The lure of this world’s possessions is powerful. Many people can relate to the rich young man of the Bible who could not part with his treasures and follow Jesus (Mk 10:21-22). They interpret this as needing to live in poverty to be a Christian. When wealth accumulation is our top priority, we cannot properly focus on discovering God’s plan for our life. Wealth is not the only thing that distracts our attention. Some have addictions to drugs, alcohol, or pornography; they have prioritized these as the essential things in their life. Surrendering requires us to refocus our priorities.

Being a disciple of Christ is to be a student. Anthony Carter notes, “a disciple is one who disciplines himself in the teachings and practices of another.”[1] If the pathway to discovery of the teachings of Jesus is discipleship, then the door to that path is surrender. To proceed on the way of God’s will and purpose, we need to examine our hearts for the things that have taken priority in our lives. This does not mean that the item itself is evil like the examples above; it may simply be that a reordering is needed.

I have been a Christian my whole life, but God was not always my first priority. The idols I placed ahead of my relationship with the Lord were my family and work. God was always part of the picture but relegated to the backseat. I am not saying I needed to surrender my family or work and live as a monk on a mountaintop somewhere. What I needed to surrender was the place they held in the order of my life. When the Lord rescued me from a very stormy time in my life, he showed me that to shower blessings on my family and life; He needed to be first. I needed to focus on Him and His design for my life. When I started to put God first, He began to reveal ways that I could bless my family and others that I had never considered. Far from separating me from the things I loved in this world, such as my wife, He showed me how to love her even more profoundly. Surrendering to God may be intimidating, but the blessings that He gives when we trust in Him first far exceed our expectations.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Pastor Michael

You can find more posts on the PSC website: Pure Springs Blog Posts – Pure Springs Church

[1] Anthony Carter, “What Is a Disciple?,” Tabletalk, June 1, 2018, https://tabletalkmagazine.com/article/2018/06/what-is-a-disciple/.