{SURRENDER}
I remember a long time ago when that word scared me. It was many years ago. Long before I came to fully trust Jesus. I can recall sitting in church, youthful and full of plans for “my life”. I heard lots of sermons about surrender. I heard lots of talk about laying down your life for Christ.
As an older teen, handing the reins over to the guy in the sky was an outrageous concept.
“What if I don’t like His plans?” No thanks. Even after I came to salvation, I was yet to realize He actually would require complete surrender. I also didn’t know that He would walk me through the valley to the place where I would realize I had no business making plans that were not filtered through His will. I had no idea His plans, they were the best plans.
Eventually, I realized it wasn’t as scary as I thought. He walked with me through some very difficult seasons. He knew I was naive and afraid. And He was patient.
And one hot, sunny, summer day…I found myself sitting in a hospital room…widowed. I was only twenty four years old.
All those plans I made. All those dreams I had envisioned.
They looked different now.
In the coming days, weeks years, God would take me on a difficult journey. A journey where I embraced His plan and buried part of mine.
Eventually, I began to get a glimpse of what He was doing. Eventually, with no other choice, I wiped my eyes and prayerfully sighed…”Okay, God. Your will…not mine.
That was almost eighteen years ago…and that moment of surrender was the best decision I could have ever made.
Sure I had always wanted nothing but God’s good and pleasing will for my life, for the lives of my family and friends. I wanted that for everyone.
But my young heart didn’t realize that sometimes that looks tragic to our human eyes.
So, we give our hearts to Jesus, but we keep our bodies, or we keep our plans.
My prayer this morning is that you will completely surrender every nook and cranny of your heart and life to Jesus, so that you can experience His good and pleasing will for your life.
His plans might not look like they are good to begin with…but they will lead you to a beautiful destination.
Love in Christ,
Cassie
💜🙏
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