My thoughts have circled back to Abraham yet again. I've been spending time with God, asking Him what it means to suffer well, especially when my own fears stare at me in the face. Oftentimes, I want to run from the things that try to shatter my faith and, sometimes, they beat me down enough to question God's provision and mercy. I was reading today about Abraham and the ways in which he was asked to surrender all that he had- at various seasons of his life. The promises of God provide a powerful antidote to all our fears. It is in this submission and surrender that we find our true selves and the face of the Father.
When it comes to the uncertainties that keep us from sacrifice, surrender, and slavery to God, we, like Abraham, have "exceedingly great and precious promises" (2 Peter 1:4) from God's Word- promises that powerfully counteract our deepest fears. If we trust those promises and the God who has made them, we will be given courage to make each sacrifice He asks of us.
If we do not trust God's promises and, therefore, do not step out in faith and surrender, we will ultimately find ourselves in bondage tot he very things we refuse to surrender. We will end up being controlled by that which we are seeking to keep within our own control.
Trust or tyranny. That is the option. Trust the promises of God- which will free you to live joyfully under His loving lordship- or live under the tyranny of that which you will not surrender.
God wants us to experience provision, pleasure, protection, and personal relationships. But He wants us to seek them in the only place they can be found- in Him. And He doesn't want us to settle for substitutes for the real thing." Nancy Leigh DeMoss "Surrender"
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