Submitting to God

by Ivan Venter
(South Africa)

Truly Submitting to God: Willingly in the Masters hands...

When looking at someone that is busy restoring something old or broken, we encounter the tendency for detail, love, patients and passion for the specific piece being restored.

This same passion can be seen through the life of Jesus Christ. His love and passion is clearly seen in His relationship with the disciples. He firstly went out and chose those He wanted to restore, and then with great patients and love went about restoring and molding them, to be the instruments that pioneered the first church, as well as writing the New Testament.

Going through time we encounter the Master, that is still busy through the Holy Spirit restoring and molding new disciples. That's right, Jesus Christ is still going about restoration, with the same passion and patients that He had with the disciples. And while Jesus is busy doing most of the work we find that there is something on our part, a responsibility if you will.

This responsibility is in the willingness to become that what God has planned for our lives to be. This willingness however may seem to be a much larger challenge than we are used to, and in some instances prepared for.

To fully comprehend what I am driving at, we must start by looking to the definition of the word willingness as I see it when it comes to our relationship with Jesus. The first thing to remember is that the word hints at an action, or engagement on the part of the one it applies to. It speaks of a commitment to fully give yourself to the action of stepping forward, choosing to leave something behind and looking forward to something new. Thus the willingness to do one thing, implies an unwillingness for something else. In other words, this cannot be something that is done half heartedly, it must be all or nothing.

Matthew 16:24 states the following:

"Then Jesus said to the disciples, 'if any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambitions, shoulder your cross, and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will loose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life.'" (New Living Translation).

We in other words, have to enable Jesus to do the work within us. The enabling process begins with a choice to give all of ourselves to Him. We unlock the fault to our hearts, and give Christ the chance to restore the broken parts, as well as mold the character that He desires within us.

And although it sounds like the process of salvation, we must understand that the commitment to follow Christ should be realized in every situation of every day. Salvation is only the beginning of the path, launching your relationship with Christ and not fulfilling or completing it.

Paul puts it like this Php 3:13-14:

"Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward--to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back."(Message)

The difference then between the realized and unrealized dream of God in our lives, is locked up, in the willingness on our part.

This willingness must become part of our being, wired into us by the Holy Spirit, to follow Jesus Christ unto the end of all things and the beginning of eternity.

So ask yourself, are you a piece that is willing to be formed and restored, as the Master sees fit, or are you holding back in your relationship with God!

The Prayer Corner
What's Your Testimony
Share This Site
Write The Author