1 Chronicles 29:11-13 (NLT)
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O LORD, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength. “O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name!
It overtook me when I opened my eyes this morning into the twilight just before sunrise. The house was quiet and peaceful. With nowhere to go or an alarm clock to loath, I could feel the sweet Presence of the Lord in the room. He meets me here each morning always the same with His New Mercy and Unfailing Love to accompany me through the hectic days. (Lamentation 3:23) Some days like today, I am ready to exchange all the burdens of my heart and responsibility of my life for His Offering each day. But the truth is most of the time, I hang on to those cares, burdens and yokes that I have placed on myself as uncertainty fills my soul, stress takes control of my mind, and overwhelming anxiety cripples my faith. Yet He comes so willingly and faithfully to my side each day. Today was different then the last five mornings or so, I grabbed hold of His Mercy, Love and Faithfulness and handed Him my whole life. It is a sweet surrender as His Peace that passes all understanding overtook me and joy began to fill the voids of worry once more. I share this intimate moment today because of its sweetness and completeness and necessity in my life. I know that you have the same kind of days. The Lord offers His Greatness, Power, Glory, Victory, Majesty, Wealth, Honor and Strength to you today. Will you accept it by surrendering your life to Jesus?
Salvation and surrender are two entirely different things. Salvation is made available through the surrender of the Lord Jesus Christ. The enemy could not take the Lord’s Life unless Jesus freely gave it. (Galatians 1:4) Darkness has no power over Light. Salvation is the deliverance from the power and penalty of sin theologically. By definition to be saved is to do something for another that they could not do for themselves. Salvation is to be empowered by another. But surrender is to give all power and authority of your life to another. You could not save yourself but you can surrender your life. The internal struggle of mankind is division of salvation and surrender. We want the Lord to save us from our sin but do not want to give our life to Him. The Bible says that we are crucified with Christ. Jesus surrendered His Life it was not taken from Him. He offers His People the same choice. Salvation is the same choice. Will you surrender your life to be saved from sin? (Galatians 2:19-21) Surrender is a choice. To exchange all that we are not for all that He is. To be saved, we must surrender.
Ephesians 1:19-20 (NLT)
I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.
To surrender our life to God we must know His Greatness. To understand just how vast God is and consuming His Presence is will change your confidence level in His Ability to save your very soul. The power manifested in our life by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ will change our perspective as the Greatness of God stretches our expectation from this world to His Kingdom. He will make room for more faith and trust that will yield confident hope. Just when you think you know His Greatness, God will do something else to expand your knowledge and increase understanding that He is even bigger than that. The can be a bit unsettling for those who desire comfortable and careful lives with no troubles or trials. The harsh reality is that there is a battle for your heart and soul. It is not just all around you but also rages within. (Romans 7:21-23) God will show you His Greatness to establish confident hope that will not lead to eternal disappointment. (Romans 5:5) He will do whatever it takes to get your attention. The Lord loves you like that!
I Peter 1:3-5 (NLT)
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.
God’s Power is protecting me so that I can receive salvation. Salvation comes when we meet God and are not consumed because of our sins against Him but ushered into forever by His Mercy and Grace through the Blood of Jesus. In all things the best is yet to come! God is protecting our priceless inheritance. Faith allows God’s Power to manifest in our life guarding and protecting our heart until we meet the Lord face-to-face. I cannot do this in my own strength for the enemy is much stronger than I. But if I allow God’s Power to manifest in my life the details of today are inconsequential compared to His Glorious Grace. My power does nothing in the long wrong. My power gives out, gives up or gives and I lose my inheritance and blessing. It is weak and worthless compared to the Power that God is offering me in the Name of Jesus Christ.
Romans 8:22-24 (NLT)
For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it.)
As believers who are saved by the Lord Jesus Christ, we are now living for the Glory of God. We surrender our bodies, minds and souls to the Lord and wait with eager hope for His Glory to fill our life. Are you living for the Glory of God today? Do you care more about what God thinks than other people? We were given confident hope to walk by faith and not by sight. This world can be tough sometimes. As a believer our goal is to live outside of sin and suffering and experience the full rights of our salvation but that sad reality is that most Christians don’t really live for God’s Glory saving it for Eternity doing it their way for now. If you are overpowered by stress, anxiety, depression or fear, then you have stepped out of confident hope in God’s Glory and are no longer walking by faith. You have resumed control of your life and are bearing the burden for it. The groaning of every believer is not expressed in emotion but is the Holy Spirit stirring us to good works to glorify the Father. The only disappointment experienced should be when we fall short of this high calling.
Romans 8:37-38 (NLT)
No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.
I for one completely forgot that I am victorious last week. I let the enemy convince me that I should quit. I wasn’t entirely convinced that nothing could separate from God’s Love and Safekeeping evidenced by my behavior. Thank God this morning I remembered as He wrapped me in His Arms and whispered, “You win!” There is power in surrendering our life to Jesus because no matter what the weapon is – we still win. No matter how beaten down we become His Resurrection power will help us recover. But He doesn’t stop there. He restores us and revives us pushing us across the finish line to victory lane if we do not give up on God or choose to take our life back. For most people – victory was one step ahead of when they chose to return to their old life. I don’t want to be that person. NOTHING can separate us from the Love of God so in all things we win! He is victorious. Jesus overcame the world which sums up everything that we are up against in this life. (John 16:33)
Hebrews 4:15-16 (NLT)
This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
We have a friend in high places. Jesus Christ experienced the life of a man. He understands our weaknesses. He endured our trials. The only difference is that Jesus did not sin and we do. With this in mind, we can approach the Throne of God with confidence that the one who sits in authority has compassion for His People. We are confident of His Mercy because of the Lord’s Sacrifice. He made a way for us to approach His Majesty by giving us His Mercy!
Psalm 17:14-15 (NLT)
By the power of your hand, O LORD, destroy those who look to this world for their reward. But satisfy the hunger of your treasured ones. May their children have plenty, leaving an inheritance for their descendants. Because I am righteous, I will see you. When I awake, I will see you face to face and be satisfied.
God has called us His Treasured Ones. This is very important. If you can find no other reason to surrender your life to Jesus Christ this is it. In Matthew 6:21, Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will be also.” The Lord detests double standards so if He tells us our heart is where our treasure is and that we are His Treasured Ones it means that His Heart is always with us. We look for earthly rewards and satisfaction when it is no longer necessary. The Lord promises to satisfy the hunger of His Treasured Ones. You are His Treasured One. Let that sink in. The Lord loves you and treasures you. You are valuable to Him. He guards your heart as precious. If we look for treasure in this world loving the things of it, we will be brokenhearted, dissatisfied and discontent, but when surrender our heart to Jesus – we will be satisfied. The moment I place expectation on this life for affirmation, affection and approval – I no longer am seeking righteousness and rightstanding with the One who sees me as worthwhile and valuable. I am destined for destruction but when I surrender my heart to Jesus it is safe and satisfied because I am His Treasure.
Isaiah 61:1-3 (NLT)
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me, for the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the LORD’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies. To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for his own glory.
The Sovereignty of God is undeniable and unquestionable. It really doesn’t matter what you think about God and His Authority even if you choose to rebel, His Kingdom remains intact and His Power in Dominion. To sum it up – God is the supreme power over the world and everyone in it. The universe belongs to Him and He has the authority to do whatever He wants. There is no higher ranking official in all of Creation. With this in mind, “the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me…” Think about that for a minute. When I surrender my life to the Lord and His Spirit fills me, I can experience all the attributes of God’s Power, Authority and Dominion. I can also know His Word, His Will and His Way. I can be overtaken with His Love as I become acquainted with His Heart. Faith turns to bold confidence in the moment of sweet surrender.
Psalm 118:22-28 (NLT)
The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the LORD’s doing, and it is wonderful to see. This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Please, LORD, please save us. Please, LORD, please give us success. Bless the one who comes in the name of the LORD. We bless you from the house of the LORD. The LORD is God, shining upon us. Take the sacrifice and bind it with cords on the altar. You are my God, and I will praise you! You are my God, and I will exalt you!
The sweetest surrender of all is when you are glad to do it. So often we are stingy with our life when it comes to God afraid He might mess things up somehow or we will not be happy with the results. We keep little parts for ourselves and then wonder why we are disappointed. To surrender our body, mind, spirit and soul to Jesus Christ and like it is powerful! To wake up each day with the mindset, this is the day the Lord has made. I WILL rejoice and BE glad in it! Some days are tough! But God is tougher! Some seem so long but God endures longer. I recently heard the expression, “Wait is what broke the wagon!” I love it because I do not care for waiting. This statement has reminded me that God has a greater plan for my life than I could ever imagine and even when He decides to break my little wagon, it is only to increase my ability to receive all that He has planned and promised for my life! So today, I surrender all that I am and all that I hope for on the altar before my Lord. I gently push it all across the altar and grab hold of Your Mercy, Grace and Unfailing Love once more. Sorry Lord that I forgot and tried to do it all myself. Today I will do better because today I surrender!
Romans 12:1 (NLT)
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.
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