In case you missed it on Sunday, we did a live video interview with Sarah (Wackerlin) Spiker during the sermon. Sarah shared a little bit of her incredibly relevant personal story about giving her life to Jesus just a few years ago. After growing up very active in our church, working here with the youth group, and even going to seminary, Sarah finally hit a point of realizing that even though she believed all the right things about Jesus, she remained Lord of her own life. So Sarah gave her life to Jesus. Her whole life.
In the sermon we talked about the difference between believing the right things ABOUT Jesus and giving your life TO Jesus. What a profound difference. To call Jesus our Lord is to acknowledge that our lives are not our own; they are God's. It is to say that even though I know quite clearly what I want, Jesus knows completely what I really need.
In many ways, the struggle to really and truly give our lives away to God is the ongoing task of discipleship. We don't ever learn for learning sake. We learn in order to better know ourselves, better know God, and better yield ourselves to God.
And that is especially hard for us independent, hard working, pull yourself up by your own boot straps, kind of people. Giving up control is never easy.
But it gets easier the more we keep our eyes on Jesus.
I'd love to hear any stories or reflections on how God is challenging you in the process of giving your life to him.
I would say I have had to learn to surrender to God the issues all three of my children struggle with. We knew we were getting into unchartered territory being foster parents. But if I am to be totally, brutally honest, sometimes I felt like I got the short end of the stick. Please God, why couldn't one child not have learning issues, behavior issues, Autism, Please God, PLEASE!
ReplyDeleteBut then I remembered as I prayed and reflected on what I asked God for: Please let me have children. I want to be a Mom.
Here is one sure thing I know: God gave me the children I was suppose to raise, not the children I thought of in my head. How selfish of me. I have great kids. I have healthy kids.
I do still have feelings of worry about my children's future, so this is what I am trying to surrender to God. To let God be in control and for me to be the Mom God wants me to be and He will handle the rest.It is not easy, but when I really let go, it gives me peace.
Janie thanks for sharing your experience of surrender. It is indeed a daily, if not hourly challenge. I hear you loud and clear about the challenges of foster parenting and I think your exactly right about God giving you the exact right children. Keep on sister!
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