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

 "Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens. Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.” — Genesis 19:24-26 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, The angels who rescued Lot, his wife, and his two daughters instructed them, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere…” (vs. 17). But when the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah began, Lot’s wife did look back. Her look can be interpreted as “looking intently, longingly, with care or with pleasure.” Lot’s wife wasn’t just looking behind her, she was looking back longingly to her life that once was. She had been delivered from a depraved and morally corrupt life, but yet she still was longing to go back. Lord, how many times have I unwittingly longed to go back to the very sins You’ve rescued me from? I know the...

 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.” — Genesis 16:1-2 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, God has given Abram a promise: a son of his own flesh and blood would be his heir. In fact, his offspring would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. Abram believed the Lord. But his wife Sarai remained childless and decided to take matters into her own hands. She begins by misinterpreting God’s intent. She solves the problem with her own wisdom. And she declares, “Perhaps I can build a family” through her slave Hagar. “Perhaps I can” are chilling words. God has spoken a promise and has said, “I will.” Sarai’s resentful response is, “God, You aren’t, so perhaps I can.” Lord, how often have I tried to find a shortcut to Your plan and purpose? I am short-sighted and I can’t see Your full plan. So...

 Then Job replied to the Lord: “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” — Job 42:1-2 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, As Job is humbled and repents, he makes this declaration that You can do all things and nothing is going to stop or derail what You have set out to do. This statement brings me great peace today. I needed to read this. This is a truth repeated throughout Scripture, yet I seem to regularly forget it. Matthew 19:26, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Luke 1:37, “For no word from God will ever fail.” Jeremiah 32:27, “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?” The God of the Universe can do all things. There is no impossible task for my God. No word from God will fail and no purpose of His will be hindered. Today I am going to rest in this reality. Worry and doubt have clouded my horizon and obscured my view of Your unfailing power. This shining reminder pieces my clo...

 “Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm.” — Job 38:1 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, After 37 chapters of speeches by Job and his friends, finally the LORD speaks. In God’s reply, there are no direct answers to Job’s questions but there are many questions of God’s own. What struck me today as I began reading God’s response is from where it comes. God speaks to Job out of the storm.  When I am in the midst of one of life’s storms, I want You to silence it as You did on the Sea of Galilee with the disciples. I want You to speak over the storm, calming the wind and the waves. But if I’m honest, I rarely listen for Your voice “out of the storm.” What if the storm I’m presently in isn’t just something to silence or for God to overcome, but something that God is speaking out of? What does that mean? When I am caught up in the whirlwind with the storm raging all around, I want out! I want the storm to stop. Rarely do I say, “Lord, I want to hear Your voice from this...

 “God does all these things to a person — twice, even three times — to turn them back from the pit, that the light of life may shine on them.” — Job 33:29-30 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, You have a vantage point that I do not. In Elihu’s speech to Job, he describes how God works to turn someone back from going down to the pit, to ransom them and restore them. God does these things to a person, often repeatedly, to turn them back from destruction and lead them to His light of life. This is evidence that God plays the long game. He has an eternity and omniscience that humanity does not possess. He is able to see far over the horizon and in fact sees past, present, and future all at once. Lord Jesus, thank You for having a much bigger picture in view. Thank You for seeing my future and for using hardships to turn me away from my own destruction and bring me to Your light of life. I trust that You are doing the same with those I love. You are using today’s trouble to lea...

  “ if I have concealed my sin as people do, by hiding my guilt in my heart because I so feared the crowd and so dreaded the contempt of the clans that I kept silent and would not go outside— ” — Job 31:33-34 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, In defense of his righteousness, Job makes a statement that I know I am often tempted to do. I will conceal my sin and hide my guilt in my heart because of fear of man. I believe the lie that I am safer if I keep silent about it and do not confess my sin to anyone else. This illusion of safety keeps me locked up in guilt and self-deceit. But true freedom is found doing as James 5:16 instructs, “Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” When I choose to remain isolated and self-protective, I am actually choosing prolonged pain and oppression. When I admit my sin and share my strongholds with other trusted believers, inviting their prayers and accountability, that’s where I find heal...

  “ And these are but the outer fringe of his works; how faint the whisper we hear of him! Who then can understand the thunder of his power?” — Job 26:14 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, Job lists in vss. 7-13 all the ways God’s power is displayed. Then he states these ways “are but the outer fringe of His works.” In all the ways we see Almighty God at work, that’s just the edge of what He is doing. When we perceive His voice, we’re only hearing His whisper. If God were to speak at full volume, who could understand the thunder of His power? Last Sunday, our congregation experienced a renewal, an outpouring of the Holy Spirit that was thick, impactful, and stunning. Yet, that’s just the outer fringe of what God can do. Frankly, this was just a whisper from Him! Lord Jesus, as powerful as our time in Your presence was, it was merely a taste of what You have in store. Lord, we boldly ask for more! We come hungry for a greater taste, a feast  in Your presence! We want t...

 “But if I go to the east, he is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find him. When he is at work in the north, I do not see him; when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.” — Job 23:8-9 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, Job’s complaint actually reveals an important truth. God is always working even when I don’t see Him. There are requests I’ve placed before You, Lord Jesus, and at present I see no evidence that You are working on them. There are situations I have prayed about for a decade and I do not see You in those situations. There are people for whom I am praying and I see little that indicates You are moving in their lives. Yet though I do not find You, though I do not see You, though I catch no glimpse of You, Job says it clearly, “he is at work.” You are  at work. The Hebrew word used here translated “at work” is “ʿāśâ” which means “to do or to make.” It’s first usage appears in Genesis 1:7, “And God made…” From the first chapter of Gen...

“ I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” — Job 19:25-27 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, Job was seeing and prophetically declaring that the One who will vindicate him and redeem his life lives and that at the end He will stand on the earth. This declaration announced Your arrival upon the earth as Messiah who would redeem all of humanity through Your payment upon the cross. 1 Peter 1:18 describes Your redemption of our lives, “…you were redeemed from the empty way of life…with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” Galatians 3:13 says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.” I am redeemed by Your life! Job says that “in the end” his redeemer will stand on the earth. Zechariah 14:3-4 pictures that future day. “Then th...

“ If someone dies, will they live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come. You will call and I will answer you; you will long for the creature your hands have made.” — Job 14:14-15 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, Job asks a question that we know the answer to, “If someone dies, will they live again?” We know that in You, we will live again! Isaiah 26:19 answers Job’s question clearly, “But your dead will live, LORD; their bodies will rise—let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy—your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead.” I know that when this life is over, I will live again. Even though my days contain hard service, I will wait expectantly for my renewal to come. I know that I will be renewed fully and completely when I come into Your Kingdom, “the renewal of all things” (Matthew 19:28). But I also wait expectantly for You to bring renewal to me and to Your Church. I believe that as soc...

 "Those who are at ease have contempt for misfortune as the fate of those whose feet are slipping.” — Job 12:5 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, It’s easy to have contempt for the broken, hurting, and marginalized when everything is going well for me. As if their pain and misfortune is their own fault and they’ve brought it upon themselves. I have to remember that we live in a fallen world where we are impacted by the brokenness of this world and the sins of others as well as our own sin. I have to remember that God is sovereign and there is a mystery behind His ways. Most of all, I have to remember that the Lord is gracious and compassionate and I am called to bring His compassion to others. Lord Jesus, Matthew 9:36 comes to mind, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” You were moved with compassion when You saw the hurting and broken people. Lord, may I never be so at ease that I am u...

 “Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant what I hope for, that God would be willing to crush me, to let loose his hand and cut off my life! Then I would still have this consolation—my joy in unrelenting pain—that I had not denied the words of the Holy One.”  — Job 6:8-10 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, Job is experiencing  “ unrelenting pain.” I’ve had pain—deep pain—but I don’t know if I can imagine the painful horror of losing all your possessions, all your children, and your health. There are many in this world who would read that last sentence of mine and say, “Yes. That’s me. I’ve lost all.” That is unrelenting pain. The kind of pain that sees no end and simply wishes for God to end it—“that God would be willing to crush me… and cut off my life.” Even in Job’s suicidal state, he says something that stands out in stark contrast to his anguish, “Then I would still have this consolation—my joy in unrelenting pain—that I had not denied the wor...

“ Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.” — Job 2:13 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, Job is suffering. He’s lost his livelihood. He’s lost his children. He’s lost his health. His three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, hear about his tragedy and go to sympathize and comfort him. When they arrive, they scarcely recognize their friend and are moved to tears. They sit with him and do not speak for a full week. This is the “ministry of presence.” Lord, so many times in my role as a pastor, I encounter people going through all kinds of tragedy and trauma. Often, I have no words to say because I feel they are trite expressions that minimize pain and offer little comfort. Sometimes—maybe most of the time—the best we can offer those in pain isn’t our answers but simply our presence. Lord Jesus, help me discern when to speak and when to listen. When do I need to do as Job’s fr...

 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” — Genesis 11:1-4 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, Genesis 8:17 instructs Noah and his family to multiply on the earth. This required them to spread out. But by Genesis 11, people found a place where they decided to stop moving and they chose to settle there. Their goals were to use new technology (bricks instead of stone) to build a tower; to build a tower as a means of reaching heaven on their own merits; to make a name for themselves rather than the name God had given them—a people of His creation, made in His...

 "Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.” Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to call on the name of the Lord.” — Genesis 4:25-26 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, It was humanity’s first revival. Amidst a sin-soaked world marked by Cain’s murder of his brother, Abel, and his God-less lineage came the lineage of Seth followed by Enosh. At that time, people started to collectively acknowledge God’s sovereignty through public praise, prayer, and worship. Pastor Alec Rowlands of Westgate Chapel in Edmonds, WA defines revival  as “the overwhelming sense of God’s presence that falls powerfully on a Christian people who have become dead and lethargic in their spiritual life reviving those elements of the Christian life that God intended to be normal for His church.” It was through Enosh and his lineage that the Mes...

 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” — Genesis 3:22 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, The tree of life in the middle of the garden wasn’t forbidden. “In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:9). What if Eve had eaten from the tree of life instead of the tree of knowledge of good and evil? She and Adam would have gained eternal life living in a sinless existence with God forever. Because she and Adam ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil first, and their eyes were open to evil—knowing like God both good and evil—the LORD protected them by banishing them from the garden and placing an angel to guard the way to the tree of life. Eating from the tree of life in their fallen state would have given them immortality in their rebellion. At the...