November 3, 2021 – Wednesday
Since I first felt the Lord invite me to focus on and capture the beauty in our days (August 3, 2021 – Nature, The Most Inviting Classroom), I have worked diligently to follow His lead. I laid down my plans and stood with my Arms Wide Open to receive the beautiful gifts He has for me. My children and I have been Following Jesus Outside and into Nature each week. It has been an incredible blessing. We are meeting new friends and falling in love with our new home by simply exploring the beauty surrounding us.
With that said… aside from being out in nature, nothing has gone at all like I planned. Wasn’t that the goal to begin with? To set aside my plans and follow the Lord? Yes! That was it. I have succeeded at the following. It’s the surrendering of my plans I am still working on. I laid them down, but somewhere along the way I picked them back up again. I have traded in either/or for both/and. The result… an overly busy schedule. Yes, I am obediently following His lead, but I am also pulling a huge load of both His plans and mine. Full surrender is dependent on my ability to lay down my agenda for God’s.
When God asked me to release my plans… He did so because He loves me. He knows my limitations. He knows what the year holds. He knows what we need most in this season. He also knows that full surrender is the place of greatest blessing. His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matt 11:30). He never intended me to do both/and. Yet here I am juggling His plans and mine, when all I really need to do is release it all and follow Him.
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt 11:28-30, NIV)
28 “Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden? Come to me. I will refresh your life, for I am your oasis. 29 Simply join your life with mine. Learn my ways and you’ll discover that I’m gentle, humble, easy to please. You will find refreshment and rest in me. 30 For all that I require of you will be pleasant and easy to bear.” (Matt 1:28-30, TPT)
The definition of release is to set free; stop holding; relieve from something that confines, burdens, or oppresses; give up/relinquish in favor of another (Merriam-Webster). When the Lord asked me to release my plans to Him, His goal was to relieve me from my burdens. What He has is so much better – it is abundant (John 10:10)! When we hold tightly to our plans, we inadvertently BLOCK, HINDER, and OBSTRUCT the blessings, all while being BOUND, RESTRAINED, BURDENED AND LOADED DOWN. I can relate all too well. I love the synonyms for release – FREE, LIBERATE, UNBIND, UNCAGE AND UNCHAIN. Yes please!
Release: to set (someone or something) free; to stop holding (someone or something); to relieve from something that confines, burdens, or oppresses; to give up in favor of another (relinquish). (Merriam-Webster)
Synonyms: free, liberate, unbind, uncage, unchain
Antonyms: bind, restrain, block, hinder, obstruct, burden, load, weigh
The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows]. (John 10:10, AMP)
As I first mentioned in An Invitation to Homeschool… “When I feel God’s call on my life I tend to jump in head first. Well... that is not always true, there are times when I resist and run to Nineveh like Jonah (thank God I haven’t been swallowed by a whale yet). Some things are easier to say yes to than others.” Yes, most of the time I follow God… I just bring my suitcase with me. Time and time again in the Bible, Jesus tells his followers to leave everything and follow Him (Mark 10:21, Matt 16:24-25, Mark 12:43-44). It is in the leaving our plans behind that we find ourselves most equipped.
Jesus fixed his gaze upon the man, with tender love, and said to him, “Yet there is still one thing in you lacking. Go, sell all that you have and give the money to the poor. Then all of your treasure will be in heaven. After you’ve done this, come back and walk with me.” (Mark 10:21, TPT)
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If you truly want to follow me, you should at once completely reject and disown your own life. And you must be willing to share my cross and experience it as your own, as you continually surrender to my ways. 25 For if you choose self-sacrifice and lose your lives for my glory, you will continually discover true life. But if you choose to keep your lives for yourselves, you will forfeit what you try to keep. (Matt 16:24-25, TPT)
43 Jesus called his disciples to gather around and then said to them, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given a larger offering than any of the wealthy. 44 For the rich only gave out of their surplus, but she sacrificed out of her poverty and gave to God all that she had to live on, which was everything she had.” (Mark 12:43-44)
“It is amazing what God can do when give Him space in our lives! Busy schedules and rigid curriculums leave little space in our days, and hinder our ability to discover the gifts and beauty waiting to be uncovered with each new sunrise. What we think we are supposed to teach our children, often stands in the way of what we want to be teaching and even should be teaching (Arms Wide Open).”
For the past few months, yes! I have been following the Lord, all while attempting to squeeze my to-do list into the open space. The result – a frazzled Mama. I am aware of my need to surrender and stand with my arms wide open. So what is standing in my way? Earthy treasures (Matt 6:19). Faith in what I can see versus what I can’t see (2 Cor 4:18, Heb 11:1). Lies, deception and distraction (John 8:44). God is a God of peace. When we trust and follow Him, we are filled with His peace (John 14:27). When I am lacking peace, it is time to evaluate what I am believing, who I am following, and where my treasures are (Matt 6:21). It is imperative that we constantly check our sources. “Deception is just that… it is deceptive. We must learn to check our facts, because most of the time we are unaware of the lies we believe (Who Told You That?).
“Don’t keep hoarding for yourselves earthly treasures that can be stolen by thieves. Material wealth eventually rusts, decays, and loses its value. (Matt 6:19, TPT)
because we don’t focus our attention on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but the unseen realm is eternal. (2 Cor 4:18, TPT)
Now faith is the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen. (Heb 11:1, NASB)
44 You are of your father the devil, and it is your will to practice the desires [which are characteristic] of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks what is natural to him, for he is a liar and the father of lies and half-truths. (John 8:44, AMP)
27 “I leave the gift of peace with you—my peace. Not the kind of fragile peace given by the world, but my perfect peace. Don’t yield to fear or be troubled in your hearts—instead, be courageous! (John 14:27, TPT)
21 For your heart will always pursue what you esteem as your treasure. (Matt 6:21, TPT)
Standing on truth allows us to advance. Believing lies results in paralysis. Victory begins with surrender. The primary reason we fail to surrender? Fear. “So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is ... fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” These prophetic words were spoken by President Franklin Roosevelt at his first inaugural address in 1933. His words are timeless. Fear is our greatest enemy. It is time to advance! We can Trust the Lord with Tomorrow! Let us lay down our fears, our plans, our agendas, our preconceived notions, and the lies we believe. In the world, victory begins with taking control. In the Kingdom of God, victory begins with surrender.
“So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is ... fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”
~ President Franklin Roosevelt
Pray this prayer with me today. Help me God to trust in you with all my heart. To lean not on my own understanding. To acknowledge you in all my ways. You alone make my path straight.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Prov 3:5-6, ESV)