Surrender

I sat down for quiet time with the Lord and I proceeded to turn my rusty bible pages to Proverbs.

A little background:

It’s not everyday that I get to sit down to this quiet time, and to be honest, some days my bible barely makes it open. So this year I’ve asked the Lord to renew my thirst for his word and help me to be a little more diligent in showing myself approved. I’m so excited about this because God has truly been meeting me in this place of quiet with him.

Anyway. In flipping to get from James to Proverbs, my eyes caught the words of Jesus dead center, so I decided to ask the Lord if that is where I should be.

Undoubtedly quiet time is about more than just being still. Everything that makes this idea possible is listening.

I read:

Matthew 8:18-22

“When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he instructed his disciples to cross to the other side of the lake. Then one of the teachers of religious law said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.” Another of his disciples said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Follow me now. Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead.”

Matthew 8:22

“But Jesus told him, “Follow me now. Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead.”

I don’t know what it was that kept me at this place but I was stuck on verse twenty-two. What was the meaning of this? And essentially what was the Lord wanting me to understand?

And then I read the commentary..

“It is possible that this disciple was not asking permission to go to his father’s funeral but rather to put off following Jesus until his elderly father died. Perhaps he was the first-born son and wanted to be sure to claim his inheritance. Perhaps he didn’t want to face his father’s wrath if he left the family business to follow an itinerant preacher. Whether his concern was financial security, family approval, or something else, he did not want to commit himself to Jesus just yet. Jesus, however, would not accept his excuse.

Jesus was always direct with those who wanted to follow him. He made sure they counted the cost and set aside any conditions they might have for following him. As God’s Son, Jesus did not hesitate to demand complete loyalty. Even family loyalty was not to take priority over the demands of obedience. His direct challenge forces us to ask ourselves about our own priorities in following him. The decision to follow Jesus should not be put off, even though other loyalties compete for our attention. Nothing should be placed above total commitment to living for him.”

Most would agree that the man wanting to be with his father was a valid excuse. But in my mind I can’t help but think, “this is Jesus here.” The alpha and omega, beginning and end calling this man to serve alongside of him as a disciple. Yup, this man was clearly out of whack!

But as a mother this is me. Never able to bring my mind fully to the king of kings. Why? because my mind plays subject to so many other things that are happening around me. There’s basketball practice’s, menu planning, serving my husband, household projects and more . Not forgetting that Jesus is my priority but not making much effort to make him that either.

Just one more thing needs to be done before that time with Jesus. And before you know it, my quiet time with Jesus or those moments of listening and meditating are victim to a tired and weary momma.

In reading this I can already think of some things that need to be surrendered to get more time with God or to stop and realize those little beauties in life that God has given.

Challenge:

What in your life is God calling for you to surrender just to be with him? What can be less to give God more?

Live on purpose,