Braving ChangeSample

Choose Integrity in Change: I Surrender All

The flesh wants what the flesh wants. This is why a lifestyle of denying our way is required to live with integrity in our pursuit of Christ and His Way. In our pursuit of the Spirit, our flesh loves to try to resurrect itself after we've crucified it. Just try fasting for a few days and you'll quickly be reminded how loud it gets.

We have to ask ourselves, Am I willing to lose my life and all that I want to hold onto, and all that I perceive I'm entitled to, to find my life in Christ and Christ alone? Can I confidently say what the apostle Paul says in Philippians 3:7-8, "But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ" (ESV)?

How badly do we want to surrender all for the prize that is found in Christ and Christ alone?

Surrendering to Christ keeps us honest. When we're truly yielded to the Holy Spirit, we'll embody a lifestyle of repentance and integrity. Another definition for integrity is "the state of being whole and undivided." When was the last time you braved a storm "undivided," with an abandoned trust in Jesus that, no matter what, He had your back, even when the Earthly outcomes weren't all that you'd hoped for?

Processing pain and grief with integrity gets us to the other side of life's major and minor transitions with our identity and honor still intact. Often, the battle to get to the other side isn't just about us, it's about countless others. It's bigger than you, and it's bigger than you think.

Questions and Prayer

• Question: How have you possibly not had integrity in endings, transition, or change? Have you lacked ownership of your side of the story? Have you avoided closure? Have you tried to control the narrative or outcomes that you have no power over? Take some time before the Lord to confess and repent. Receive His Grace, Mercy, and Forgiveness.
• Prayer: Father, Thank You that You're always with me. I ask that You would help me to process my grief, pain, endings, and transitions with integrity, even when I want to avoid them or blame others for all that I'm walking through. Please help me to see what is in my power to do to keep a tender heart. I pray that You’d give me wisdom and discernment to know the difference between healthy and unhealthy closure. Lead me on Your Path of Righteousness as I intentionally choose to surrender all on a daily basis. Empower me by Your Spirit to do good to all people, even when I’d rather not. May I listen to Your Spirit and obey Your Word as I choose to love my enemies, do good to those who hate me, and bless those who curse me. I repent of any revenge that I may have hidden in my heart, and I choose to walk on Your Narrow Road instead. Help me to have integrity in hard conversations and forgive (as an act of my will) seventy times seven. And remind me when I want to throw in the towel and be done with the mess of humanity that there's a bigger play at hand; Eternity is at stake and the battle to get to the other side is worth it.