Everyone likes owning things, from houses and cars to mobile phones and the latest gadgets. Ownership gives us the pleasant feeling of being in control and having authority, and that is natural. God also gave us the responsibility of stewardship over the earth. But as Christians, we know that everything in this world belongs ultimately to God, and we know that we should surrender everything to Him, even our whole lives, which were bought at a great price. But here comes the huge struggle: how do we go about surrendering and dedicating everything we have and everything we are to the Lord, especially when it’s so difficult?
In past years, I have often heard preachers give the challenge to surrender every aspect of my life to God, which means that everything I do and have must be pleasing to God. I was hesitant for some time, because I wasn’t sure that I could live up to the commitment. I hate failing in commitments, and I don’t easily make one. I felt God calling me to do it, but I didn’t because I felt I wasn’t ready.
But my Heavenly Father continued to work in my heart. It was not sudden. It was not dramatic. But slowly and gradually, through the things and opportunities He put into my path, He made my desire to dedicate my life to Him grow more and more. And today I am in the process of dedicating everything to God, as I continue to learn more about Him and to learn to walk closer with Him.
Now as I think about it, I find a particular method that I think is useful in helping us to learn to eventually surrender everything to God. The possible reason why the prospect of giving everything to God is so overwhelming is because we use the word “everything.” That’s a huge leap, and many of us find it too challenging to get from A to Z with just a single declaration of commitment. At least, that’s how we perceive it to be in our minds.
But what I find is that, as we work to draw closer to God, we can eventually reach our goal by working step-by-step through the process of specific commitments. For example, I have specifically dedicated this blog to the Lord for His purposes and glory. That is what I want to be the driving force behind the posts on this blog, and it’s what I want to be the focus of my heart when people respond to them. I am also currently researching on potential colleges as I work to finish my grades and plan to further my studies. In this area, I have surrendered to the Lord my future. I have asked Him to open doors that correlate with His will, and to close doors that do not. The next area may be music, or homework, or sports. As situations come up, God will prompt me to commit a specific area to Him, and through this process, I will eventually have my whole life given to Him. It’s easier to aim for point Z when we walk through points B, C, D through Y.
I would like to close with this thought: If everything belongs ultimately to God, what should our mindset concerning our possessions be? How would we use the things we have, the things in our lives, with that in mind? A common answer would be “to share with others,” which is correct, plus “To be good stewards by caring for those things,” “to use them wisely,” and most of all, “to not use them for things that displeases the Lord.” When we keep in mind that the things we have is God’s, we will use them differently, we will not place them in higher value than people, and we will be grateful and appreciative.
May we continue to grow in Christ.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, we thank You for everything You have given us and all You have done for us. Give us a growing desire to surrender everything in our lives to You as we learn to walk with You more and more. Help us to remember that everything we have belongs to You. Teach us the way to live. We praise You and give thanks. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Blessings,
Nathanael Chong
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