Surrendering to God
In the last few posts I have been sharing pointers with you that indicate the presence of revival in your life. I will continue this series with another mark of revival which is obedience. It is not enough to be convicted of sin. It is not enough to be hungry for holiness. Desire must be translated into action.
Jesus continually linked love for God with obedience to His commands. He even told a parable about two sons, one who expressed the right desire, but with no action, and other who obeyed even though he said he would not. You must become a doer of the Word and not just a hearer.
The Bible also tells us that obedience is better than sacrifice” (1 Sam. 15:22). This means that we pay the price of obedience willingly – and not just when we feel it is worth it. God is not impressed with great shows of denial and suffering He just wants us to do what He asks us to.
Obedience means surrender
Obedience means that you want to please only the Lord. It means that you are careful never to grieve the Holy Spirit. You will never want to offend the Lord through sinning when you realise how much your walk with Him is expressed through your lifestyle. Obedience means the complete surrender of your will to Christ. It will require you to reject not just those things that are clearly wrong. Full, willing obedience means that you obey His voice – not the voice of society around you.
Sometimes God will ask you to give up something that is doubtful. Why do we often regard it as strength to be so close to sin when the Bible tells us to flee temptation? Joseph did not stop to ask questions or to debate with Potiphar’s wife when he began to feel the pull of sin. God may even ask you to reject things that may be allowable for other believers. True freedom is the freedom to be what you are meant to be not the unbridled choice to do whatever you want.
Jesus’ prayer to His father was “Not my will but your will be done”. How close are we to that standard of submission?
Some never surrender their will to Christ, but Jesus is Lord! He must take control of your life and determine every pathway either He is Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all. The choice is yours.