What God Wants Us To Do

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. . . . Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Romans 12:1-2

I had no idea when I had a quiet, yet life-changing, encounter with Christ as a young woman where that would take me. But when I read Romans 12:1-2, I began to offer myself to him as a living sacrifice.

Day by day, I would pray this verse and believe the promise that as I surrendered to God and let his Word transform me, he would show me his plan for my life. Eventually that led me to leave what I thought was my calling as a high school teacher and start writing my first book. That book led to my being asked to speak to various groups. I didn’t know it would lead me years later to the shores of the Zambezi River in Africa and to South America and to Singapore. The first time I was invited to speak, I didn’t really want to accept. Public speaking was terrifying to me.

But God’s Spirit reminded me of the promise of Romans 12. So I agreed. When I got up to speak to a group of eager parents that first time, a joy filled me I hadn’t known before. Many years later, as I continue to share hope with people, God is still faithful. Is there something too hard for you? Let me encourage you to give your whole self to God—body, soul, and spirit. He will be faithful to show you how good and pleasing his will really is.

Thank you for your Word, which is full of promises that apply to my daily life. Lord, I again give you my life—my regular, walking-around-life. Use me, live through me, love others through me, and accomplish your purposes today as I yield to you.

Let us bring what is our own, God will supply the rest.

St. John Chrysostom(ca. 347–407), early church father