God is faithful through the storms and the beach days in the sun. He is our protection
~ Lisa Blair
Roger Coles. Bible.com
I remember being a child and frightened of thunder, very young, or having a nightmare, a little older, my first response was to run into the arms of my mother. She was my harbor, my rock, and my safety. The waves could roar and toss me to and for, but they could not break me or crush me. As I grew into adulthood, I always felt her strength and safe harbor when speaking to her on the phone about issues I was experiencing. She always had a calming effect, an aura of peace that extended to me.
Just think, if we feel safe from the love of a parent, how much more pronounced the experience when we run to God brokenhearted and feeling crushed. He is our Savior, our rock, and our remedy for the attacks of uncertainty.
Thank God, when this world attempts to break our heart and crush our spirit, we can rest in Him and faithfully know He has surrounded us with His love, and through this, His strength.
God is faithful through the storms and the beach days in the sun. He is our protection, and we should run to Him. He is our refuge. We are not a people who remain brokenhearted or crushed. His love is greater, and like our human parents, shields us from the monsters under the bed.
Only God can give us peace that is greater than our understanding. Rest in His peace of mind and heart. His love is like a warm blanket, once wrapped in it, the world falls away.
God gave us the tools to survive through life’s challenges. Strong faith will allow you to experience peace in the midst of the struggle.
~ Lisa Blair
Trials produce patience and patience is reinforced through faith. If you are faithful, you will experience the joy of the Lord and not become bitter and discouraged through the trial. You will rest in God’s peace and weather the storm.
There are times in our lives when we surrender ourselves as a form of selfish need, and times when we surrender because we want a covenant relationship with the Lord. Where are you on the spectrum? It may be time to decide. You are on the precipice of surrender.
~ Lisa Blair
busy.org
Many of us tend to use this phrase nonchalantly. This is not a thoughtlessstatement or a decision to take lightly. When we express this thought, we are entering a covenant, a pack, with God. From this point forward, there is no looking back. This is the point of surrender.
I have heard this scripture spoken in many contexts during my lifetime. I imagine you have, as well. You may have glibly spoken it during a conversation. As a student of the Word, I now pose the question, how many times have I broken covenant with God? How many times have I uttered this statement and then chosen my own path, made my own decision, or followed others, overriding God’s purpose and plan for my life?
This
gives rise to three questions we all struggle with:
1) What does
‘your will be done’ mean?
2) What does
surrender mean?
3) Are you
ready to commit to the covenant with God?
WHAT DOES YOUR WILL BE DONE MEAN?
When Jesus
was preparing to take his place up the cross, after he could no longer take the
pain, and wanted to be released from his duty, he cried out,
“My
father! If it is possible, let this Cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet
I want your will to be done, not mine.” (Matthew 26: 39 NLT)
This is the
turning point in Christ’s prayer. “Here, Jesus demonstrated the turning point
in prayer for all of us. Prayer is not about bending God’s will to get what we
want. The purpose of prayer is to seek God’s will and then align our desires with
his. Jesus willingly placed his desires in full submission to the father’s
will.” (Not my will but yours be done. Learn Religions.com)
When we make
the statement, we are in effect, praying. We are committing ourselves to God’s
Will for our lives. His plan for our lives was established long ago, long
before we were born, perhaps before He created this universe. If we allow God to
lead us, He will show us the path to take. Your will be done means you will abide
by His will and not your own. 99% of the time, your purpose will be different than
His. You are not first in His Will, but you surrender regardless and are bound
by the covenant you created when you cried out the phrase.
For I know the plans I have
for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to
give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to
me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with
all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:11 NJKV)
In effect, when you call on God, pray to Him
and listen to Him, you are abiding in His Will for your life. Your (totally) surrender
yourself, holding nothing back, to His Will and His Way.
WHAT DOES
IT MEAN TO SURRENDER?
Surrendering
means yielding ownership, to relinquish control over what we consider to be
ours, to relinquish our life, all of it. We surrender what God has given us and
how we wanted to use it to become His steward of this life. When we surrender
to God, we are acknowledging His ultimate control of everything, including our
circumstances, past, present, and future.
Billy Graham
wrote: If you want a change in your life, if you want forgiveness and peace and
joy that you’ve never known before, God demands total surrender, in so doing, our
Lord becomes the ruler of your life.
When we
surrender and give up all we are, we no longer seek personal gain, we are delivered
from sin, and become useful to God to conduct His work on earth.
When we reach
this point in our lives, making moral choices, we must choose to follow our own
sinful nature (our carnal life) or seek God and surrender ourselves to Him.
ARE YOU READY
TO COMMIT TO THE COVENANT WITH GOD?
Once someone
speaks this statement, utters this prayer, recites this scripture, conversion has
been set in place, you are on the precipice of changing your life to become God’s
tool, His steward, and His servant.
Take heed, think
this through before you find yourself amid the war for your soul. It is a
choice, do you follow your carnal desires, or surrender them to our Lord and
Savior, the head of our lives?
Are you ready to enter into covenant with God and all that it entails? Are you ready to allow God to take you wherever He needs you? Are you prepared to commit?
Internet Resources – Thy Will Be Done. lifehopeandtruth.com; A Message From Billy Graham. billygraham.org; Surrender To God. http://www.allaboutfollowingjesus.org; Total Surrender| My Utmost For His Highest. utmost.org; What Does It Mean To Surrender To God? http://www.gotquestions.org
We are anxious and fret needlessly. God is with us. Who or what can stand against us?
~Lisa Blair
Caleb Warren, YouVersion, Bible.com
What a great way to begin the week, recognizing God is over all things. He is omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient. The truth is, we are anxious and fret needlessly. When we surrender and reside in His Will, His Word, and His Way, the craziness of the world cannot crash down on us. We are protected by His promise to keep us safe.
Our life on earth is a dispersion cast by Satan’s deception. God gave us life to live fully and with power. We have the power to rest in His peace as the world spins off kilter around us. We can experience the calm He provides if we walk in His peace.
Let us walk in victory this week, standing fast in the face of all challenges. We are victorious!
God is my strength. I rely on Him 24/7. There is no time we are not in communication. I call on Him in praise for the beauty around me, for keeping me and guiding me. I ask for His strength during challenging moments, and in His love in the good times and bad.
He is my refuge. He keeps me safe and sheltered from danger, pursuit, and harm. I call on him in times of need only to find He is standing there waiting; upon contact (with Him) I feel the peace that He provides. A peace that is difficult to explain in everyday terms. The Bible describes this as the peace that is greater than our understanding.
“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” ~ Philippians 4:6, NIV
It is during this peace that the chaos unravels. His strength overrides the fear the chaos wrought upon my very being. Resting in His peace, I recite, ‘I fear not because the Lord is my strength and through Him all things are possible. Through Christ fear dissolves. Through Him, crooked ways are made straight. Through Him, I gain clarity and sight. Through Him I become aware that He is establishing the way out of no way. Through Him, I recognize who I am in Christ. I am His childthrough adoption.’
The Lord is my strength, my refuge, and my helper, without Him, no thing is a good.
Without Him, I am weak. Without Him, I am engulfed in chaos. Without Him, I am lost seeking asylum at the wrong port of entry. Without Him, there is no peace.
“Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And, this peace will control the way you think and feel.” ~ Philippians 4:7, CEV
Lisa’s Daily Inspirations 