Try as we might, none of us will ever get away from the reality that ultimately how we feel about God will translate to how we feel about ourselves. You and I can only do good to the extent that we believe we have been empowered by God to accomplish His Will in the earth. Ephesians 2:10(NLT) tells us, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” This verse sums up our entire existence, not just for this life, but for eternity. Heavenly Father is our Creator. He engineered our design. He specifically shaped, molded, and modeled us in Christ. Doing good comes standard with our packaging. We are fully equipped to make our efforts and actions express God’s goodness, and He planned for us to do this long before we entered our mother’s wombs.
When it comes to our identity in Christ, it is very true that we need to remember where we came from in order to have some idea about where we are going. God has been so terrifically kind and gracious to tell us our origin. We came from Him, and He is goodness through and through. To put the icing on the cake, He has given us His spiritual manual for life, which is His Word. 2Timothy 3:16(NLT) tells us, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” God has given us His Word to help us grow in our relationship with Him. His Word helps us to stay on track with His purpose for our lives, so that we can please Him and therefore have a more than abundant existence.
If you’re anything like me, you’re hearing folks constantly complaining about the chaos, confusion, and difficulties of the time in which we find ourselves. They are not talking about their wonderful identity in Christ. They are not behaving like God’s masterpieces, and they don’t seem to be convinced of God’s goodness. They are acting as if people have never had challenges in life. The truth is that people living two or three hundred years ago could not have dreamed of the conveniences of our day. They endured tremendous hardships, and in many cases, they endured far greater challenges than us.
Psalm 46:1 tells us, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Those before us didn’t have the luxury of speculating about this truth. Trouble was on their every hand, and they knew their only choice was to lean on God with all that was within them. It was a time when a simple word spoken the wrong way could lead to a horrific punishment or death.
Because of the peril our forerunners faced, they held their tongues, and powered through degradation, misery, and exhaustion. But on the sabbath, they surrendered every burden and released it to Jesus Christ. This was their practice, hold it in until that blessed day of release. This pattern was handed down from generation to generation. We’d build up six days or more of taking the negativity of others without respite, then we’d meet the glory of God one day a week and lay our burdens down. Some years ago, it was believed that life didn’t offer another way, but this can’t be said of today. We have received exciting revelation and teaching from God’s Word. Because of this, we understand that we don’t need to wait until the Sabbath to meet God in full surrender. We must do it every moment of each day.
Jesus Christ taught us in Luke 12:48 that to whom much is given, much is required. It can’t be lost on anyone that the more we know about God’s Word and power, the more we should let it be at work in our lives.
God tells us in Proverbs 3:5 to trust in Him with all that we are and lean not on our own understanding. This is a verse that many of us know and love, but some of us underestimate the heft of revelation it presents. God desires that we lean totally on Him. His Spirit abides within us, and Ephesians 3:20 tells us that God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think, but it is all according to our surrender. We must yield to the Holy Spirit totally and completely. We must take a back seat when it comes to steering our lives, and we should allow the Spirit to lead, guide, and direct us.
1Corinthians 12:4 tells us that there is one Spirit, and he is God’s gift to us. Through the one gift of the Holy Spirit, God gives us a diversity of gifts that should be manifested outwardly in order to bless the body of Christ. All these manifestations serve the purpose of blessing God’s people, and they make us all unite harmoniously into one whole. As one whole, united together, we then give back to God the glory that He has given us through His Holy Spirit. When you understand the reality that God gives us glory through His Spirit, and then we outwardly express it, you should also understand how important it is that you do your part, which is to be led by the Spirit every day the Lord gives you.
Each of us has a special offering that we were destined to make. Sadly, many of us are so taken aback by what is happening in the world that we are not concentrating on God. We must remind ourselves that our old nature has been crucified with Christ. We have a new nature, and now that we have the gift of Holy Spirit, we have a new way to think, act, and live. We must be ever so careful not to judge where we are in Christ today by the standard of our old nature. This will keep us tied to the suffering, patterns, and mindsets of the past. We should be living a fully surrendered life before our God.
Jesus Christ has redeemed us from the curse of darkness, and our eyes are now opened. God has given us everything that we need to walk in victory, so let’s deal with our challenges by having confidence in God. Let’s have a heart to do our parts through prayer, studying His Word, and communing with Him throughout our days. God commands us to abide in faith, hope, and love. If we do this, we don’t have to fear any punishment, but instead, we can look forward to the blessings that God will give us. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
“A Fully Surrendered Life!” written by Reverend Fran Mack, edited by Kim Times, for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2020. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!