The Art of Submission Sample

Day 7 – Starting the Journey

Submitting to the will of God isn’t a one-day decision; it’s a journey of continuously accepting to lay down your inner desires to follow the path God has chosen for us. These 7 days of study have taught us that it’s not easy but it’s worth it. This is not to say that there won’t be obstacles or hurdles; but through facing each battle and hurdle head-on, you are made stronger for what God is calling you to. Today we’re going to go through some practical ways of submitting to God and how that may look and feel for you and for me too.

1. Trust God: Many of us resist and give up in the first instance. We pray and say ‘Lord, I want to follow your will’ or ‘Lord I accept what you want to do in my life’, but how many of us know what that means? How many of us know that it’s more than saying a prayer and telling God you’re going to do it, it’s acts of faith and trust. We have great examples we can look to of people who laid down their desires and submitted to God in the Bible. The common theme amongst these men of God was humility. Without humility it is impossible to submit to God. To submit to God, we submit to the authority he has placed over us.

2. Choose rest: When you decide to submit to the will of God over your life and let him drive, there’s a natural flow that follows. You’ll find that most of the time you don’t have to fight anything, it doesn’t feel tough because you trust the person leading you and trust the plan he’s orchestrated over your life (Matthew 11:28-30; Psalm 46:10). Rest is submitting to God!

3. Strengthen your relationship: another way of submitting to the will of God is to strengthen your relationship with him. Being close to him will allow you to know him more. Learning more about God helps you fall deeper in love with him. In Psalm 1 we see an example of a man that had totally submitted to the will of God and what that looks like.

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night" (Psalm 1:1-2).

Those who love God submit to Him through a life that seeks to better know Him each day.

Task:

Set yourself a goal and decide how you will take each of these practical steps this week.