surrender

you know when the lord is trying to tell you something or teach you something and suddenly its all around you? every bit of scripture you read, every book you pick up & every sermon you listen to all leads you to the same thought or idea? that's my life right now; you finally just have to say, "ok god, you've got my attention." i spoke of this in an earlier post but it continues to ring true. god's continually calling me to live a life that is radically different, to be nearer to him & to live out the gospel.

we had a discussion in bible study last night that continued to point me to this idea...what does it look like to surrender my life? am i living a life worthy of the gospel? am i living out what scripture calls me to do or am i so attached to what's normal in our world to even grasp what he intended our lives to look like? do i make excuses why it's ok for me to live counter to scripture?

it's really awesome to have fellowship with people that are trying to process the same truths at the same time. it truly is a blessing. the bible study girls & our church have decided to follow what christ taught {& commanded} to the best of our ability {with his strength} in real ways. love people that he would love, give away what he would give & go to those he said to go. we need to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, cast off everything that hinders us & run the race marked out for us. this series has been a great encouragement to me, i recommend you check it out {week 4 already happened & should be up soon}.

a few excellent questions that were posed last night {that all tie in together} are: that our lives are not our not own, why do we live like they are? why do we cling to things in our lives {physical things, people, dreams, security} so tightly that we won't give them up EVEN THOUGH god promises to always be faithful & always provide for us {phil 4:19}. not to mention that any plans that he has for my life are going to abundantly more adventurous, more challenging, more creative & more joyful than anything i could think up for myself {jer 29:11-12}.

i hope this doesn't sound like...me me me, what do i do, my life...my _____; please know that's not my heart. i just really want to glorify the lord with this one life i'm given here and i want it to be ALL ABOUT HIM!

i think that i will keep wrestling with this {maybe my whole life} but as i keep digging i pray that the lord will really show me more & more of what it looks like to be a "good & faithful servant" & to be "a woman after his own heart".

i hope that challenging questions spur you on also. please feel free to share any thoughts you have.

photo provided by flickr & linked to it's owner