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"Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: 'Whom shall I send,
And who will go for Us?' Then I said, 'Here am I! Send me.'"
(Isaiah 6:8)
Danielle Strickland is a passionate follower of Jesus. She is a speaker and author and lets no grass grow under her feet, by which I mean she is a busy lady on the move, constantly serving and creating new ways to make an impact for Jesus Christ. I heard her recently talk about one of her ministries called Infinitum (Latin for boundless). This movement is a call to the people of God to walk with the Lord such that they make a real difference in the lives of others. Is that not what we all want in this life? We all desire to know we mattered, that we lived in such a fulfilling way that we were able to leave a mark on our world and actually make it a better place for having lived in it.
Strickland says that each morning she wakes up and prays to God and seeks to do these three things: surrender, be generous, and live on-mission with Christ. I would like to drill down further on each of these principles this week because I believe Strickland is really on to something vitally important. She has hand motions that go along with each principle. For example, for surrender, she lifts her hands up to God and surrenders her will to God's will. For generosity, her hands are extended with palms up. For on-mission, she opens her hands like she is about to embrace someone. (Source.)
For today, let's explore the first of the three disciplines of Infinitum: surrender. Last week, Trey, our deacon chairman at Great Hills Baptist Church, had breakfast with me. Our waiter, whom I will call "J", served us very well. We asked if we could pray for him, and he said "sure" and gave us some requests. He stayed at the table and heard the prayer. Afterward, we shared the Gospel with J, and I remember telling him how important it is to surrender our all to Christ. I kid you not, he came by our table three more times and told us, "I cannot tell you how helpful you have been to me today." Surrender: it is the way we begin a relationship with God, and it is the way we thrive in our relationship with Him.
Each day, I recommend you do what Danielle does and raise your arms to heaven with palms turned upward in the "I surrender" position. It is a posture of great humility. You are not demanding your rights, protesting what you do not like; no, you are simply saying to the Lord that He is in control and you are His servant. I like to put it this way: "Here I am, King Jesus. Private Forshee, reporting to You for duty."
Give it a try. First thing when you wake up tomorrow morning, as soon as you get out of bed, kneel before the Lord, raise your arms, open your palms, and say to the Lord that you are His child and you surrender afresh and anew to Him and His will for your life today. I am so excited for you if you do this. It will be a great way to start your day, and it will turn out really well for you!
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