This is My Surrender

This past week was my 24th birthday. First, thank you all for the love poured out this past week. I have never felt more loved. As the festivities came to a close, I found myself sitting in my car reflecting on the past couple of days. I was overwhelmed, nervous, excited, and anxious. Now, it wasn’t all negative feelings, but rather positive nerves and anxiety. I sat in my car thanking God for the past year. It was a year of lows, highs, opened and closed doors, but altogether a year that has shaped me into really starting to become who I truly am. 

Then, as I sat in my car thanking God, one of my favorite worship songs came on. “Make Room” by The Church Will Sing. Wow, did this song HIT HARD. Make room? What does that even mean? As I sat listening to the song, the lyrics, and the words, I felt this overwhelming urge to just pray. To pray over year 24 and to dedicate this next year of life to fully pursuing Christ. Praying “Here is where I lay it down, you are all I am chasing now, this is my surrender.” 

So what does it look like to make room? I think it’s easy for us to say we are going to make room for Jesus but a few days past and then it’s back to the everyday drive. It’s important to look at a few scriptures to imagine making room fully for Jesus. 

Psalms 34:8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

James 4:8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Ephesians 5:16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 

Luke 11:9 - 10 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 

There is relatively one common theme among these verses: when we are in a relationship with Jesus we have to find the balance of seeking and finding. It’s easy to ask someone to find something for you, but when it comes to a relationship where the person isn’t necessarily “hidden” the concept changes. We are given the gift of salvation by Jesus dying on the Christ. We can find Jesus at any point in our life.

In any relationship, you actively ask questions to get to know the other person. Anything from their favorite color, fears, dreams, and ambitions. As you begin to learn more about the person you grow in intimacy with each other. It’s the same with our relationship with Jesus. Our intimacy with Jesus is only dependent on our choice to respond to him by continually seeking after him. Making room for him in our life. We must take the time and space to actively seek Jesus and long to know more and more of who He is. 

So I challenge you this week to take time and seek God. Figure out how you can actively seek him in your life and make room for him. Maybe it’s a dedicated time of the day or multiple times throughout the day. However you feel God is calling you to seek him, pursue that, and let him show you how great and mighty he is.