have said.” Luke 1:38
Look In: Does Mary’s response stir anything within you? Try to picture the scene and how hard it would be to have this response. Could it be that we were meant to see this response recorded for our own faith to be stirred and changed? When things are going smoothly it is easy to forget about the Lord. We might love him, but we are probably not thinking about surrendering. When things are difficult, it’s easy to blame the Lord. We are frustrated and confused by his seemingly lack of blessing in our lives, and so we withhold surrender. We try to fix life ourselves. But, what makes our lives different is when surrender happens every day, as a matter of practice. A discipline of the heart, surrender is simply saying YES. A simple statement that is not so simple in action. Your Yes to God could change the course of your life.
Is God asking you to say YES this Christmas?
Look Out: Part of surrender is being willing to be a vessel of blessing and service to other people. Listen today to see if God is speaking to you about giving more of your self, your time, or your resources to another person, family or organization that helps others. There are many good organizations that serve people in need. Here are just a few that I support:
- The Salvation Army, salvationarmyusa.org.
- The Sold Project, thesoldproject.com
- Rohi Children’s Home in Kenya, Africa. rohikenya.org.
Rohi Children’s home is in need of immediate giving. To give a year end gift of any amount you can visit the website of Calvary Chapel, Tracy, CA www.calvarytracy.org
Pray: Lord, I am yours, do with me according to your plan.
Grateful to be His,
Debbie
