"There is a huge difference, I have found, between committment and surrender. Committment says,'I can. I'll do it somehow. I'll serve you, Lord. I'll keep my promises this time, you'll see. I'll witness this year, I'll lead that Bible study. I'll stay away from alcohol, drugs, etc.' But surrender says,'I can't. I've tried, but I don't have the strength. Lord if it's going to happen, the only way it can is if You are in the boat, calling the shots.'" (Roger Glidewell, Youth Ministry by the Book, p. 26).
Last weekend, while we were celebrating our son's graduation, visiting family was showing mercy: buying crepe-paper poppies and slipping money into the pockets of needy individuals they didn't even know. Their examples were both encouraging and discouraging, because there were people in the back of my mind I'd been wanting, intending, to help, for weeks.
This week passed and people nagged at my thoughts, but I just didn't get done. Until yesterday. And maybe today. And as I lay in bed this morning giving thanks, I was reminded that, "it is God who works in you, both to will and to do for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). I can have the best intentions in the world. I can have the best, most creative intentions in the world. I can have the best, most creative, and earnest intentions in the world. But apart from the hand of God, they won't happen. Without God, something will thwart those good works, those good ideas, every time.
This morning I'm praising God that He accomplishes His good work: being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.(Philippians 1:6, Ephesians 2:10).
And the question is not, am I committed to God and doing His work? The real question is, am I surrendered to giving up my way and waiting on God to accomplish His?
Last weekend, while we were celebrating our son's graduation, visiting family was showing mercy: buying crepe-paper poppies and slipping money into the pockets of needy individuals they didn't even know. Their examples were both encouraging and discouraging, because there were people in the back of my mind I'd been wanting, intending, to help, for weeks.
This week passed and people nagged at my thoughts, but I just didn't get done. Until yesterday. And maybe today. And as I lay in bed this morning giving thanks, I was reminded that, "it is God who works in you, both to will and to do for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). I can have the best intentions in the world. I can have the best, most creative intentions in the world. I can have the best, most creative, and earnest intentions in the world. But apart from the hand of God, they won't happen. Without God, something will thwart those good works, those good ideas, every time.
This morning I'm praising God that He accomplishes His good work: being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.(Philippians 1:6, Ephesians 2:10).
And the question is not, am I committed to God and doing His work? The real question is, am I surrendered to giving up my way and waiting on God to accomplish His?
Good thoughts to reflect on, Sydney. I was just reflecting on something similar a couple of days ago... recognizing my own consistency in failing to live up to... my days' plans and hopes. Only by the very life of God, making His plans come to fruition in me...
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing, Nancy. It's both humbling and comforting that our very efforts are dependent on God. I'm praising Him with you for His faithfulness!
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