Devotional

Surrender Your Heart

Ready 

“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” -- Romans 10:9

Set 

In competition, we’re taught not to surrender. We play with everything we have, refusing to give up one inch on the field or one point to the opposing team.

We tend to think of surrender as something bad. But what if surrender meant something else? What if we chose to see it as something good?

Surrender is a yielding, a giving up possession of our lives and recognizing we never truly had control in the first place. It’s a personal decision. We choose to relinquish control and submit to the authority and power of God.

Surrender to Jesus

First, we in turn surrender to Jesus as our Savior, fully God and fully man, who cleared a path to everlasting life by way of the cross. It’s not our will, but God’s, and that comes through accepting that Jesus lived a perfect life on earth, obediently died on the cross, and conquered sin and death forever. By Him we have salvation; there is no other means.

Surrender to New Life

In Christ, our old ways and habits are traded in for a different lifestyle. Out with the old; now, a new way is ushered in. As we surrender to the Lordship of Christ, He begins to teach us how to love God deeper, love others and look after their well-being and live out His Kingdom on earth.

Surrender to God’s Pursuits

Once God has hold of our heart, He shapes it to how He sees best. He begins to place in us new passions, a new way of seeing the world around us and instills a desire to love like He does. The way we pursue life and athletics has an eternal tint to it now as we keep our eyes open for what God has in store.

As we willingly choose to pivot from our old ways of living and turn towards the life in full God promises in Jesus Christ, we’re transfused in an entirely different motivation to see our sport and those we play with impacted for the Kingdom of God.

Rejoice in this new pursuit of life in Christ! His ways are worth it.

Go 
  • What keeps you from surrendering your heart to the Lordship of Jesus?
  • How is Jesus calling you to follow Him today?
  • Will you surrender your life to God through Jesus’s death and resurrection?
Workout 

Proverbs 16:1-3; Mark 14:35-36; 2 Corinthians 5:17

Overtime 

“God, thank You that when I think of surrender, I can look to Jesus’s example as He surrendered to Your will on the cross. I understand what He through His death to bring me into right standing with You and surrender my life to Jesus’s Lordship. Please fill my life with Your pursuits and create new life within me. In Jesus’s name, Amen.”

Bible Reference: 
Romans 10:9
Proverbs 16:1-3
Mark 14:35-36
2 Corinthians 5:17