Photo by Jackson Summer on Unsplash
I have a routine that I kept for many years. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I pull aside to seek the Lord for the coming year. When I was pastoring, I had more freedom to pull away for extended periods.
Although those days are gone, I still set time aside to hear what the Lord has to say about the upcoming year.
This year, I have been captured.
Before I explain, let me give you three personal history lessons.
1—The doctor told my mother that her body could not carry a child to term. His advice was to go home and for nature to take its course, then come back to see him.
My mother went home, crawled into her bed, and cried out to God for my birth. Her promise to him was to raise me in the church.
God honored my mother’s prayer, and she stayed true to her promise.
2—When I was about 12, I remember staying with my grandmother to attend Revival meetings in the church across the street from her house. One night, as she tucked me in, I told her that when I grew up, I would be a preacher like the one who had preached that night.
(I have no recollection of the meeting or the minister)
3—In the summer of my junior year at college, I had my first encounter with the Lord (a story in itself) and was instructed not to return to college because he had a different path for me.
Within two years, I was married and attending Bible College.
The point of the history lesson was to let you know that I have walked with God my entire life. When I say I was captured, it goes much deeper than saying I surrender.
This is what I mean.
There is an old hymn with the line: I surrender all to thee, my precious savior.
The focus isn’t on the surrender but on the ALL.
All to thee, I surrender
My eyes
Lord, I surrender what I cast my eyes upon that has not pleased you.
I cannot always help what crosses my vision, but I can quickly remove my eyes from seeing it.
My ears
Lord, I surrender what my ears hear that is not pleasing to you.
I cannot control what words someone says, but I can remove myself from them (even if they come from an electronic device) when what they say isn’t pleasing to me.
My mind
Lord, I surrender the thoughts that run across my mind that are not pleasing to you. I especially surrender the thoughts that dispute or disagree with your Word.
Sometimes, my thoughts come faster than I can control them, and I ask for your help in surrendering this area of my life to your will, plan, and purposes.
I can go on, but I trust you understand what I am saying about the focus of my surrender.
Before you get weirded out about it, I am not suggesting you join me on this journey. I am struggling with going on it, but I have walked this path long enough to recognize the prompting of God, the Holy Spirit.
I am writing about this for two reasons.
The first is that it serves as an accountability factor for me. Once I put something out there, I become accountable for it and strive to make certain it is accurate and true.
I have talked about this with my wife and one of my daughters, and the consensus is that it is excitingly scary.
I am writing about it to offer you insight into a close personal relationship with the Godhead.
As I stated earlier, I have been on this journey my entire life.
Many years ago, I committed to read one chapter from the Old Testament book of Proverbs every day. I have held to that commitment for decades. I began that journey in the King James Bible and eventually shifted to The Message.
My life verse is (no surprise) found in Proverbs 3.
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.”
Proverbs 3:5-8 The King James Version
“Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track.
Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil!
Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life!”
Proverbs 3:5-8 The Message
The passage’s key Word is Trust, which is most important when surrendering to God.
A snippet of the conversation with my daughter may be insightful.
Her comment was something like, I may like to program that I am watching, and the occasional nudity or taking God’s name in vain can be overlooked. But, if you surrender your eyes and ears to God, you must turn off the program.
OUCH!
But, yes, that is what surrendering ALL to Jesus means.
I have to say it is the road less traveled, and (as I have already stated) I am not certain how well I will do—but if you follow along…who knows, a good laugh, cry, or insight of your own.
When I trust God from the bottom of my heart and do not try to figure it out myself, he (God) has a way of making it work.
Another Proverb (no surprise there) says God pays special attention to his loyally committed ones. (This year, I see that being the all-I-surrender people)
The Apostle Paul has something to say about this.
In his first letter to the Christ-followers in Corinth, he writes,
“God’s wisdom is something mysterious that goes deep into the interior of his purposes. You don’t find it lying around on the surface. It’s not the latest message, but more like the oldest – what God determined as the way to bring out his best in us, long before we ever arrived on the scene.
The experts of our day haven’t a clue about what this eternal plan is. If they had, they wouldn’t have killed the Master of the God-designed life on a cross.
That’s why we have this Scripture text: No one’s ever seen or heard anything like this, Never so much as imagined anything quite like it – What God has arranged for those who love him.
But you’ve seen and heard it because God by his Spirit has brought it all out into the open before you.”
I Corinthians 7-10 The Message
Loving him (God) to the point of surrender is another message in this journey, but the passage’s keynote is how clueless humanity is about the things God has in store for those who love him.
The journey has begun with some fear and trepidation (which is silly because he is the Creator God who made humanity and has a divine plan for them).
I invite you to follow along because it promises to be an exciting year.
Happy New Year.
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