Hope For Today "Surrender"

As we move through Jesus’ list of the kind of attitudes we should have and act on we come to the one that says: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6

Whenever we become conscious of our failures and the harms we have caused others, whether that’s through an inventory of our character defects or just the to and fro of daily life, then a well of deep sorrow may overwhelm us. The only question to ask ourselves that really matters in that moment is, “Am I saddened enough by the painful mess I am in to be willing to come before God and admit that I am powerlessness over my self-willed ways?”

To be “poor in spirit” means that we come to an honest understanding of who we are without God in our life.  We recognize that we are powerless to do life on our own. We no longer deny what we have done in the past, but humbly admit the exact nature of our wrongs to God and ask for His forgiveness.

God tells the truth and helps us to get ready for what we will face. Doing the right thing often isn’t convenient.  Sometimes we put a vision in our minds of hardship and overwhelming pain and decide we did not want to deal with it, at any cost. But God has a good way forward for us.

We're one week on from our celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, demonstrating His power over sin and death and verifying His claimes to be bringing in a new kingdom, the kingdom of God. How are we meant to live in that kingdom today?

It’s just a week since Good Friday and our remembering the great sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf.  Our world is full of many troubles and the death and resurrection of Jesus is meant to reassure us, particularly during troubled times, that God has a good way forward for us.

I’m so grateful that Jesus Christ gave His life as the seed that died so that you and I could find life with God. The harder part for us is the time when it’s up to us to be the seed that is planted into the soil and dies so that new life can be multiplied.

That Jesus took our sins and sicknesses on Himself and hung on the cross until He died, even though He could have called thousands of angels to release Him and deal with His murderers, this is love, as the old song says, “Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.”

It’s important to ask ourselves in what ways we put our own ways of doing things ahead of seeking God for His plan in each of our days and circumstances. 

To grow and mature and do well in any area of life requires commitment. Maintaining our life with God also takes time and effort. The habits and disciplines we practice need to be consistently carried on if we are to grow and mature. 

What might God be able to accomplish with yours and my ordinary lives if we were to offer them to Him today and follow what He tells us to do?

We humans are quite small and fragile in the big scheme of things. We’re easily brought to a place of desperation. Thankfully God is there when we finally realize our need and makes all we need available to us.