Hold on…this is not about Donald Trump’s signature line from Celebrity Apprentice. Nope, it’s the line God prompted me to use on myself when I had the misguided inclination to be the boss of my life and not fully trust him.
On that day, God made it crystal clear that he wanted my heart—all of it—so he could take control of my today…my tomorrow…my eternal destiny.
I was flooded with emotion and then excitement after allowing God to exercise unconditional authority over my physical, mental, and emotional being. I started by subordinating my natural life to the spiritual life and yielding everything to God. I knew if I didn’t do that I would be denying Jesus as the Lord of my life, and the result would be a continuation of the angst and turmoil swirling around me.
NO COMMITMENTS?
Society may be moving away from commitment of any kind, but if we are going to experience God’s joy and find our earthly purpose, we must subordinate ourselves to the God of heaven and earth.
Firing ourself and yielding to God is a deliberate decision to obey him in order to thwart our pervasive and natural desire to be boss. This commitment goes beyond the question of our salvation and assurance of heaven and eternal life. Those incredible blessings are given to us when we believe, and they are secure.
Being rescued from hell and redeemed for heaven is one side of a pole, and experiencing (seeing, knowing, sharing, relating, growing, and worshiping) God’s peace is on the other side. One pole, two sides. We can’t make a partial commitment, stay on our own road, and only occasionally get off by taking a “God exit,” like going to church. It is either God’s road, or our road. There is no in-between.
When we drop to the bottom and buckle at the knees under our own power, we are ready to receive him. As a general who has lost the battle surrenders in a war, we surrender our control over our lives. And on that day our natural self expires with its last breath, and we straighten up our legs to stand tall and erect. Now we are ready to play second fiddle in our lives. We’ve just been fired as CEO.
When Peter denied the Lord, his words were the very opposite of what being a committed disciple would say. Before that terrible night, Peter traveled God’s road. But then he relied on his own instincts and fell. From that night on, the Bible tells us Peter would never rely on himself again.
“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.” Matthew 10:32-33
