Today's Devotion

I wanted to share a devotion I read today. It's a great summary of what I've learned in the past few years regarding my plans for my life versus God's plans for my life.

I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship (Rom. 12:1).

Romans 12 gives one of the most comprehensive answers to the "How do I follow Jesus?" question. The foundation of becoming a Romans 12 Christian is surrender. Jesus told a story in Matthew 13:44 in which a man was faced with a choice. In Jesus' parable, the man did whatever was necessary to buy the field, knowing that by sacrificing everything, he would gain immeasurable wealth.

God lays out the same choice before anyone who wants to be His disciple. In order to gain the kind of life God has for us, we must surrender everything. We must lay down our lives - our dreams, our hopes, our expectations for the way we think life should go - and follow Him. It's the first step to becoming a disciple of Jesus.

Deciding to follow Jesus no matter what and surrendering everything to Him can be a scary thing. What about our dreams? Our hopes? Our plans? God wants our everything because He has bigger plans and dreams in mind for us than anything we could ever imagine. We're limited, finite creatures, and we can't see the future. But God sees all, knows all, and controls all. If we give Him control of our lives, He will direct our lives so that we'll have the most impact both here and in eternity.

Our hesitation about following God isn't unfounded. Following God doesn't mean that our lives will be easy or that everything will turn out like we want. As we follow Him, God may author our lives differently than we'd like. The cost of discipleship really is
steep.

When we finally see God for who He is, we'll recognize that the cost of following Him, laying everything at His feet, was worth the incredible story He wrote with our lives. It's the most dangerously beautiful decision we'll ever make.

Lord, help me to surrender everything I have and everything I am to You. Help me to trust in You to do something beautiful in my life.

(Journey devotional, January 14, 2010)