Finding Victory in Letting God

Ready:

"Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will find it.'”–Matthew 16:24-25

Set:

In the greatest act of surrender, the world witnessed the greatest victory. Jesus reveals that God can do more with my surrender than my greatest performance.

That sounds upside down, doesn’t it? Why?

Well, as coaches and athletes, we love to win.Too often we allow the drive to be better and compete to trickle into our walks with Jesus. We believe that for God to love us or use us, we need to get better or work harder.

Thankfully the good news is that our righteousness isn’t measured by our good deeds but by the surrender of Christ. Because of His death and resurrection, those of us that trust Jesus as our King, are covered in the priestly robes of Christ. By His surrender, we are now royalty!

All other religions say do, but Jesus says done.

Winning is measured differently in the Kingdom. It’s not about becoming better or working harder but surrendering more of our hearts to Jesus. The more we surrender, the more we become like Him in everything we do.

In Matthew, Jesus says those who try to hold tightly to the life they have will lose it but whoever loses or surrenders it will find life.

How? When we surrender things to God, we create space for Jesus to be the true King of our life and this good King always leads us into more life.

In my time following Jesus, I have learned that God moves at the speed of our surrender. Not in my ability to pick up and control but in my ability to lay it down and trust. If we try to control, hold onto, and white knuckle our lives, we lose it, but opening hands and trusting God brings more life.

A great question to help you discern is, ”what comes to my mind when I am doing nothing at all?“

Workout:

Philippians 3:8-9; Galatians 2:20; Romans 12:1-2

Go:

• As a coach or an athlete, what are areas of your life that you have yet to give over to Jesus? Maybe it’s your wins and losses, what others think about you, your finances, your future?
• Reflecting on your journey, what aspects of your life have you struggled to relinquish control over to Jesus? How might surrendering these areas lead to a deeper connection with Him and a more fulfilling life?
• In what ways can you create intentional moments of surrender in your daily routine, allowing space for Jesus to work and lead you toward greater fulfillment and purpose as you compete?

Overtime:

“Jesus, what do I need to let go of to experience more of you? Make it clear to me your purpose and plan for my life. In Jesus' name, amen.”

By Mikel Hawks