I Give Up!
“...submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:7–8).
As children, many of us of us were involved in competitions with siblings or friends. The word "uncle" was frequently used to indicate one of the participants had "thrown in the towel" or given up.
As adults, the phrase "I give up" generally carries a negative connotation because it means to quit or surrender. For Christians, however, giving up is mandatory for pleasing God. What do I mean? Our culture applauds those who are strong, independent and self-sufficient. However, in order to please God, we must be just the opposite. We must be willing to acknowledge that we are weak, flawed, and dependent on God for forgiveness, strength, guidance and sustenance. Unless we are willing to do so, we will never truly submit to His will.
The aforementioned scripture from the book of James commands us to “submit to God.” The word submit means to "yield fully, surrender or capitulate". In other words, we must "give up" and "give in" to God, allowing Him to control every aspect of our lives. But if we resist by insisting that we have some things "our way", we will soon find ourselves in deep spiritual trouble.
Being totally dependent on God may go against human nature and the expectations of society, but in the end, it will be the best thing we will ever do. When we give up and give in to God, we will find it easier to resist the devil and draw nearer to God.
Paul wrote, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13). The same is true for us when we tell God, "I give up...to You!"
Jesus FIRST!
Dennis
“...submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:7–8).
As children, many of us of us were involved in competitions with siblings or friends. The word "uncle" was frequently used to indicate one of the participants had "thrown in the towel" or given up.
As adults, the phrase "I give up" generally carries a negative connotation because it means to quit or surrender. For Christians, however, giving up is mandatory for pleasing God. What do I mean? Our culture applauds those who are strong, independent and self-sufficient. However, in order to please God, we must be just the opposite. We must be willing to acknowledge that we are weak, flawed, and dependent on God for forgiveness, strength, guidance and sustenance. Unless we are willing to do so, we will never truly submit to His will.
The aforementioned scripture from the book of James commands us to “submit to God.” The word submit means to "yield fully, surrender or capitulate". In other words, we must "give up" and "give in" to God, allowing Him to control every aspect of our lives. But if we resist by insisting that we have some things "our way", we will soon find ourselves in deep spiritual trouble.
Being totally dependent on God may go against human nature and the expectations of society, but in the end, it will be the best thing we will ever do. When we give up and give in to God, we will find it easier to resist the devil and draw nearer to God.
Paul wrote, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13). The same is true for us when we tell God, "I give up...to You!"
Jesus FIRST!
Dennis
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