Word of the Year

I wasn’t really planning on having a “word” for 2017. I don’t do that often. Maybe once or twice. But, as I sat in church on New Year’s Day, I was struck. Have you ever had one of those moments? You know, when you are in deep prayer, and God is near. I would love for them to happen more often, and I know that is my short coming not His. But Sunday I was struck. I heard God’s voice. Now, each time this has happened to me, I only hear one word. Maybe He knows that I’m not mature enough to be still long enough to hear more, I don’t know, but one word answers are what I get. And to be honest it’s all I need. The word spoken is full of meaning, and is all I need to know exactly what He’s getting at. What’s the word you might ask??

Yep, that’s right. Surrender. When I became a Christian I surrendered and gave Jesus Lordship over my life. I know that I am a child of God. However, I have control issues. Meaning that I like being in control. Ask my family and they will quickly attest to this. It’s something that I struggle with. Why ask for help from someone else, when they are just going to do it wrong. So, where does that leave me with my relationship with God? Secure but lacking. The Bible says that God wants us to not only have life but to have it more abundantly. {John 10:10} I am secure in knowing that I have eternal life in Him, but I often feel I am lacking the abundance in life that He promises.

Now, this doesn’t mean health and wealth. No, abundance in God’s standards is far different from our standards. I’m not even sure exactly what it means, but I know that I don’t have all I could in Him. And, Sunday, He reminded me why…”surrender” He said to my heart.

“Give it ALL to Me.”

All to Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.

Refrain:
I surrender all, I surrender all;
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.

All to Jesus I surrender,
Make my, Savior, wholly Thine;
Let me feel Thy Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine. [Refrain]

All to Jesus I surrender,
Lord, I give myself to Thee;
Fill me with Thy love and power,
Let Thy blessing fall on me. [Refrain]

–Judson W. Van DeVenter

This song gets me all the time, because I feel like as I’m singing it I have my fingers crossed. Like “ok God, I’ll surrender this, but you can’t really have ALL”.  😳

So, my word for the year

How do you do that you might ask? Well, I know it won’t be an overnight thing. But, I do know that He wants to change me and make me more like Him – if I allow. So, I plan to more faithful with reading my Bible to start because I know there is no greater foundation. I will work on trusting Him in the details of MY life, not just those of my kids’ or hubby’s. I will be taking my time with decisions and planning and waiting on His direction instead of just planning and bulldozing my way through. (that never leads to much success for me anyway)

Here’s to a less stressful, more productive, and more abundant year!!