Tag: <span>proverbs 3:5-6</span>

Are You Afraid to Fully Surrender to God?
Published May 19, 2023

Are You Afraid to Fully Surrender to God?

Many people say,

“Sure, I believe in God. I’ve gone to church most of my life.”

But is this all there is to it? What does it mean to believe?

To believe means more than intellectual consent. It involves surrender. We must give ourselves to God before He can give Himself to us. We practice this kind of surrender every time we fly in an airplane. We board an aircraft, sit down in our seats and put the seat belt on. And for the next four hours or so we’re at the mercy of a pilot whom we don’t even know. We trust that he knows what he’s doing and he’ll get us to the right destination safely.

We do the same with a doctor. Before surgery we sign a consent form, right? We allow the anaesthetist to put us to sleep. Talk about complete surrender! Then the surgeon can help us and not before. The principle of complete surrender holds true in many situations in life. Complete surrender is needed before help can  come to us.

It’s no different with God. Before He can help us, we must give ourselves to him completely.

Being totally dependent upon God is one of the hardest things we Christians have to do in life.
We fear the helplessness of it. We want to be in control. Still, God cannot work unless we surrender to him. His way is always to work through weakness.

We have the mistaken idea that when we surrender completely we’ll become spineless and mindless persons. Nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, when we surrender we tap into God more fully. We become more alive, more realistic, more courageous, more truly ourselves than we’ve ever been before.

Dear God, forgive me for being so independent. I want to trust you more in every situation. I give  myself to you now in full surrender. In Jesus name, Amen.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;  In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”  Proverb 3:5-6

By Helen Lescheid
Used by Permission

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Further Reading

•  Yielded Heart –  by Kathy Cheek

• Fully Surrender to the Lord – Christian Poem by Hope Tshuma

•  Salvation Explained

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thoughts by Helen Grace Lescheid Thoughts by Women

Stay Near to God
Published May 15, 2021

Stay Near to God

“When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up the spoils.” Luke 11:21-22

Why did Peter deny Jesus?

He confidently declared “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” (Matthew 26:35) But only a few short hours later, Peter did the exact opposite. He denied he knew Jesus three times, just as Jesus predicted. We don’t have to imagine Peter’s sorrow: We’re told plainly that afterwards “he went outside and wept bitterly.” (Matthew 26:75)

But this doesn’t answer the question of why Peter denied knowing Him. Part of it was fear: Fear of losing his reputation by being associated with a man accused of being a criminal. Fear of his responsibilities. Fear, perhaps, for his own life. But another reason that Peter ended up denying knowing His Lord is because he was away from Him.

Peter lost sight of his Lord. It wasn’t until “The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter” (Luke 22:61) that Peter came back to his senses and realized what he had done. After losing sight of Jesus, Peter had been trying to do things on his own strength. Rather than trusting God, he was trusting in himself.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

Peter himself explains the imminent danger of trying to do everything ourselves God: “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) The apostle James advises us: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.” (James 4:7-8) While even the strongest of men & women are no match for Satan’s temptations on our own, with God we have nothing to fear.

We can stay near to God by reading His Word, by speaking and listening to Him in prayer, and by living in community with His sons and daughters. Stay near to God, and you will never be overwhelmed.

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”  Isaiah 41:10

Question: What is the danger of not staying near God? How does staying near God protect us from danger?

by Darren Hewer
Used by Permission

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FURTHER READING

•  Cling to the Lord
•  Keeping Yourself in God’s Love – even during painful times in your life

Learn more about knowing Jesus at: https://thoughts-about-god.com/four-laws/

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thoughts by Darren Hewer Thoughts by Men