All of my life has been episodes of battles;
Wrestling for control, for peace, for wellness
For what I know are my rights, for all I think
I deserve. From one battle to the other
So was my life before God, and after God
For though I turned my life over
Pledging to follow His lead, I have fought
Him every step; unwilling to lose control
And let Him drive me as He pleases, lest
He drive me where I don’t want to go.
I wanted God to lead my way, live my way
But He is God and it has to be His way.
Even for times He let me win, have my way
I always knew it had to be His way.
As I lay exhausted by all my warring
And my wanting that has left no peace
I knew what I should have been doing
All along: willingly, I eased off every care,
In trust, bowed my heart, in sweet surrender.
Food For Thought: Why would man engage in a battle he knows he will not win? Why do men fight God? Ignorance. What a pity that ignorance does not save anyone from inevitable defeat. I have seen people mouthing shocking things against God and there have been times I wondered, “How can a mere man dare such a mighty God?” Obviously because he doesn’t know who he is contending with. That is the same reason why we disobey God: we know no better. Ignorance has been the undoing of many. That is the same reason why we trust our limited ways than God’s. I recall instances where I demonstrated toward others, more trust than I was willing to invest in myself. You can guess the outcome: utter disappointment. The devastation of not-knowing is inestimable, the more reason why we should do all we can to learn, to know, and to do. It is difficult to find, to follow, and to enjoy God’s will and ways without knowledge and understanding. It is arduous to trust in God you don’t know or follow a way you don’t understand. Knowledge sets the foundation of faith. Working hand in hand with obedience, it turns on the light of wisdom so that the more we understand, the better we can conform. Without faith, all we have is assumptions which is not and cannot become faith. When we know, then we can trust: in trust we can rest and in rest, surrender is sweet: not a struggle and not regrettable.
Scripture: Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Philippians 2: 6.
Prayer: Dear Lord, my life is not mine to run as I please, the day You paid that debt on the cross, You secured this life so that every one of us that lives, would live for You: help me to live, totally and freely, for You, from this day onward, amen.