Surrender Training
- Lori Jacumin
- Oct 8, 2023
- 6 min read
Updated: Oct 11, 2024
Preoccupied and Prayerless Series order #13
*See Order Index post for links to all Series content -https://www.trajectoryministries.com/post/preoccupied-and-prayerless-series
All Videos can be viewed at -https://www.trajectoryministries.com/videos or on the Trajectory Ministries Facebook page
*Recommend reading previous entry, (#11) Breathe, prior to this one
"Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires." Romans 8:5
What is your mind set on?
It's probably not something you actively think about, but what you choose to set our mind on impacts how you interact with the world around you, because it influences how you think, feel, and react in any given situation.
According to God's Word, our mind will be set on one of two things - what the flesh desires or what the Spirit desires.
If we are living according to the flesh, our thoughts and choices will be focused on the here and now - on the things of this world which are temporary and will pass away.
If we are living in accordance with the Spirit, our thoughts and choices will be focused on eternity - on the things of God which will last forever.
Paul speaks to this in Galations 5:13-26 —
You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
I love how God's Word is active and alive! I have read these verses many times and I don't think I have ever stopped to think about the phrase, keep in step with the Spirit.
I love this terminology, because it brings me back to when I was a child and I would try to keep in step with my parents or my older siblings. No matter how fast I tried to walk, my little legs just couldn't keep up. But there came a day, after I had grown, when I could walk in step with them without falling behind. Then there came a day when I realized that I had the freedom to move at my own pace. I zoomed ahead, distracted by everything around me, and when I finally stopped and turned around, I didn’t see my parents. For a moment, I thought I was lost — but my parents had never lost sight of me. They saw the frightened look on my face and called out to me.
The fear of losing my way again was enough to keep me focused on keeping in step with them. At least for a while!
As followers of Jesus Christ, it’s incredibly important to our wellbeing for us to keep in step with the Spirit — because He is our guide. It may seem a daunting task at the beginning, but it gets easier as we grow in our faith and our understanding of God's Word and who He is.
Unfortunately, there will always be times we want to exercise our freedom to move at our own pace, distracted and preoccupied by the things of this world. When we finally stop and look up, we may feel a little lost or like God is a million miles away, but the truth is, He never loses sight of us! He is always there, waiting for us to look up, refocus on Him and walk in step with Him once more.
It is our surrender to Jesus Christ that sets us free from our flesh and it's desires, from the distractions of this world.
It's our surrender to Him that sets our minds on the Spirit and gives Him the freedom to work in and through us to accomplish what God desires.
And it is our surrender that opens the floodgate to the Holy Spirit's power that already resides within us as followers of Jesus Christ, giving you and I the ability to walk in step with His Spirit - living unhindered by our flesh.
If you think about it, we spend our entire lives training for things that are important to us. We will make it a priority and we're intentional to do what needs to be done when we’re training for a sport, a career or a new skill. We will even train to play tennis, golf or pickle ball —but how much time do we spend training to live for Jesus?... or training to walk in step with the Spirit?
How important is it to us, as Christ followers, to train for the only race that will matter when all is said and done?
It will always be far too easy for you and I to default back to living according to our flesh and what our flesh desires — especially when our daily lives are spent in the midst of this dark world. I'm pretty sure each one of us could benefit from some daily “surrender training.”
Who would have thought that training ourselves to surrender would be a positive thing? As always, God shows that His ways are contrary to the worlds! When the world tells us our strength, power and success are what's most important, so that we can show the world all that we have accomplished — Jesus tells us that His power is made perfect in our weakness, because we are unable to boast in ourself. (2 Cor 12:9)
It is at the moment of our surrender to Jesus Christ that this life ceases to be about our flesh and what our flesh desires. As we turn away from the cares of this world and the things that preoccupy so much of our time and focus, He gives us the gift of seeing the world through His eyes - with a mind set on eternity, unhindered.
Lord, thank you for your Truth that speaks to every area of my life. Thank you for the wisdom it imparts and the nourishment it brings to my soul. I surrender my life, my heart, to you right now. I desire to live in accordance with Your Spirit - with my mind set on what the Spirit desires today and every day from this moment on. Open my eyes and help me to cultivate an eternal mindset as I seek to live surrendered to you. In Jesus name, Amen.
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