Day 4: Surrender and Abide

Come Before Him In Worship: The Lord your God is in your midst—Your Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, Everlasting Father, Mighty God. Take a deep breath and let Him fill your body, soul, and spirit. Call on Immanuel, He is with you. Collapse into His arms as He tends to the garden of your heart. “Lord of Hosts, You are perfect in how You love me! You are gentle and humble at heart; teach me, Great Shepherd and Best Friend. Thank You for what You will do!”

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:1-3

Devotion: When we died to ourselves and were raised with Christ at our salvation, our souls were so changed that we now yearn to mount up with wings like eagles (Isaiah 40:31), for they can never be satisfied with anything less than flying. When we seek outward escapes from our circumstances or our distress, or look to find fulfillment in our own goals, relationships, happiness, etc, our restlessness and discontentment grows. Now that our life is hidden with Christ in God, He wants to direct and lead us. He has an agenda for us (Jeremiah 29:11, Ephesians 2:10), that leads to abundant life!

Having given His life for us, He now asks that we open our hands and give our lives to Him. Can you trust Him with your life (and don’t answer too quickly!)? Can you trust Him with your health, reputation, business, children, family, and even with your wealth? Can you surrender to Him in those difficult circumstances that come your way, knowing that He is somehow using them to shape you and mold you, and maybe to take you to an entirely new level in your walk with Him? He holds it all anyway! It’s just a matter of taking these burdens off of our shoulders and placing them at Jesus’ feet. Simply put: abiding involves surrender.

Think about how happy you are to crawl into your cozy bed at night. You are perfectly content knowing that the bed will hold you and that you can relax every muscle in your body. But what if the bed was unstable? What if you crawled in, unsure if it would hold you. You would move about slowly and cautiously, tensed up for fear of what might happen, sleeping restlessly, always concerned that it was about to cave in beneath you. God wants you to trust Him so much that you can walk in assurance and rest, for the God of the universe lovingly and perfectly holds you, his child. Surrender to Him.

Respond in Prayer: I praise You Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for how everything is connected in You! I am joined to You, My Lord, and I am one spirit with You. I am my Beloved’s and He is mine! Hallelujah! This is my truth for all eternity.

Abiding starts with a choice, a choice to surrender. You have set it up so beautifully that You need my “yes” to do the work in me because You desire partnership with me because, ultimately, you desire intimacy with me. How precious you are my Lord! I choose this day to surrender every area in my life to You. Give me the meekness and steadfastness Jesus had so that I can let go of what is holding me back from true surrender. I give up the old, religious ways to receive the new You have for me, my Father. There is no other way. Give me the willingness of heart Isaiah had as he said, “Here am I.” I am willing Lord!