Happy Easter Monday Everyone!! HE IS RISEN INDEED!! What an awesome Easter weekend -- it was just beautiful and yesterday's worship service was convicting and celebratory at the same time! I pray your weekend was equally wonderful...
I lead an amazing group of beautiful women in Bible studies on Mondays at noon at our church and today we had a discussion on Trust and Surrender. It was such a great discussion that I wanted to bring it to the blog to go a little deeper and maybe even gather your thoughts if you are willing to comment...please do!
Our discussion began today with a question -- What is the difference between Trust and Surrender? At first, the answers were that within the context of our relationship with the Lord the two would be interchangeable - meaning basically the same thing. But as we looked further into it, we moved away from that thought process. We discussed that surrender involves giving up, letting someone else take control and determine the outcome - whereas trust involves a relationship, communication, and activity. How so?
Consider this illustration -- In war, there are two opposing sides. If one surrenders to the other, they are submitting to the authority of the "winning" side and giving up control and any decision making in the outcome. This doesn't mean that the surrendering side trusts the opposition, it just means they've run out of energy and resources and basically "gives up" and allows the opposition to take over control. The heart doesn't necessarily have to be in agreement with the action.
In preparation for battle as well as in battle, the best soldiers learn trust their leaders to make the best decisions for themselves as well as for the country they represent. This is totally different than surrender. To be successful, each soldier must exhibit their trust of the leadership through action -- which includes listening, cooperation, obedience, teamwork, preparation, discipline and willful submission to the authority of the leadership.
With regard to our relationship with Christ, both Trust and Surrender need to be present. Our study guide mentioned that Surrender is a matter of will but Trust is a matter of the heart. Surrender involves giving over our lives to Him to guide our lives according to His Will. This is necessary and very important to our relationship with Christ because otherwise there will be a constant battle between our will and God's will....
Trusting God with our lives is a little different. Trust is more active because it isn't just about the large decisions we make like salvation and where we will spend eternity. Trust involves not just the big things but those everyday, little things that we need to give over to God. It means trusting God when we don't have the answers to a pressing need or issue. It means trusting God with our children when they leave the nest or begin to make decisions that could affect their future or safety. It means trusting that God knows best when outcomes or answers to prayer don't come the way we asked - as in the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, the unexpected move, etc. Trusting God to provide, to heal, to intervene, to forgive, to restore, to renew means more than surrendering and giving up. It's active. Just like the soldiers, we trust God with making the best decisions for our lives and following Him and serving Him willingly even when we don't "feel" like it. When we trust God, we honor His authority and our lives bring Him glory. It's the relationship that follows the surrender. We don't become slaves or robots when we surrender our lives to Christ. We become children, servants, friends...family of God -- loved and cared for, nourished and fed...definitely not a passive relationship.
Proverbs 3:5, 6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, soul and mind and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths."
I love these verses as I'm sure most of you do. Surrendering our lives to God is such a freeing activity. It means the battle is over for eternity -- we are saved once and for all and what Jesus did for us on that cross will not ever need to be done again. Trusting Him daily with our hearts, souls and minds means we don't have to figure it all out by ourselves. We have the Holy Spirit to guide us in all things, to pray for us when there are no words, and to make us wise when we seek Him. Life is hard - why go it alone when the One who created life wants a relationship with us. Not just a one time deal in our surrender -- but an active, trust-building training camp for His warriors - His children.
Where is this trust-building training camp being held? In the heart, soul and mind. If we commit our lives to studying God's Word, that's our training manual. If we commit our lives to serving Him, we find a church where we can worship Him and get actively involved by using our gifts and talents to encourage and build up His people...that's the training camp (it doesn't mean just joining and then sitting on the bench). And then, as well prepared warriors, we are ready when He calls us, and we go into battle --by just living our lives and then when opportunity arises, we share what we've learned in our training manual and camp with others and we link arms with other training camps (churches) and soldiers (fellow Christians) to spread the Gospel outside the walls of the camp.
What do need to wear in Battle? Take a look at these verses below:
"Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints." Ephesians 6:11-18
These verses are active, not passive. If all we do is surrender, then we allow the battle to be fought for us. But that's not God's way. He provides the armor, the battle gear to get back in the good fight and while the battle belongs to Him, and He wins always - we still are called to fight the good fight and finish the race.
Here's the uniform:
The Helmet of Salvation protects our minds from the attacks of the enemy. Knowing who we are in Christ and being confident in that is the greatest weapon we can have in spiritual warfare. If our thoughts, reasoning and decisions are made with the confidence of our Salvation, the enemy really has no weapon that can come against us. He's really not all that original. Prayer and holding your mind, thoughts and emotions close to Him is essential for victory in battle.
The Breastplate of Righteousness -- covers our hearts, lungs, upper body. When you consider emotional attacks, relationship attacks, motivational attacks -- consider the breastplate and what it protects. We talk about our hearts being broken, the air taken out of our sails, the wind beneath our wings, the air we breathe, etc. Consider matters of the heart here. Righteousness prevails over heartbreak, infidelity, temptation, etc. Having that Breastplate covering our hearts protects our hearts, the air we breathe and the life-giving energy that keeps us going when times get tough.
The Belt of Truth girds our waists -- it literally surrounds our bodies. Jesus says, He is the Way, the Truth and the Life -- so if we wear the belt of Truth - we are wearing Jesus all around us. Regardless the size of our waistline, folks, His Belt fits and will protect and prevail. If you consider that it surrounds our "gut" - then know the Truth and be set free from addictions, habits, and any image type attacks from the enemy.
The Shoes of the Gospel of Peace -- walking with Christ is a journey -- soldiers need good shoes in battle -- bad shoes mean disease, damage and fatigue -- not good on the battlefield. The Gospel of Peace -- that, my friends, is a gift from Jesus, Himself. How lovely that we are given shoes to walk in peace - to fight battles in peace -- to win battles peacefully and without fear or worry. Jesus said, "My peace I leave with you, my Peace I leave with you, not as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27 Picture yourself walking in peace in all things, and you have just strapped on some mighty fancy battle shoes!
Here are the weapons --
The Shield of Faith -- This is war! Enemies will attack -- fiery darts will come our way -- life is HARD! This is our weapon of protection -- Becoming a child of God doesn't mean we no longer have problems and it doesn't mean that we won't encounter mean people or mean situations. The Shield of Faith means that we believe, believe and believe some more no matter what our circumstances. Faith brings us through it -- and the stronger we get in God's Word -- the bigger the Shield of Faith grows - a little shield doesn't protect much, does it! If the battle is going to get hotter, I think we'd be well served to carry a BIG SHIELD!
The Sword of the Spirit -- This is the Word of God -- our major weapon of attack. When we are tempted, quote Scripture. When we are discouraged, quote Scripture. When we are wounded, quote Scripture. When we are confused, quote Scripture. For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12. You cannot argue with the truth of the Scripture and win. God's word is the greatest weapon against the lies of the enemy - the attitudes of the world -- the attacks of those who hate you because of His Name.
Surrender your life to Christ today -- and then Trust Him actively each day in all things great and small. Get your armor on soldier -- clock's a-tickin'!!!
Until tomorrow...be blessed not stressed! Amy
I lead an amazing group of beautiful women in Bible studies on Mondays at noon at our church and today we had a discussion on Trust and Surrender. It was such a great discussion that I wanted to bring it to the blog to go a little deeper and maybe even gather your thoughts if you are willing to comment...please do!
Our discussion began today with a question -- What is the difference between Trust and Surrender? At first, the answers were that within the context of our relationship with the Lord the two would be interchangeable - meaning basically the same thing. But as we looked further into it, we moved away from that thought process. We discussed that surrender involves giving up, letting someone else take control and determine the outcome - whereas trust involves a relationship, communication, and activity. How so?
Consider this illustration -- In war, there are two opposing sides. If one surrenders to the other, they are submitting to the authority of the "winning" side and giving up control and any decision making in the outcome. This doesn't mean that the surrendering side trusts the opposition, it just means they've run out of energy and resources and basically "gives up" and allows the opposition to take over control. The heart doesn't necessarily have to be in agreement with the action.
In preparation for battle as well as in battle, the best soldiers learn trust their leaders to make the best decisions for themselves as well as for the country they represent. This is totally different than surrender. To be successful, each soldier must exhibit their trust of the leadership through action -- which includes listening, cooperation, obedience, teamwork, preparation, discipline and willful submission to the authority of the leadership.
With regard to our relationship with Christ, both Trust and Surrender need to be present. Our study guide mentioned that Surrender is a matter of will but Trust is a matter of the heart. Surrender involves giving over our lives to Him to guide our lives according to His Will. This is necessary and very important to our relationship with Christ because otherwise there will be a constant battle between our will and God's will....
Trusting God with our lives is a little different. Trust is more active because it isn't just about the large decisions we make like salvation and where we will spend eternity. Trust involves not just the big things but those everyday, little things that we need to give over to God. It means trusting God when we don't have the answers to a pressing need or issue. It means trusting God with our children when they leave the nest or begin to make decisions that could affect their future or safety. It means trusting that God knows best when outcomes or answers to prayer don't come the way we asked - as in the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, the unexpected move, etc. Trusting God to provide, to heal, to intervene, to forgive, to restore, to renew means more than surrendering and giving up. It's active. Just like the soldiers, we trust God with making the best decisions for our lives and following Him and serving Him willingly even when we don't "feel" like it. When we trust God, we honor His authority and our lives bring Him glory. It's the relationship that follows the surrender. We don't become slaves or robots when we surrender our lives to Christ. We become children, servants, friends...family of God -- loved and cared for, nourished and fed...definitely not a passive relationship.
Proverbs 3:5, 6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, soul and mind and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths."
I love these verses as I'm sure most of you do. Surrendering our lives to God is such a freeing activity. It means the battle is over for eternity -- we are saved once and for all and what Jesus did for us on that cross will not ever need to be done again. Trusting Him daily with our hearts, souls and minds means we don't have to figure it all out by ourselves. We have the Holy Spirit to guide us in all things, to pray for us when there are no words, and to make us wise when we seek Him. Life is hard - why go it alone when the One who created life wants a relationship with us. Not just a one time deal in our surrender -- but an active, trust-building training camp for His warriors - His children.
Where is this trust-building training camp being held? In the heart, soul and mind. If we commit our lives to studying God's Word, that's our training manual. If we commit our lives to serving Him, we find a church where we can worship Him and get actively involved by using our gifts and talents to encourage and build up His people...that's the training camp (it doesn't mean just joining and then sitting on the bench). And then, as well prepared warriors, we are ready when He calls us, and we go into battle --by just living our lives and then when opportunity arises, we share what we've learned in our training manual and camp with others and we link arms with other training camps (churches) and soldiers (fellow Christians) to spread the Gospel outside the walls of the camp.
What do need to wear in Battle? Take a look at these verses below:
"Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints." Ephesians 6:11-18
These verses are active, not passive. If all we do is surrender, then we allow the battle to be fought for us. But that's not God's way. He provides the armor, the battle gear to get back in the good fight and while the battle belongs to Him, and He wins always - we still are called to fight the good fight and finish the race.
Here's the uniform:
The Helmet of Salvation protects our minds from the attacks of the enemy. Knowing who we are in Christ and being confident in that is the greatest weapon we can have in spiritual warfare. If our thoughts, reasoning and decisions are made with the confidence of our Salvation, the enemy really has no weapon that can come against us. He's really not all that original. Prayer and holding your mind, thoughts and emotions close to Him is essential for victory in battle.
The Breastplate of Righteousness -- covers our hearts, lungs, upper body. When you consider emotional attacks, relationship attacks, motivational attacks -- consider the breastplate and what it protects. We talk about our hearts being broken, the air taken out of our sails, the wind beneath our wings, the air we breathe, etc. Consider matters of the heart here. Righteousness prevails over heartbreak, infidelity, temptation, etc. Having that Breastplate covering our hearts protects our hearts, the air we breathe and the life-giving energy that keeps us going when times get tough.
The Belt of Truth girds our waists -- it literally surrounds our bodies. Jesus says, He is the Way, the Truth and the Life -- so if we wear the belt of Truth - we are wearing Jesus all around us. Regardless the size of our waistline, folks, His Belt fits and will protect and prevail. If you consider that it surrounds our "gut" - then know the Truth and be set free from addictions, habits, and any image type attacks from the enemy.
The Shoes of the Gospel of Peace -- walking with Christ is a journey -- soldiers need good shoes in battle -- bad shoes mean disease, damage and fatigue -- not good on the battlefield. The Gospel of Peace -- that, my friends, is a gift from Jesus, Himself. How lovely that we are given shoes to walk in peace - to fight battles in peace -- to win battles peacefully and without fear or worry. Jesus said, "My peace I leave with you, my Peace I leave with you, not as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27 Picture yourself walking in peace in all things, and you have just strapped on some mighty fancy battle shoes!
Here are the weapons --
The Shield of Faith -- This is war! Enemies will attack -- fiery darts will come our way -- life is HARD! This is our weapon of protection -- Becoming a child of God doesn't mean we no longer have problems and it doesn't mean that we won't encounter mean people or mean situations. The Shield of Faith means that we believe, believe and believe some more no matter what our circumstances. Faith brings us through it -- and the stronger we get in God's Word -- the bigger the Shield of Faith grows - a little shield doesn't protect much, does it! If the battle is going to get hotter, I think we'd be well served to carry a BIG SHIELD!
The Sword of the Spirit -- This is the Word of God -- our major weapon of attack. When we are tempted, quote Scripture. When we are discouraged, quote Scripture. When we are wounded, quote Scripture. When we are confused, quote Scripture. For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12. You cannot argue with the truth of the Scripture and win. God's word is the greatest weapon against the lies of the enemy - the attitudes of the world -- the attacks of those who hate you because of His Name.
Surrender your life to Christ today -- and then Trust Him actively each day in all things great and small. Get your armor on soldier -- clock's a-tickin'!!!
Until tomorrow...be blessed not stressed! Amy
No comments:
Post a Comment