Daily Surrender
I remember becoming a Christian in 3rd grade. I was old enough to know that I wanted to be a fireman before that. After accepting Jesus and being baptized, I wanted to become a minister. I felt like that is what God wanted me to be. He did a lot of shaping of my heart and life over the years. When I graduated High School, I set off to Bible College not sure about this whole ministry thing. It was at the end of my freshman year at what is now Johnson University Tennessee that I developed a “faith of my own”. I had been living off the faith of my parents. I realized that I believed in God no matter what others believed. He became real to me that day. I still remember where I was and what I was doing. Every since that day, my journey has been up and down. There have been deep, dark struggles with sin. There have been lots of painful moments. The Lord has never left me alone or forsaken me even though I felt like I had left Him at times.
As I read about Jesus journey with His disciples and He begins preparing them for His impending death, I can’t help but think back to where my journey with Him began. He speaks to them about daily surrender and daily commitment. Check this out…
23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? 26 Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. (Luke 9:23-26 NIV)I was reminded this morning that following Jesus is a daily choice. Today, I choose to follow Him.
Following Him will involve lots of challenges.
Following Him will require surrender.
Following Him will require sacrifice.
Following Him will require faith.
Jesus is the Author, Provider, Protector and Point Person of my faith. He is faithful even when I’m unfaithful. He is kind, even when I’m hateful. He is present, even when I’m absent. I am committed to following Him every day for the rest of my life. I want to follow Him closely. I will follow Him even when I’ve stumbled and He’s now further away – I will follow.
The daily choice I have made to follow Jesus has turned into years of following Him. I’m so grateful for His Presence and His Promises to never leave me. I surrender again today to His Will and His Way.
Pressing On! Dwayne