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

 "Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet." — Romans 16:19-20 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, May these words be said of me, "Everyone has heard about your obedience." Of all the things I could be known for, I pray I am known for my obedience to you. And may my obedience bring rejoicing to you and to others. In addition to my obedience, I pray that I am wise about what is good. The wisdom I hold is your wisdom. Wisdom that exceeds earthly wisdom and is in fact so far beyond it that it appears foolish to human understanding. I pray that I am innocent about what is evil. Some people specialize in understanding evil. They know all about evil things and celebrate them. I don't need to know all the evil going on around me and, frankly, I don't want to know. It is actually okay for me to lac...

 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. — Romans 15:13 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, Life, the enemy, and soul fatigue tend to steal these three things with great frequency: hope, joy, and peace. But I serve a God who is the God of hope and He has the power and the desire to fill me with all joy and peace as I trust in Him. "As you trust in him..."  That's the kicker. The hope, joy, and peace doesn't come so that  I trust in Him. Hope, joy, and peace come as I trust  in Him. They are a consequence and an outcome of placing my trust in a God I cannot see whose ways I do not understand but whose heart is absolutely for me. By choosing to trust my God, the God of hope, I can expect joy and peace to result. The intended effect of being filled with all joy and peace is so that I might overflow with hope. So much hope will be in me that I won't be able to ...

 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. — Romans 15:5-6 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, I thank you Lord that you are the God who gives endurance and encouragement! When I am tired and my soul is heavy, I can come to you expectantly. I need your endurance to continue running my race marked out for me. I need to hear your voice call my name urging me onward and reminding me that you are with me. Lord, I choose to exchange my attitude today for your attitude. Everything that describes and encompasses your attitude is what I need today—faithful, gentle, kind, patient, loving. I choose to put on Christ today and clothe myself with your attitude. May I have your attitude and mind toward others today? May I consider others above myself. Approach others with your lovingkindness. Care for others w...

 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. — Romans 13:11-12 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, Your return is nearer now than it has ever been. I believe that. Some choose to live without that belief and one day they will awaken to that reality when you come in your glory. I want to understand the present time in which I live. Like the tribe of Issachar, I want to be a man "who understands the times and knew what Israel should do" (1 Chronicles 12:32). On this 249th anniversary of our nation's birth, give me awareness and understanding of our present hour for our nation and our world that I may wake up from my own slumber. Our salvation—your final rescue—really is nearer now than when we first believed. The long...

 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. — Romans 12:1 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, The preceding 11 chapters of Paul's letter to the Romans is full of the amazing mercies God has given us. Awash in these mercies, we are urged to completely surrender the totality of our lives as if we were an animal offering placed on God's altar for sacrifice. All of us—my body, my life, my will—is to be a living sacrifice to you, Lord. But the problem with a living sacrifice is that they frequently crawl off the altar! Offering my body as a living sacrifice means that I recognize I get only one body in this lifetime. If I am giving it to the Lord, then I need to steward it well. If I don't take care of my body, I'm offering a blemished sacrifice. Offering my life as a living sacrifice means that all of me belongs to you—every waking mom...

 For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. — Romans 11:36 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, God is the source, the supply, and the goal. All things are from Him. Everything that is, is sourced in the Eternal God. Nothing that has come to be has done so apart from God. You, O Lord, are the divine source of all that is wise and good. You initiate everything. God is the supply. All things are through God. Everything in this created universe is immersed in your presence. If you were to withdraw your presence, the universe would cease in an instant. It is through you that this world continues to move. You sustain it all. God is the goal. All things are for God. Everything in this universe was created for your pleasure and purpose. The destiny and goal of all creation is to be immersed in your presence and glorify you forever. All that exists is headed toward an eternal future immersed in your glory. You are the One who fulfills...

 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? — Romans 6:16 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, The Apostle Paul makes a clear distinction that when I offer myself as an obedient slave, I'm a slave of the one I choose to obey. Dr. Steve Schell writes that, "By sinning, I become the slave of sin. By my disobedience I hand over to sin the legal right to dominate me and, in time, for death to seize me." If I choose obedience, I am set free from sin and have become a slave to righteousness (vs. 18). Lord, thank you that I am no longer a slave to sin. I know this because my old self was crucified with you. My body once ruled by sin is gone. Romans 6:7 declares, "anyone who has died has been set free from sin." I am dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus" (vs. 11). Therefore, I offer m...

 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. — Romans 5:3-4 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, We glory in our sufferings. The word Paul uses here means to "glory in a thing", "to boast", "to rejoice." He's contrasting his previous thought that we boast or rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. We rejoice in our hope of God and  we rejoice in our sufferings. The picture forming in my mind is lifting hands, shouting with joy, as I rejoice in God and then doing the same thing in the midst of my suffering. Yeah. I don't do that. I don't rejoice when suffering comes. I do the opposite. I complain. I sulk. I moan. I am irritated. I am angry. I am resentful. But do I rejoice? No. Yet this is the very thing Paul says we are to do. And it's because of the incredible fruitfulness our suffering brings. Suffering produces perseverance....

 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. — Romans 4:20-21 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, We are quick to call the enemy a thief who steals, kills, and destroys (John 10:10), but our own unbelief is an equal thief. Paul is writing about Abraham who "against all hope... in hope believed and so became the father of many nations" (vs. 18). His body was as good as dead and Sarah's womb was also dead, yet he did not waver in unbelief. He believed God's promise. He was fully persuaded that God was the One "Who gives life to the dead and speaks of the nonexistent things that [He has foretold and promised] as if they [already] existed." (Romans 4:17 AMP). Unbelief is a thief that steals the promises of God. Yet we use unbelief as a protective hedge against disappointment. We believe that we won't fa...

But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. — Romans 2:5 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, What are the areas of my soul where I am most stubborn and where in my heart am I unrepentant? This verse really brings to mind the cry of the Psalmist who writes, "Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalm 139:23-24). Lord, I invite you to inspect my heart. Where does stubbornness and unrepentance exist? This way of surrender and humility means regularly asking you to survey the condition of my heart and point out the areas where I am holding tightly to my own way and grasping self-righteously to my own desires.  Lord, forgive me for my stubbornness. Cleanse me of my thinking that my ways are right and I know the answers. Lord, for...

 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. — Romans 1:11-12 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, Paul's longing to come to Rome to preach and disciple wasn't a one-sided transaction. He fully intended to receive something from the church in Rome. Even though an apostle, with all his experience, insight, and revelation, he anticipated being encouraged by their faith as much as he would encourage them. Lord, that is the mark of humility. May I never become so certain of what I can bring to others that I become prideful and unteachable and unable to receive from others. May I be encouraged by the faith of those I pastor. May I learn from those I am teaching. May we mutually encourage each other's faith. Gracious Lord, today I choose to stay humble, even when I could take pride in the position of experienced teacher. I choose to stay humble when someone s...

 This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News. Romans 1:1 NLT Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, Paul used the word "doulos" to describe his relationship to you. Doulos is translated to "slave, servant, bondservant." Although an adopted son into the family of God, Paul chose to make himself a slave. Dr. Steve Schell writes, "With these few words he tells us he has abandoned his rights and given over all control of his life in order to serve Jesus. He has fully surrendered himself—his self-protection, personal comfort, daily agenda, finances and more—to do everything in his power to spread the Gospel." This description of "doulos" shines a bright light on how much Paul willingly gave up to be set apart as an apostle for the Gospel. Moreover, it illuminates all that I value above the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Can I fully surrender my self-protection? Dropping my fists ...