Surrendered and Reawakened

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Surrendered and Reawakened

As I SURRENDER to what

I don’t fully understand,

I can REAWAKEN to His glory

as He reveals what only He can.


Stuck. It may not be a word we’d choose to live by, but it sure is one (especially for the past couple years), with which many of us can identify.


Stuck by the crippling grip of fear.

Stuck under the weight of unforgiveness.

Stuck in the loneliness of isolation.

Stuck on the pedestal of pride.


No matter how you spin the kinda stuck you’re in, only God can truly set you free to begin again.


As I ponder and pray through the two words God’s placed on my heart for 2022, I was struck by (and ironically stuck in) two passages of scripture this morning — two passages about one church, two descriptions praising these people while at the same time pointing out the one thing that had them stuck, and that’s when those two words for 2022 hit a little different.


They stuck out to me in to get me unstuck.


As I SURRENDER to what

I don’t fully understand,

I can REAWAKEN to His glory

as He reveals what only He can.


Those two passages of scripture are Ephesians 1:3-21 and Revelation 2:2-5. I encourage you to go read the first one, a greeting by Paul to the beloved church of Ephesus as a reminder of all the blessings they have in Christ — blessings, We as children of God have inherited, too.


The second passage, I’ll include below — an encouragement from Jesus Himself, through the words of John in the book of Revelation to the church of Ephesus...


“I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.” ~ Revelation 2:2-7 ESV


There’s ALOT I don’t understand about God, about this world He created, about the people He placed in power, and about His perfect plan and the purpose He has in all of it.

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Sit. Walk. Stand. Start from Rest to Finish Best.

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Sit. Walk. Stand. Start from Rest to Finish Best.

As I went about my routine this morning, I was reminded of the parallel my physical life has with my spiritual life.


I woke up, brewed some coffee, sat on my porch, spent time in God‘s Word, and went for a walk.


As a believer in Christ, I am also called to wake up and be alert, and that happens best when I drink in the Word.


The daily walk is important, yes, but not before we understand true rest...


You see, I’m reading (another) little book this summer (you may recall me reading and posting daily about “A Gospel Primer for Christians” by Milton Vincent throughout the month of June). This little gem of a resource is “Sit. Walk. Stand. The Process of Christian Maturity“ by Watchman Nee. It’s a study guide of sorts through the book of Ephesians (one of my favorite books of the Bible). Like the Gospel Primer, this book is rather tiny, but let me tell you, it sure is mighty!


If you know me at all, you know I love words! Watchman Nee hones in on three important verbs for the Christian life — Sit. Walk. Stand.


If you’ve read my Bible study, CALLED, you’ll recall the middle six chapters are verbs I refer to as “stepping stones“ into all the places God is calling us to go. God‘s Word is a powerful weapon for the Christian warrior, and practical application is key if we are to honor God by doing what it says.


So, this morning, as I focused more on sitting, it reminded me of chapter 4 of CALLED. Called to Be. Being breeds a better doing. We must BE first so we can DO best, or as Watchman Nee puts it, We must SIT before we WALK or STAND.

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