Surrender

“So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it.”

Luke 6:46-47 (NLT)

Yesterday, we took a look at how God destines each of us for greatness. He built you and me to do great things on behalf of the Kingdom of God. It’s known as a “calling.” It may be hard to admit that we are bound for greatness, but I think we can all get there eventually. If we agree God builds us for greatness, we’re ready for the next step: How do you discover what God’s calling is on your life? Here’s the next piece to discovering that truth.

The word “Lord” is a term we don’t really use in modern English anymore. Perhaps in places like Great Britain they still use it as a title for certain dignitaries, but it’s not used in everyday language. Here’s a quick, dirty, rough translation of what that word means. A lord is in charge of other people. He gets to tell those who serve under him what to do.

As our verses for today point out, if you call Jesus your Savior, then He is also your Lord. This means that you must surrender your way of doing things, your plans for life, your career, your marriage, your family, your finances, your friends, your social life, your everything to His leading. This is also why so many people stop short of God’s calling. It requires you to surrender your way of doing things, your plans, to His ways and directions. People are pretty good at giving this lip-service and saying “I surrender,” until His ways turn out to be very different than their own desires for life. I can understand this completely.

Before I entered the full-time ministry, I was a successful businessman making really good money, having lots of responsibility, a custom-built home, and basically anything I wanted. But, at the age of 33, I surrendered all of that to Jesus. I surrendered my life totally over to Him. Now I make less than half of that salary, work longer hours, have more responsibility, but couldn’t be more fulfilled. Why? Because I’m doing what God built me to do.

So, today, give the concept of Jesus as Lord more than lip-service. Begin the journey to letting go of your way, your plans, and surrendering them all to Jesus’s way, and His plans. Only then will you truly begin to discover His calling on your life.