Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:25-26, ESV)
Have you ever gotten to the point in your golf game where you’ve given up? A point where your scores are so bad that you just cannot take it any longer? I know I have! Golf is a tough game that can really mess with your mind. It takes much patience, time, and endurance.
In the same way, there have been several times in my life where I have been so close to giving up on my relationship with God. These difficult times have challenged my faith to where I didn’t know if I believed in God or even if he existed anymore for me.
I will fall, fail, and topple over in my sin. However, we have a God who can take all that from us.I have this good friend who has served us in the US military for a while now and has been on several different tours overseas. Not too long ago, I got to sit down with him and have a conversation about what was going on in his life. This friend has struggled with the same doubting thoughts that I have. He also fought a particular sin and hid it from his family for some time.
Finally, one day in the middle of the night, the Lord grabbed his heart. He came to the realization that he couldn’t continue living like this and wanted to be free from this sin. He got on his knees and surrendered everything to the Lord. He went on to tell his family and those close to him what was going on.
Let me tell you something very unique and striking about what he told me about that night of surrender. He said he felt like he was back overseas, serving his country on the battlefield: “It felt like I was overseas, surrendering to my enemy. I had taken all of my body armor off—it felt like a ton of bricks just fell off—and I gave myself over to the enemy.”
Because of all the built-up shame, guilt, and sin in his life, my friend felt like he was surrendering to the enemy. Through all his hardships, iniquities, and trials, he had lost that beautiful view of who God really is, and of who he was before the Father.
You see, my friend didn’t find an annoyed, angry, ticked off “enemy” on the other side of surrender. He found the God we read about in the Bible, the God who loves, cares for, and extends grace to his people. It was the Luke 15:20 God that he found, the Father who has compassion and runs and embraces his children.
As the psalmist says, my life and my flesh will fail. I will fall, fail, and topple over in my sin. However, we have a God who can take all that from us. In fact, he already did, 2000 years ago on the cross. If you know Jesus as your Savior, then he is just that. He is the Savior for you. And he did it because he loves you, purely through his grace and mercy!
May we all surrender our lives, our sin, our trials, and our hardships to Jesus alone. He can handle it. Just like my friend found, God is not waiting to get back at you or punish you. He can’t wait for that beautiful surrender, as he will love, care for, and hold you through it.
—
Rosson Anderson
December 21, 2016
Copyright 2016 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.