Friday, January 15, 2021
We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10
To Do Good Works
It is that time of year that we all re-evaluate our lives. We think about what needs to change and we make goals. As a Christian, we have more to think about than just our own personal goals. We know, as His children, that He has a unique plan and purpose for every one of us. In fact, He has more than one plan and purpose for our lives. His plans for us change as the seasons of our lives change. So we must always be listening, seeking, and watching for His direction in our lives for what He wants us to do next.
Most of us want our lives to be purposeful and meaningful. We want more than just to slide through life, comfortable and easy. We were made for more - bigger things and good works - to glorify God. He prepared those things for us in advance, before we were ever born. We are His handiwork and our purpose is to show the glory of God and to spread His story and love to all.
To have this meaningful life that God has intended for us to live, we must be willing. We have to be willing to step out of comfortable and easy and surrender ourselves to His purpose for us. This is abundant life - the abundant life He wants us to have. When we surrender to Him fully He can do amazing and wonderful things in our lives.
This jouney towards the bigger story of your life that God has written will be fulfilling but it will also be hard, exhilarating, beautiful and terrifying, but 100% worth it. Trust Him no matter what He leads you to do.
Surrender
We have said that to have the abundant life and to do the good works that He has prepared in advance for us to do, we must surrender. We are not good at surrender. We like control, especially when it comes to our lives. We want our lives to be different, meaningful, and abundant, but we do not like to let go when the time comes.
What does surrender mean to you? The definition of surrender is to give oneself up into the power of another; yield. Sometimes surrender brings to mind a negagtive experience like forfeiting or giving up what you want. But when we surrender to our Heavenly Father and His will and purpose for our lives it is a beautiful thing. We don’t lose. We win all the way around.
What does surrender cost? There is a cost to surrender. When we surrender to Christ, we die to ourselves. We do give up our own desires to live in the purpose and the plan He has for us. He loves us and what He has for us will be much more fulfilling and it does not mean that we have to give up everything we love. It means that we put Jesus and His purpose for us in the first place of our lives, where He belongs. We love nothing more than Him. We serve nothing more than Him. He is our focus and our guide every step of the way.
God planned good works for us to do and wrote stories for us to live. What do you need to do to surrender to Him today? What do you need to let go of to offer your life to Him, so you can do the good works He has planned for you? You are His beloved handiwork and He has an abundant life waiting for you to live. Let go. Surrender and embrace His plan for you today.
From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. Acts 17:26
