Living in Surrender

Ephesians 5:16-20 (NLT) So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Understand what the Lord wants you to do - be filled with the Holy Spirit, sing and worship Jesus, be thankful for everything! Sounds easy enough but we all face trials that want to sway us in the wrong direction. The key to staying on track is knowing our anchor. When temptations come, we must cry out to Jesus and not give in to what the devil is trying to lure us with. This is where wisdom is needed - knowing our boundaries and who/what to stay away from. As we worship Jesus, our focus turns to Him alone and our mind cannot think about the distractions before us.

Romans 12:2 (NLT) Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Romans 12:2 (TPT) Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes.

This verse reminds me of a spy movie - someone who is going undercover in order to catch the bad guys, they have to completely change the way they act and behave around this new group of people, they have to convincingly become just like them. As Christians, we have to hang out with Jesus and we will begin acting like Jesus. We hang out with Him through our prayer time, our alone time with Him, talking to Him as though you could see His earthly body right next to you. He will help transform your thoughts into godly thoughts which will cause godly actions and speech. It is absolutely possible to live right before God and be free from sin and shame, but it will take diligence and a desire to please Him above all. This is total surrender.