First off, I’m so grateful to have the chance to write to you again today! I’ve been absent of content of late; it feels like I’m returning to a friend. The year 2025 has been a strange, challenging one so far. I haven’t really had a chance to share the reasons why (unfortunately, that’s a blog for another day). For today, I want to share a quote, one that I’ve been excited to share, but haven’t been able to until now.
You already know that Rebecca
St. James is a hero of mine – after all, I’ve mentioned that fact to you many
times. Her example of trusting the Lord
is inspiring. The first time I ever
heard the name Rebecca St. James was in the year 2000 (by the way, I am amazed
at how fast time flies. In the next blog,
I plan to speak about the film “Batman
Begins”, which is somehow turning 20 years old. So stay tuned for that!). Anyway, Rebecca was doing an interview on
abstinence. At the conclusion of the
interview she said these words that have both challenged and stirred me over
these years:
“The big thing in the
Christian life, the hardest thing to do, is to just let go of ourselves and let
God change us, and transform us. Because
we so tightly want to hold on to what we think is ours, but God wants to just open
our hand, relax in Him, rest in Him and surrender and watch what He does. So that’s the big encouragement…I would leave
with people listening: trust that God loves you more than you can ever dream or
imagine; that He has the most incredible future for you imagined that’s beyond
comprehension to you right now, and rest in that.”
I could go on and on speaking
about my hopes, dreams, expectations, and plans for my life; I thought it was going to go in a specific way, yet God, in His wisdom, chose to let it play out in a different way than I would’ve ever envisioned. Take it from me: that development can be
scary. But God has perfect vision. He sees the bigger picture; He sees what we
can’t see. Thus, it is arrogant to
presume I know better. It’s far better
to choose to surrender to God and His plans.
Proverbs 3 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on
your own understanding; in all of your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall
direct your paths. Do not be wise in
your own eyes. Fear the Lord and depart
from evil.”
This is not to suggest in any
way that this is always easy, but I can tell you, with transparency, that
deciding to trust in God and His plan is something that I have chosen to
reaffirm time and time again. In fact, just
today I heard a sermon from a guest preacher who spoke of how certain songs can
be what he called a “soundtrack of our spiritual journey.” One of those songs for me is the song “Lift my life up” released in 2014 by the
group Unspoken. Many times over the
years, I’ve sung this song of surrender to the Lord. It begins in this way:
“You’ve brought me this far,
so why would I question you now? You
have provided, so why would I start to doubt?
I’ve never been stranded, abandoned, or left here to fight alone, so I’m
giving You control. [Chorus] I lift my
life, lift my life up; I give it all in surrender. I lift my heart, lift my heart up; you can
have it forever. All my dreams, all my
plans, Lord I leave it in your hands. I lift
my life, lift my life up. Have your way
in me. Have your way in me.”
God bless,
Kevin
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