The Heart of Worship

" Surrender your whole being to Him to be used for righteous purposes" (Romans 6:13)

The heart of worship is surrender. True worship-bringing God pleasure happens when you give yourself completely to God. "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship" (Romans 12:1).

Trusting God is an essential ingredient to surrender. You won't surrender to God unless you trust Him, but you can't trust Him until you know Him better. Fear keeps us from surrendering, but love casts out all fear. The more you realize how much God loves you, the easier surrender becomes. When we completely surrender ourselves to Jesus, we discover that he is not a tyrant, but a savior; not a boss, but a brother; not a dictator, but a friend.

You know you're surrendered to God when you rely on God completely to work things out instead of trying to manipulate others, force your agenda and control the situation. You let go and let God work. The Bible says, "Surrender yourself to the Lord and wait patiently for Him" (Psalm 37:7)

The blessing of surrender:
1) We experience peace (Job 22:21)
2) We experience freedom (Romans 6:17)
3) We experience God's power in our lives

Surrender doesn't weaken you; it strengthens you. Surrender is not the best way to live; it is the only way to live. Nothing else works. All other approaches lead to frustration, disappointment and self-destruction. You cannot fulfill God's purposes for your life while focusing on your own plans. If God is going to do His deepest work in you, it will begin with this. So give it all to God: your past regrets, present problems, future ambitions, fears, dreams, hurts etc.

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me" (Luke 9:23). We must make it a daily habit to surrender and resurrender our lives.

Now is the time to surrender-to God's grace, love and wisdom.