Start With Surrender

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A young medical student in England has his life all

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mapped out. Hudson Taylor is training for a stable career

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with every reason to stay where it's safe and respectable. Then

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he starts reading about China, millions who've never heard the

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gospel, and senses God tugging his heart in a completely

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different direction. Leaving means walking away from security

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and family expectations, and even his own understanding of

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what a successful life should look like. At the start of a new

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year, why would someone scrap a solid five-year plan to follow a

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path that looks risky and confusing and totally uncertain?

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Welcome to Daily Devotions for Busy Lives. I am Bart Leger, and

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on this New Year's Day, we're talking about how to begin a

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year, not just with resolutions and goals, but with a

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surrendered heart. Proverbs 3: 5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord

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with all your heart, and do not depend on your own understanding.

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Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to

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take." Proverbs 3: 6-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your

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heart, and give you the best." Most of us come into a new year

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with some sort of plan. Maybe it's written down or maybe it's

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just in your head. Things like get healthier, save more, fix

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that relationship, finally deal with that habit, or move forward

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in my work or ministry. Proverbs 3: 5-6 says, "Goals are good and

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planning is wise." Proverbs 3: 5 reminds us there's something

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even more important than a good plan, and that is: a surrendered

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heart. Trust in the Lord with all your heart is an invitation

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to lean your full weight on who God is, not just on what you can

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figure out. Proverbs 3: 5.6 says, "Do not depend on your own

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understanding" It means, "Don't treat your limited perspective

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as the final word. Seek his will in all you do" means bringing

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him into the middle of your decisions, your calendar, and

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also, all your desires. And he will show you which path to take.

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5.6 says, "That's the promise. When you start with

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trust and surrender, God himself takes responsibility for

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directing your steps. New Year's resolutions often start with,

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"Here's what I'm going to do this year." Surrender starts

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with, "Lord, here's my life. Here's my year. Show me what you

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want." And there's a big difference between those two.

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When we depend on our own understanding, we feel safe as

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long as the plan holds. But the moment something changes, maybe

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a job shifts, or an illness hits, we feel anxious. Maybe even

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angry with God. This wasn't the plan. When we start with

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surrender, oh, we still plan, and we still work hard, but

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underneath it all is a different posture. God, you see more than

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I see. You love me more than I love myself, even. I'm trusting

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you to lead, even when the path doesn't look like what I

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expected. Now, back to Hudson Taylor. Instead of leaning on

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his own understanding, he chose surrender, trusting that if God

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was calling, God would also lead. What he did was he sailed to

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China in 1853 and endured sickness, poverty, delay, and

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still kept saying,

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Out of that yielded life came the China Inland Mission, now

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OMF, hundreds of missionaries and gospel impact far beyond

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anything his original career could have touched. When you

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trust the Lord with all your heart and seek His will in what

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you do, He really does direct your steps, off and down roads

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you never would have chosen, but you wouldn't trade in the end.

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You may not be called to sail to another continent, but you are

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called to begin this year the way Hudson did, with a heart

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that says, "Lord, I'm yours. My plans come second." So let me

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ask you, on this New Year's Day, what would it look like to start

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with surrender instead of just start with resolutions? It might

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sound like this, "Lord, here's my health, my work, my family,

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my dreams, my fears. I don't want to run ahead of you or drag

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behind you. I want to walk with you. Show me which path to take

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this year and give me the courage to follow, even when it

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doesn't match my understanding." That kind of surrender doesn't

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make the year easy, but it does make it anchored. You're not

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just trying to get God to bless your plan. You're asking Him to

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lead you into His. Here's today's New Year's challenge.

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Sometime today, take a few minutes, no phone, no TV and do

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two simple things. First, read Proverbs 3: 5-6 slowly, a couple

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of times. Let each phrase sink in. Second, open your hands,

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literally, if you can, and pray, "Lord, I trust you with this

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year. I don't want to depend on my own understanding. Show me

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which path to take, and help me follow you step by step." And if

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you are a journaler, you might write down one area where you

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especially need to surrender. It might be a decision, it could be

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a relationship, or maybe a fear about the future. And then place

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that by name into His hands. Lord, on this New Year's Day, we

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bring you into our hopes, our plans, and our unknowns. Teach

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us to trust you with all our heart and lean not on our own

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understanding. And as we seek your will in what we do, would

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you show us which path to take? Help us start this year, not

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just with resolutions, but with surrender. In Jesus' name, amen.

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If this New Year's episode has encouraged you, would you please

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consider sharing with someone who's thinking about their year

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ahead? Just send them the link from the show notes. They may

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need this reminder to start with surrender, not just strategy.

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Thanks for joining me today on Daily Devotions for Busy Lives.

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Remember, the best way to begin the year is with a heart yielded

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to God. Trust in the Lord, seek His will, and then let Him

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direct your steps. Come back next time for more encouragement

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to help you live grounded in God's truth. Until then, God

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bless, and a Happy New Year! Happy New Year!