Surrender

I do my best to share what I sense the Spirit has placed in my heart.  I share these thoughts to not only allow you to see the activity of God in my personal life but also I want them to serve as a challenge or confirmation to you in your personal walk with Christ.  Periodically the Spirit will remind me of the need to continue to surrender my life to Christ.  I remember the initial time of surrender at my conversion and I can remember those "God moments" in which God has taken me into a deeper sense of surrender and service to Him.  I sensed one of those moments yesterday afternoon during a time of prayer.  I never want to lose the desire to recognize the leadership of Christ in my life; I sincerely desire Him to be Lord as well as Savior.  Is it possible that we can receive Him as Savior yet not fully surrender to Him and recognize Him as Lord over our life?  I do not want to make that mistake.  Recently I read this article from a Pastor in SC that spoke to my heart and I want to share it with you today.  Please remember that it spoke to me before I desired for it to speak to you!

 

A friend said, "My problem is that I have surrendered my time to work, to other people, and to bad habits." We should first surrender our time to God. God owns it anyway. Our task is to manage properly what has been entrusted to us until he returns or wants it back, including our time.

 

Think about a compass and a clock Two very important tools, but two very different instruments. One would be wise not to confuse the two. To surrender our time to God is to be governed by a compass rather than to be controlled by a clock. A compass provides a sense of direction, purpose, vision, perspective, and balance. A clock measures duration, the expenditure of time. A compass determines effectiveness-doing the right tasks. A clock determines efficiency-how long it takes to accomplish a task. Both have their place. But, the compass must come before the clock, therefore, effectiveness before efficiency. The "mega priorities" of the compass subordinate the "mini priorities" of the clock.

 

A compass, therefore, becomes a symbol of an internal guidance system that provides us with our values and convictions based on God's Word. This non-negotiable governs our lives. In the same manner that the gravitational force pulls the compass needle; it is God that governs the drive of our lives. We surrender to his force.

 

Our time should be surrendered to God daily. I asked a friend who is engaged in many pursuits successfully, how he managed it all. He said, "I give my first minutes to God, then I commit the remainder of the day to his Lordship. And amazingly I work more effectively and efficiently."

 

Have you surrendered your time to God?  Is your time in his hands?