Surrender

Surrender

Whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.

THE IDEA OF SURRENDERING EVERYTHING to Jesus was something my husband and I had been wrestling with for a while. At the same time, we had talked about moving, buying a larger home, a place with some land. We looked for months but couldn’t find anything we really liked. Nothing was perfect. As we considered what it meant to surrender everything, I started to wonder if we were looking in the wrong place for a home.

So instead of looking outside of town, we started looking more in the heart of our city. We wanted to be in a more diverse neighborhood, and instead of looking at homes first, we just started driving around and praying, Lord, where do you want us? The first time we walked into our current house we knew it was the place, after only entering the front porch.

But as we started to tell other people about our upcoming move, their responses were mixed. Some were happy for us, but others, many well-meaning Christians, asked us if it was safe where we were moving to. Were we sure this was good for our family? A curious question to me, especially after we’d explained how strongly we felt God leading us to this new place.

A few weeks after being in our new home, as I was feeling very grateful for God’s leading in our lives, he impressed on my heart that the safest place to be was always surrendered to his will. I knew that it was true. Not because it was easy, but because it was where he had called us.

Surrendering our will to follow God does not mean our lives will be safe, at least not by the world’s standards, or easy. And sometimes people may question our decisions. But surrendering to God brings other assurances, like peace and joy, even when external circumstances look otherwise. It’s not always the easiest path, but it is worth it to gain all that God has for us.

Lord, help me surrender everything to you. Amen.

-Kendra

One Good Step: What is one area of your life that you need to surrender to God?