Verse:
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters in the light of God’s mercy to offer yourselves as a living sacrifice holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship.” (Romans 12:1)
Devotional:
I recently read this verse in a new light. I realized the power in surrendering to God. Surrenderance is so powerful that this verse tells us that is what true and proper worship is. Surrender is putting trust in action. Surrendering looks like letting go of what can be so easy to hold on to. I love to plan and have my ducks in a row. Being a planner it can be very easy to become controlling. I have a certain way I like things done, put away, and a very particular vision for how I hope things will play out. What’s not so fun is when life begins to look different from what I originally planned. I remember that when it came time for me to pick a college to go to, the decision turned out different from what I had planned. Later in college I changed my major and my career path turned out different then I had planned. Maybe yours is the guy you thought you would marry, the post grad job you thought you would get, the test score you thought you would achieve. All of these can be easy to have a tight hold on. God’s word tells us to offer ourselves and I would even say our plans to God. This looks like living life with open hands surrendering to the God who is in control of all things. I am so grateful that although I can’t always see what God is doing, I know he is working something together that is better than I could put together myself. So as we begin the year of 2023 surrender your dreams, your plans, your hopes to God because he will do something with them that is better than you could have imagined.
Questions:
What is something you need to surrender to God?
List 3 ways that you could live out surrendering to God.
Prayer:
Hey Jesus, today I give you the worries of my world. God I know that your plan is better than I could imagine. Thank you that you are a safe place for me to surrender. I let you into my life and I give you my dreams for 2023. Have your way as I live the life you have planned for me.