What work is He blessing today? What places is He calling me to today? Which people does He want me to rub elbows with? Which of my many areas of responsibility is He highlighting for me to focus on today? I wake up every day with endless options to occupy my time and attention, but I’m only interested in one thing: where is He at work today and how can I get involved?
Let me wholeheartedly turn my attention there. Let me throw off anything and everything else that hinders, fix my eyes on Him, and run the race He has marked out for me today (Heb. 12:1).
Let me follow the leading of my Good Shepherd, whose voice I have come to know intimately over the years (John 10:27). He’ll show me all that He has for me today if I surrender control and let Him lead me.
A life of firelit faith will always be marked by that kind of surrender.
If a life of fierce and fiery pursuit of the King in all His glory is what we’re after, then a half-hearted offering of most of our lives, most of the time, simply won’t do. Halfhearted or incomplete surrender is the byway to lukewarm living.
He wants all of us. Every part. Totally and sincerely.
There’s no other path I’d rather be on than His, so I’m giving Him every moment and inviting Him into every nook and cranny of my life–the big moments and the little moments; the seen and the unseen of my life. He wants to be the Lord of it all.
When we’re in a season of life that demands much of us (physically, mentally, and spiritually) and pulls at us in many different directions, we need to discern what He wants for us TODAY. Because the reality is we can’t do it all. But we CAN do all that He has called us to.
Whether I’m working a job, cleaning my house, reading to my kids, cooking dinner for my family, completing schoolwork, caring for my body through exercise, getting coffee with a friend, ministering from a stage, or even spending time with Him, or (insert any other responsibility or calling here)…
There’s always a lot that I could be doing, but I want to follow His lead into doing the things that He says I should be doing today.
It’s really easy to live my life based on my own ideas of what I need to accomplish and make the to-do list that I think is going to best serve Him and others, but I can do a lot of laboring in vain if He’s not the one building my day (Psalm 127:1-2). Some days that labor looks like accomplishing a little…and some days it looks like accomplishing a lot (and every person has their own idea of what’s a little and what’s a lot).
I’ve seen Him stretch my capacity (especially in motherhood) in ways that allowed me to do far more than I woke up feeling capable of. Sleepless nights with a newborn roll over into a full day of being incessantly needed by my two other young kids and that can leave me without much energy left in my tank. Thank God for His tank that is always full. Full of grace, always on standby with that extra “power that is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). These aren’t just feel-good words; they are life-giving, life-altering and true. He likes to do His best work in my life when my own capacity has reached its limit. I’ve learned to just admit my weakness and watch Him do amazing things in the midst of it…
Like those mornings where I stumble out of bed half-asleep, herd the kiddos into the living room and grope around the kitchen for a coffee cup and a moment to collect myself. I plop myself down on the couch where 3 pairs of wondering eyes glance up at me, beckoning my attention and a gesture of connection for their little souls. My first instinct is to grab for the TV remote and request the help of Bluey or Daniel Tiger to occupy these needy little humans and buy myself a few more moments of peace. Some days that is how things play out and I don’t even think the Lord is mad about it. But then…on some other days…I hear the whisper and feel the nudge. Holy Spirit.
He reminds me “You can’t, but I can.” And in a battle between flesh and spirit, I choose to turn off the TV, open up our Bible story for the day and see the words grip the heart of my 4 and 2 year old. I see them engaging with God’s Word and asking questions about His love, being concerned about sin but also confidently reassuring me that Jesus died to wash theirs away. I can’t make those heart connections happen–especially running on only 3 hours of sleep; but HE can.
That example I shared isn’t meant to shame anyone for letting their kids watch TV, but it’s meant as an encouragement to not grow weary in doing good, because God promises that we will see a return on our investment–in due time we will reap a harvest if we don’t give up (Galatians 6:9). I like to think this especially applies to those of us who are parents. I’m still waiting to see the fullness of the harvest in my kids’ lives, but I get to see little bits sprouting up here and there and it’s a reminder that my surrender to the Lord in every little moment with them isn’t wasted. Thank God.
To give an opposite example, some days I wake up with a surge of energy, ready to conquer my to-do list for the day, only to feel His Spirit pump the brakes and prompt me to channel that energy into more time with Him in prayer and staying hidden in the secret place a while longer…or into embracing a slow, cuddly morning with my kids, cultivating love and connection and depositing Truth into their little hearts and minds. Will I surrender to his beckoning to slow down?
As someone who historically finds my significance in accomplishing things, I’ve had to learn to surrender to His idea of significance (which actually isn’t tied to what I can do after all). The unseen things (like prayer and reading the Bible to a lapful of toddlers) may not appear to be “doing” much in the natural, but they sure can yield a whole lot of spiritual fruit and make advances for His Kingdom (which ultimately does spill out into the natural realm too!).
TL; DR: Surrender everything to Him. Especially your time. The hours, the minutes, and the very seconds of our day…they matter. He is ready to direct our moments. Will we let Him?
You might say “That sounds great, but what does that actually look like?” Well, here is what God says in His Word: “Commit your plans to Me and your work will be established” (Proverbs 16:3, first person inflection added by me). I also take Him at His Word when He says: “Trust in Me with all your heart and don’t lean on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Me and I will direct your path,” (Proverbs 3:5-6). Both of these verses direct us to surrender our plans with the promise that when we do, He will establish His plan and path for our lives.
I also love that He says “in ALL your ways.” It’s not just in some of the parts of our lives that He wants us to acknowledge Him; it’s in every part. Every. Single. Part.
Practically, that looks like starting our days with surrender. Prayer. And it doesn’t have to be anything long or fancy. It just means before our feet hit the floor (and preferably before we pick up any handheld devices) we direct our attention to the Lord (“acknowledge Him”) and say something along the lines of “God, I give you this day. I want to honor you with it. I surrender every moment to you. Please lead me step-by-step today—in the big things and in the small things.”
It’s time to get to a place in our lives where daily surrender isn’t optional. Let’s hand everything over to Him and ask “Lord, what do YOU want to do with this?”
Everything in our lives–but especially our time–becomes a divine tool for the advancement of His Kingdom when we surrender control and give it to Him.
Is He really our Lord? Is He really our King? Let’s show it by our surrender. Let’s let go of lukewarm living and go hard after Him in all the moments of our day.
When we consciously present all that we have and all that we are to Him as a living sacrifice, it becomes a beautiful offering of worship to our King and we get to watch Him do exceedingly and abundantly more than all we could ever ask or imagine! (Romans 12:1, Ephesians 3:20)
STAY LIT!
-O.K.O.
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