Romans 12: 1--the NLT Bible version reads: “ And so, 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.”
A bible verse in regards to worship--and surrender. Oof! That's an 8-letter cuss word. We sing about it a lot in church, but it's not something that is easily lived out. Neither is it thought of as a form of worship to God, but when we truly worship Him, it involves relinquishing something--surrendering something.
Last week, the blog was about the power of our words and worship. I believe I mentioned something about the hymn “I Surrender All,” again, a beautiful hymn. Very easy to sing, the melody repeats itself. If you pay attention to the words though…Can you really say those words apply to your life? Don't worry, I have to ask myself the same question, every time I make a set list for my worship team.
I remember last May, God placed the song “Yes” by the Shekinah Glory Choir on my heart. It was totally random, hadn't thought of the song in years, but the message of the song God kept nugging me with was this: “Will your heart and soul, say Yes? Will your spirit still say Yes? There is more that I require of thee. Will your heart and soul say yes?” When God lays songs my heart like that and they don't go away for days, I know He's speaking to me. It's like He was asking me those same questions. Needless to say, He was asking for my surrender.
Now, I have to say for myself, I'm no stranger to Him asking for my surrender for some pretty significant things: I went to college with the intention of getting my law degree. That was my plan--God's was different. I ended up in music school instead--little did I know that He would have me writing songs and leading teams for worship way back when, (And I'm telling the short and sweet version of that whole thing! I'll write about it one day.).
The next big ask was moving from Georgia all the way up to Michigan almost 8 years ago! I had no idea this was what God had in mind for me, and trust me, this was definitely not my plan! But one thing I can let you know is when God is wanting you to go in a certain direction, if you're not being completely stubborn and hard-headed, He will close every door He doesn't want you to go through and open the one He has intended for you. Again, the songs I've written, the ways I've grown as a follower of Jesus and as a person, let alone this website; wouldn't exist without me saying “yes” to God.
Don't get me wrong, truly surrendering to God is not without is hardships, heartaches, or disappointments. But it is far better to be in God's will than to try to manufacture your own. Anything you have to force or make happen, probably isn't God has for you anyways. I want to leave you all with these questions: 1. What is God asking of you to surrender to Him? The first thing without a doubt is your life. But what in your life is He's asking for? Is it your way of doing things? Your preferences? Your career? Your viewpoints on life that don't resemble His? 2. Are you willing to surrender those things to God and let Him guide you, speak to you, live completely through you? Will you give Him your yes?