“In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Proverbs 3:6 NIV
Welcome to the 29th weekly devotional recap of the year. This week, we learnt about the place of surrender in receiving God’s leadership, and each article showed us a different area that we need to intentionally surrender to Him.
We began the week with a charge to surrender our plans to God (Proverbs 3:5). This means placing our hope and expectations in the hands of our faithful God and trusting that His plans are higher and better than ours (Isaiah 55:8- 9). Surrender doesn’t come naturally to us because we are wired to crave certainty and control; yet, the life of faith calls us to trust God to work things out beyond our expectations. Surrendering our plans is not giving up on the future, but entrusting it to the One who sees the end from the beginning.
On Tuesday, we learnt that more than a means to an end, the work we do is an opportunity to reflect God and carry out His purpose on earth. Surrendering your work to God means doing your tasks with the awareness that you are ultimately working for Him (Colossians 3:23-24). It means seeking His direction before making decisions and allowing His Word to guide how you show up, on good and bad days alike. The key to surrendering your work is remembering who you are and that His spirit sets you apart. Even when no one’s watching, work with excellence, integrity, and faithfulness, as unto God.
Wednesday’s devotional encouraged us to intentionally invite God to lead our families (Joshua 24:15). Your faith should and would inspire your family members to follow the Lord (2 Timothy 1:5). Share the gospel with them, be a good example of the believer, invite them to spaces where they would hear the Word of God taught, and pray for them. By intentionally inviting God to lead your family, you can transform its dynamics and reach those who are unsaved.
Thursday’s article showed us the need to surrender our relationships to God. Only God can see the heart and the true intentions of people—things we cannot discern through physical sight or human reasoning (1 Samuel 16:7). For this reason, it is vital to depend on His guidance when making decisions in all our relationships. By the leading of the Spirit, you can know the right relationships, friendships and partnerships to enter into. Trust God’s love, wisdom, and guidance as He leads you into the right relationships.
We ended the week learning that thriving marriage is not one led by human wisdom alone, but one directed by the Spirit of God. Marriage holds the potential to reflect God’s covenant love and bring fulfillment, but it also has the power to expose our flaws, fears, and other tendencies. Your own strategies are not enough to sustain your marriage; God, the originator of marriage, must be the builder and the guide (Psalm 127:1). Practice daily surrender in prayer, patience, forgiveness, and humility. Allow Jesus sit at the center of your marriage and make it into a testimony of His perfect design for marriage.
Dear believer, to be led by God, you must yield all you are and have to Him. From today, be intentional about surrendering your plans, work, family, and relationships to God, and let Him take the wheel.
Have a blessed weekend.
Bible Reading Plan: Psalm 47-52, 2 Corinthians 2 -3