I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. – (John 17:4)
This morning I reflected on a conversation with a brother this week. He was concerned about where he was in his walk with our Lord. He expressed fears that he might be falling short of the expectation of Jesus.
I think we all need to periodically do a self inventory. A quick-check to confirm our direction and our devotion to do His will. It is so easy to slide back towards the worldly, since it is the most familiar to many of us. This is due to the number of years we wallowed in that mess, it became natural to us to be soiled. Like a pig that has been hosed down and cleaned, it takes great effort to avoid a return to the slop. It is with Christ that we have the will and stamina to be clean and to stay clean.
During this morning's devotion, Oswald Chambers filled this mental void with the following words of great wisdom. Read with me now, then check yourselves:
True surrender is not simply surrender of our external life but surrender of our will— and once that is done, surrender is complete. The greatest crisis we ever face is the surrender of our will. Yet God never forces a person’s will into surrender, and He never begs. He patiently waits until that person willingly yields to Him. And once that battle has been fought, it never needs to be fought again.
Surrender for Deliverance. “Come to Me…and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). It is only after we have begun to experience what salvation really means that we surrender our will to Jesus for rest. Whatever is causing us a sense of uncertainty is actually a call to our will— “Come to Me.” And it is a voluntary coming.
Surrender for Devotion. “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself…” (Matthew 16:24). The surrender here is of my self to Jesus, with His rest at the heart of my being. He says, “If you want to be My disciple, you must give up your right to yourself to Me.” And once this is done, the remainder of your life will exhibit nothing but the evidence of this surrender, and you never need to be concerned again with what the future may hold for you. Whatever your circumstances may be, Jesus is totally sufficient (see 2 Corinthians 12:9 and Philippians 4:19).
Surrender for Death. “…another will gird you…” (John 21:18; also see John 21:19). Have you learned what it means to be girded for death? Beware of some surrender that you make to God in an ecstatic moment in your life, because you are apt to take it back again. True surrender is a matter of being “united together [with Jesus] in the likeness of His death” (Romans 6:5) until nothing ever appeals to you that did not appeal to Him.
And after you surrender— then what? Your entire life should be characterized by an eagerness to maintain unbroken fellowship and oneness with God.
It is this last sentence that describes the test, the validation of our salvation. Eagerness for ONE-NESS with God! It is how you know where you are.
HAVE YOU READ YOUR BIBLE TODAY?
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