1 Corinthians 4:2 “Moreover it is required of stewards that a man be found faithful”. In the previous verse the apostle Paul talks of being stewards of the mysteries of God. We often refer to stewardship as being faithful to God in stewarding our possessions and responsibilities, but there is also the stewardship of the mysteries of God. How do I steward those? What God reveals to my spiritual understanding through His word, in stewardship it is required that I walk in that light. As I make right choices the power of the resurrected Christ living in me enables and strengthens me to walk straight paths through life. Here I find the accompanying joy and peace of my salvation, the hallmarks of my Saviour’s presence.
As we look back on our lives from the viewpoint of surrender, we can see that there is a continuing journey of surrender. Surrender is always in the present tense, a daily requirement for the child of God. The greatest moment ever recorded in history of surrender took place in the garden of Gethsemane. Knowing the tortuous death Jesus was facing, He begged His Father if there could be some other way to redeem mankind. In finality He came to the place of complete surrender and abandonment to His Father’s plan, saying “nevertheless not My will, but Thine be done”. Our wills can be stubborn strongholds against our heavenly Father’s plans for our lives. Let’s face the truth about ourselves, we don’t always want to wave the white flag and surrender our strong wills in choices and relationships. The bottom line is not what I want, but what does God require of me in all matters?
A profound statement: Better to have someone else’s whim, than your own way! Scripture endorses this: “Be devoted to one another in love. Honour one another above yourselves”, Romans 12:10. “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory…..let each esteem others better than themselves”, Philippians 2:3.
When a person humbles himself to walk with their God, there is a demonstration of an attractive humility in their life. It is the life of Christ flowing through a surrendered vessel. In that person the beauty of Jesus is seen, the light of God.
When God sees a person’s surrender is sincere, He bestows additional blessing. There is a continual journey of surrender. As stewards we must be found faithful and not allow our possessions to possess us. Many times we discover we are not willing to surrender what God is requiring of us. If this is the case, we acknowledge our lack before the Lord but we must also choose to allow the Lord to bring us to the place, and work with us to make us willing to do His will. Here is the scripture that supports His working in us : “……..work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you both to will, and to do, of His good pleasure”, Philippians 2:12-13. We entered into salvation when we accepted Jesus into our lives, but there is a daily working out of that gift as we walk on with the Lord, learning His ways. When God takes an unwilling person and works with them to bring them to surrender, and do His will, then all the credit belongs to God, this is His glory. Here then we find that “His good pleasure” becomes my good pleasure. God’s will is sweet. You cannot do the will of God miserably! “In His presence is fullness of joy!” In spite of all God’s pruning, we grow stronger. The divine Gardener prunes all the dead wood in our lives that inhibits the growth of His Son.
We mature in God as we walk in the light He reveals to us. If we refuse it, there is no growth from spiritual infancy and that light will fade as we walk in the darkness that follows wrong choices. In the natural, a young child grows with loving guidance and eventually a maturity comes that leaves behind childish things that do not belong to a mature adult. So it should be in our spiritual walk as we see the changes the Lord has made in our lives, all for His glory and credit.
1 Corinthians 13: 10-11 “But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, but when I became a man I put away childish things”.
God holds out His royal sceptre to each of us in the form of His beloved Son. Everyone of us has that royal invitation to walk with Him in surrender and humility. As we choose to abdicate the throne of our heart with self rule, we discover the joy that accompanies His royal reign and the delight He sheds upon our way. In this position we, too, can utter the Psalmist’s words “I delight to do Thy will”, (Psalm 40:8).
Photo by Jackson Simmer on Unsplash
