Surrender: A devotional on desperation, humility, and giving over

 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ — Matthew 25:21 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, The Parable of the Bags of Gold reads differently to me today. Previously I have believed that "faithfulness" meant to be steadfast, dependable, loyal, devoted, and true. But there's a missing descriptor that this passage highlights. Faithfulness means "multiplication." In your parable, the man going on a journey calls his servants and entrusts his wealth to them. The first servant is given five bags of gold. The second is given two bags. The third is given one bag. The first two put their money to work, investing it, and gaining twice as much. They multiplied what they had been given. The third servant who received one bag dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. He did not multiply what he was given. He ...

"Lord, our Lord,     how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory     in the heavens. Through the praise of children and infants     you have established a stronghold against your enemies,     to silence the foe and the avenger." — Psalm 8:1-2 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, Your name is majestic. there is no other name in all the earth, no other name in all of history, that is greater than Yours. Your glory is evident and visible to the discerning. You have set it in the heavens above. And when children and infants praise your name and give you glory, you do something remarkable, unexpected, and unlikely. You establish a stronghold against the enemy. Praise from the lips of children and even babies hold a strength and power which nothing can withstand. Their praise is a fortification against all God's enemies. Their praise silences the lies of Satan and his fellow adversaries. One of the best ways to shut the de...

 "When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus." — Matthew 17:6-8 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, The disciples heard the voice of God the Father from the cloud and fell facedown in terror. They were shaken to their core by Almighty God's voice expressing His love and pleasure for you and commanding them to listen to you. And then you came and touched them. Lord, may I be so awestruck by the voice of God that the only thing that sets me right is a touch from you. Next, you said to them, "Get up." They couldn't stay in their facedown position forever. You weren't going to leave them in their state of overwhelm. Lord, so often I can be overwhelmed by my fear, my inadequacy, my doubt, and I need to hear you say, "Get up. Don't stay locked up in fear. Don't remain petrified by what is...

 "Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted (tested) by the devil." — Matthew 4:1 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, The Holy Spirit, third Person of the Trinity, led you, the Son of God, into the wilderness. Wilderness (eremon)  indicates it was a secluded, solitary place. There, you were tempted by the devil. The Greek word used is  peirasthenai . Depending on the context, it can also mean "to test" or "to examine." Matthew 4:11 describes the outcome of this particular test, "Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him." I've heard the expression that the test comes when the student is ready. My times of testing—whether a test from God or a temptation from the enemy—reveal what I have learned. But probably more often, those times of testing show the gaps in my instruction. When I am tested, I see what I still need to learn. Lord, thank you for tests, trials, and temptations. They aren't pl...

 It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon. “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews. But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered. — John 19:14-15 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, The Jews outright rejected their Messiah. They demanded you be taken away from them and be crucified. They did not want to see you, much less receive you. They called for your execution. To the One who offered eternal life they demanded immediate death. They rejected their king and chose a tyrant. Lord, isn't that how it is in my life? In areas of my heart where I reject your kingly rule, I choose instead the tyranny of sin. Sin demands more from me and imprisons all of me. When I close my heart to you, I am standing among the Jews shouting, "Take him away!" When the Spirit of God shines light upon the sin in my heart, He says, "Here is...

 "I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." — John 17:22-23 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, You desire for your church—all who believe in your name—to be one, to be in complete unity. When your church is living in that unity, the world notices, the world believes that the Father sent You, and the world knows that the Father loves them. To empower your church to live in that unity, you have given us the glory that the Father gave you. What is that glory? It's not glory as the world defines it. It is the glory of your presence, the glory of your Spirit, the glory of your power. Your glory is the shining radiance of your presence evident within your church. As one commentator wrote, "Where there is a sense of God's glory, unity is much easier. Lesser things...

 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” — John 13:7 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, As you began washing the disciples' feet, you made this statement—a statement that is pretty much a response to every confusing moment in life! When the events around me make no sense, I do not realize what you are doing, but later I will understand. When life goes illogically and inexplicably sideways, I do not realize what you are doing, but later I will understand. When the pressure upon me becomes more intense that I can bear, I do not realize what you are doing, but later I will understand. It's not hard to look backward and reflect on those past moments that made no sense, sent sideways, or were full of pressure. At the time, I did not realize what you were doing. Now, maybe I understand. You were forming something in me that did not yet exist. You were increasing something in me that I needed in greater measure. Patience. Resili...

"Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life." — John 12:25 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, This statement perplexes me. One would think we are to love this life we have been given. I equate "loving my life" with being grateful for this life, for finding joy every day in this life, for approaching every day with thankfulness. But You make a startling claim that if I love my life, I will lose it. And that if I actually hate my life in this world, I'll have eternal life. It seems that the clarifying words are "life in this world." This life is not  my home. I am a pilgrim and a sojourner waiting for my true home. Philippians 3:20 says that my citizenship is in Heaven. This world and this life is not my home. 1 John 2:15 says, "Do not love the world or anything in the world." That includes this life. This world and this life within it will pass away. If my li...

 "Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him." — John 7:18 Dear Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, When I speak on my own—from my own knowledge, my own wisdom, my own intellect—Your word says I'm doing so to gain personal glory. Personal glory has to do with how I appear to other people, whether they are pleased with me, my standing with others. But You say that he who seeks the glory of the One who sent him—that is, God—is a man of truth. Seeking the glory of God before I speak marks me as a man of truth. Seeking the glory of God before I speak means ensuring every word that leaves my mouth glorifies my Lord. Lord Jesus, how many times have I uttered false or empty words just to elicit praise from others? How many times have I said prideful words in order to appear stronger or bigger than I really am? How many times have I spoken words that rob...

 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” — John 6:12 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, I am really thankful you said these words. If God is a God who doesn't waste things, then I can be confident He doesn't waste my pain. He doesn't waste my moments of failure. He doesn't waste my heartbreak. He doesn't waste my tears. "Let nothing be wasted" means that God doesn't disregard me and won't waste my life. Gather the pieces that are left over.  On days when I feel like there are a lot of broken pieces of me, I am deeply comforted to know that God doesn't sweep away my broken pieces into the trash can and move on. Jesus, you said "Gather the pieces that left over." Would you gather me up into Your hands today? Would you take the broken pieces of me and hold them carefully in Your hands and remind me they aren't going to be left on the ground...

 "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." — John 1:14 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, As you made yourself human and took on flesh, coming to this earth and making it your "tabernacle," you came full of grace and truth . Of all the qualities and characteristics John could have highlighted, he chose these two: grace and truth. Importantly, he wrote grace  first, followed by truth . Grace is getting what we do not deserve. We, as fallen humanity, did not deserve you. For we weren't just stuck in our sin, we were firmly entrenched in it. You came from the Father and brought undeserved favor—grace—to all of humanity. Lord, you came to this world and you came full of truth. In you there is no falsehood or deceit. You are entirely true. You came in truth, bringing Truth to a world stuck in the Lie. The Lie that we have believed was p...

"He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will." — Luke 23:25 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, As Pilate relented to the insistent shouts of the blood-thirsty crowd, he released Barabbas from prison and "surrendered Jesus to their will." He gave Jesus to the people to be led away and be crucified. The word Luke uses is paradidomi, meaning "to surrender, to yield up, to deliver up, to give over." It appears that You were being surrendered—delivered up, given over—to the crowd and to their will. But in actuality, You were surrendered to the Father's will, choosing to give Yourself over to Him. Oh, how often we humans want You to surrender to our will! We want You to perform as we determine. We want You to do what we desire. We want You, Lord of the Universe, to yield to our will. Pilate's actions, releasing a prisoner and condemning an innocent m...

 "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?" — Psalm 42:1-2 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, It's fairly rare for me to be without access to water and become so thirsty that I am desperate. The very few times when I have been thirsty, it wasn't long before I could find the water I needed. But this Psalmist isn't writing about a thirst that's easily quenched. This Psalmist is writing about a thirst that is more intense than anything I've ever experienced. This is a desperate thirst from deep in the soul. A thirst for the presence of the Living God. Desperate people stick out. They aren't put together and under control. They aren't quietly predictable. Desperate people, especially thirsty, desperate people, are searching madly for what will satisfy. And not all thirsty, desperate people find what does. Lord, you alone are what sati...

 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ — Luke 17:10 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, As Your servant, I need to remember that You have done so much more for me than I could ever do for You. I am unworthy because I do not deserve the grace that You have given me. The NKJV says, "We are unprofitable servants". Our acts of service don't profit You, because You are perfect and in need of nothing. We have the privilege of being allowed to serve God. Any reward we receive for our service is absolute unmerited favor. You owe us nothing because You have already given us everything. Sometimes I have said to another person, "God needs you." Or I have believed myself, "God needs me." It sounds good, but in truth, He doesn't. More accurately, "God wants me." Jesus, You said to Your disciples, "I no longer call you servants... Instead, I have ...

 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full." — Luke 14:23 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, If I'm honest, when I read this as a pastor, the first images that come to my mind are of a Sunday morning with a full sanctuary. All the seats are filled and people I haven't seen in many weeks are there again. I feel the excitement and anticipation of what will likely be an energetic and dynamic worship service. But You aren't talking about a full house on a Sunday morning. You are talking about a full house for eternity! Now I imagine what You will feel, Jesus, when Your Kingdom is fully established, when Heaven's door is shut (Luke 13:25), Your house is full, and Your eyes scan all of Heaven noticing who is there. I suspect You'll also know who is not. And perhaps You'll recall your word to your church—"Go out... and compel them to come in." Lord Jesus, h...

 "I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you." — Luke 10:19 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, I suspect most believers don't accurately comprehend nor operate in the authority we possess. If I understand this verse correctly, you have made an exchange with your disciples, and by extension also to us today. Your disciples have given you their faith and belief in you as Messiah. You have given your disciples Your authority and victory over Satan and his demons. F.B. Meyer said, "If you dare to live in the risen Christ, you share His empire and all the fruits of His victory over Satan." In Christ, I have his authority to trample on demonic spirits, not merely tiptoe past them. In Christ, I have his authority to overcome all  the power of the enemy, not just survive and somehow muddle through. In Christ, I have his authority so that nothing will harm me—only that which has...

 “When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.” — Luke 5:4-6 NKJV Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, Five words leap off the page: "At Your word I will..." Despite all the knowledge Simon had about fishing, all the experience he had, all that the present circumstances indicated, he said, "nevertheless at Your word I will..." The result was a catch that broke the nets. Lord, how many times have you given me a word that ran counter to everything I know and have experienced? What would have been the result if each time I would have simply replied, "At Your word I will..."? How many nets would have broken if I had just admitted, "This makes no sense t...

"Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it." — Mark 16:20 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, Upon reading this verse, it occurred to me that this is not a picture of Sunday morning. This is Monday through Saturday. After you were taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God, the disciples went out. They didn't stay gathered to bless each other, they went out to touch a needy world. When the church comes together, we do so to exhort, equip, strengthen, and comfort one another so that we can go out to preach and minister to a dark and hurting world. When we go into all the world (vs. 15), we can expect You to work with us. When we do what you told us to do, You will do what only you can do—confirm your word with accompanying signs. If we should wonder where to go, this verse clarifies the location—"everywhere." There is no place we might go that ...

 “As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.” — Mark 5:18-20 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, It's puzzling to me that here was a man, who now completely free from the demons who possessed him, wanted to follow you and you did not let him. He wanted to get in the boat with you and go where you were going and you said, "No."?! As I read on, I see your intent. You directed him to "go home" to his own people—family, friends, acquaintances—those who knew him best, "and tell them how much the Lord has done for you." By going back home, this man would have a greater ministry than if he got in the boat with you and left his own people....

  “Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.” — Mark 4:15-20 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, Your Parable of the Sower shows me three obstacles to sowing in good soil: demonic strongholds, a lack of rootedness, and worldliness. As a pastor who is looking for good soil, I am also called to prepare the soi...

 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. —Mark 1:35 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, There is a stark difference between isolation and solitude. Isolation is being alone, away from everyone including God. Solitude is getting away from everyone to be close to God. It was in these solitary places, away from the demands of others, the questions of the disciples, the accusations of the Pharisees, where you met with the Father, to hear His voice only. It was in these solitary places where I imagine you poured out your heart before the Father as we see in the Garden of Gethsemane. It was in these solitary places where you went while it was still dark. I imagine the quietness of the night, the cool dampness of the air, the enveloping blanket of darkness. It was here where you prayed. Lord, take me deeper with you in the solitary place. I want to develop a rhythm in my life, be it daily o...

 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’" —Matthew 25:21 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, These are the words that all of those who follow You long to hear upon the completion of this life. We want to humbly stand before you and hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" Our faithfulness with a few things on this earth prepares us to be in charge of many things in eternity. Lord, the details of your Kingdom in Heaven aren't complete, but your Word indicates we'll be in charge of cities (Luke 19:17-19), we will rule or judge angels (1 Cor. 6:3), and the sovereignty, power, and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the saints (Daniel 7:27). It is an incredible thought that my faithfulness with the little things here in this life prepare me for stewarding many great things in the lif...

 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions." —Matthew 24:45-47 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, When you return, I want you to find me faithful and wise, giving your servants their food at the proper time. As a faithful and wise servant, you have called me to diligently study and teach your Word to your servants. Your word is life and it feeds us. It sustains us and fills us. I want to give your people good food that is rich and satisfying. Lord, thank you for this calling, to teach and preach your Word, to pastor this congregation, to reach this city for you. I am desperate for you to develop me, to shape me, and continually equip me for this calling. I know there there will be a day when you return to this eart...

“About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’" — Matthew 20:6-7 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, In the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, you make the point that there is an inexhaustible amount of work to do for Your Kingdom. There really is no excuse for any follower of yours to be standing around doing nothing. By choosing to follow You, we are in effect hired to work in your vineyard. We are without excuse. We can't say, "No one hired us." For you have laid claim to our lives, bought us with a price, we are Yours. We are now workers in Your vineyard, called and created in Christ Jesus to do good works which you prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). Lord, may I not be found standing around waiting to be hired. May I not be ...