Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Believe and Surrender.. they go hand in hand

I am working through 2 Bible Study / Books right now. One I started on my own a few weeks ago... Satisfy My Thirsty Soul by Linda Dillow. It is a book that focuses on personal worship and intimacy with God. Last week I started Giving God First Place with a group of online friends. I love how God weaves the things I am studying together.

In Giving God First Place this week we are focusing on prayer and on believing God.. taking Him at His Word. The chapter in Satisfy this week is entitled I Bow My Life and Romans 12:1 is the focus verse. How perfectly these go together.

I can never fully surrender my life to God unless I truly and completely BELIEVE Him. Matthew 21:22 says"If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." Once I grasp that.... once I am able to say "I believe!" and mean it... then and only then can I "present (my) body as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God." (Rom. 12:1)

So the question comes, how do you get to the place where you Believe. 2 things come to mind.. first you ask.. in Mark 9 a father is seeking healing for his son and Christ tells him he must believe. In verse 24 the father says "I believe, Lord help my unbelief!" Jesus knows we struggle with totally believing Him... with complete surrender... faith... and it is ok. The key is to strive for it and ASK Him to help you. Confess your doubts and unbelief and let the Holy Spirit strengthen you and guide you. And second, the old "practice makes perfect" mindset works here. The more you choose to Believe the easier it becomes.. the more "natural" a response or reaction.

Do not think about tomorrow.. next week... next year etc. Work on today.. just today.. one day at a time.... might seem like baby steps, but it is how we learn to walk the walk.

So for today... choose to BELIEVE God.. to take Him at His Word... to trust in all the things He has promised... surrender everything to Him.. you life, your marriage, your family, your hope, fear, dreams, your children, your financial needs, health, home, work, attitude, mouth... the list is endless.

Lord, today I surrender all to you... every little bit of me and my life. I ask that You help me fully believe... to trust you with my "all" knowing that Your ways are not my ways, they are higher... they are the best!

1 comment:

Roslyn said...

I was led to your second blog from the quilting blog.
My relationship with God has suffered , there is a chasm now between us since I lost my beloved son Matthew 22 months ago. Trusting, believing, hoping, praying, worshipping none of it is the same anymore,it feels like an empty shell.The passion is gone, there is a shadow over all of life & I don't know if the joy will ever return.
Roslyn
ausros@cox.net