The GT Weekend! ~ Shofar, Week 3
Rest your soul through reflective journaling,
praying Scripture,
and worshiping the Creator who
longs for intimacy with each of us!
This Week's Journeys
Romans 8:29-30
For those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those He predestined, He also called; and those He called, He also justified; and those He justified, He also glorified.
Prayer Journal Entry
So, I am faced with a question to either trust You as fully good, despite my pain and limited view, or choose to believe You’ve lied to me in Your Word. Help me to hold fast to what is true. I confess my unbelief; Lord, build my faith! Help me trust the depth of Your goodness extends far beyond my finite vision of my current reality. No matter what I am going through, You are working out Your good plan for me. Help me to see you in the midst of my every day, whether they are good days or bad. Teach my heart to trust you with steadfast surrender. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Worship Through Song
Journal Prompts
Astounding healings, provision, and deliverance from bondage are just a few of the miracles that leap from the pages of the Bible. It’s easy to focus on those incidents and say, “Yes, please!”, for we all want big miracles.
When we come to the end of our budget and the pantry seems bare, we hunger for the miracle of the loaves and fish to effortlessly replenish our lack. If we wrestle with chronic illness, we read the amazing healing of the hemorrhaging woman and ask, “Why not me, Lord?”
But God didn’t come to dwell in the flesh only to provide temporary fixes for our woes. Though he can, and often does, His “Come and See” bidding is meant as a far greater invitation to an eternal relationship with Him. The invitation can only be embraced through willing surrender.
We may not be called to leave behind jobs or families to follow Jesus, but it’s possible. When we come to Jesus open-hearted, fully surrendered, and repentant our lives will be changed. Christ will provide, often in ways we never considered. Through surrender, we find we are fully known and fully loved by the Savior of the world.
I was challenged and convicted by “Pride Or Intimacy” on Wednesday; if you haven’t read it, go there! Mary K. explained how easy it is to return to old sin patterns after becoming a believer. How many times have we wanted to snap back a sharp retort, painfully revealing we are choosing not to surrender to Christ. We all have places in our hearts we haven’t fully surrendered to Jesus.
Consider how often we’ve bypassed the ‘neighbor’ standing on the street corner holding a sign and lacked the compassion of our Lord. Are we engaging our literal neighbors? Or perhaps we’re excluding the neighbors we perceive as different from us.
As I was thinking of surrendering pride, I was reminded of the Journey Study, “Dining With Sinners”, which stories about the scandalous woman who dared anoint Jesus’ feet despite her outrageous sin. Still, she surrendered her pride and walked into Simon’s dinner party uninvited. She wasn’t just surrendering her pride, she was surrendering her history at the feet of Jesus, who lived in total surrender to Father God.
Christ surrendered Himself to a death-penalty we owed in order to extend us eternal life with Him.
Are you a type A personality? Do others gravitate towards you or shun you because you like to be in control? Even if you don’t fit these descriptions exactly, deep down, we all desire to be in control. Some more publicly than others. I don’t consider myself a controlling person…until…I am.
Still, God lovingly pursues us, calling us to live under his call of Surrender. Rebekah pointed to the Old Testament biographies of Abraham and Sarah, both of whom were called to complete surrender of their control. Surrendering our willful control to God, trusting Him in all the things is not easy, but it is essential. We can rest on the truth revealed in Romans 8:29-30 as we grow in our discipline of surrender.
God predestined us to be a part of His plan. Whether we believe Him now or are still searching for Him, we are known and loved. Though we may often be tempted to wrestle control from the Lord, stomping our feet in frustration, the Lord still pursues our hearts, wooing us to know Him as He knows us. He who knew you, and the paths you would take before you were born, knows what He is doing. He will be faithful to accomplish His good work in us!
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This Week's Lock Screen
