“A wife who is 85 percent faithful to her husband is not faithful at all.
There is no such thing as part-time loyalty to Jesus Christ.”
― Vance Havner
Surrender it all to Him.
You cannot fulfill God's plan for life while focusing on your own plans. God can only change you life if you let Him. God gives us free will to choose Him - or not. In this world, it is easy to be a good person. Be kind, share with others, and go to church. But sometimes our best is not good enough, and in this life there will always be situations that are out of our control. You can’t control the economy. You can’t control the weather. You can't control the people around you. You can’t control a lot of things that will affect and impact your life. Surrendering your life to the Lord will cause a total transformation to take place, and give you an everlasting assurance that everything will always be OK. Surrender means the giving over of one person's, rights, and possessions to another. But you will have to surrender more than just your physical body. It also includes one’s heart, mind, spirit, emotions, thoughts, talents, and gifts. If someone placed a bowl of chocolate candy in front of you, you would have to make a choice. You couldn't just ignore it or wish it would go away - you would have to take action and make a decision, a choice – whether to eat it or put it away. Your life is an example of something that you possess. It belongs to you. To surrender your whole life to the Lord is a decision that only you can make. No one else can make that decision for you. Many Christians have made a concrete decision to open their hearts to Jesus and to say “yes” to His will, and so can you. When you begin to give every area of your life over to Him you will see a real change. Let God perform a makeover on your life! He loves you, but He doesn't want you to stay the way you are, He wants better for you. He wants you to allow Him to mold you into the person you were intended to be - full of joy, life, and hope. Take that step of faith and begin living the life God has for you. He doesn't want a part of you, He wants all of you. It may not seem logical at first, but you do what God says because God’s way is always best. With every act of obedience to Him, there is a blessing for you, and your life will be better for it. God only wants the best for you - but you cannot receive what He has for you until you decide to let Him in your heart. It does take effort on your part, and you can do it with His help. Will you decide to live for God, or live for yourself? Time and time again we will have to surrender to Him both the big and little things in life. But I can promise you this - if you choose to live for Him, you can rest knowing that your joy of a better life is on the way!
Focus Scriptures:
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
James 4:8
Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.
Romans 6:13
Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.
Joy in Action Today:
You decide! Choose what you will do today that will help you to produce consistent joy in your life. Talk to God. Pray daily. Meditate on encouraging scriptures. Write in a journal. Fight negative thoughts, and surround yourself with people who will help build your character. Joy is portable, so take it with you wherever you go!