Surrender

S. "Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?" (Luke 9:23-25,NIV)

O. These verse are so cruel to my Christian life. This life I live is all about surrendering my will and living for God's will in all that I do. It is about following Jesus and his example to love, give and sacrifice. It is about losing my life to follow his plan and not be so concerned about me. But it is one thing to understand this in my mind...grasping the reality of doing it is still so very difficult. Why is it so hard for me to give up what I want? This still perplexes me daily. I still have so much selfishness in me...I still struggle with wanting to do what I want to do...not yielding myself to the way of Christ. This is the human struggle that every person faces.

A. So what application to I pull from this? Perhaps it is being aware of this once again with bring a heighten awareness in some aspect of my life today. I want to give up some practical area of my life today and give in to God's plan.

P. God, help me to listen to you and be obedient to your way for my life today. Amen.