Keeping Your Eyes on Jesus

Singer-songwriter Laura story has come to realize there's a difference between trying to be in control of your own life and living a surrendered life anytime she forgets that she says she just goes back to the Bible back the Psalms and Psalms talking about the greatness of God and what is man, mindful of once we realize that really, it's kind of silly for us to be co-ruling with him and invite us into it because he constantly in his words talking about us being part of his work, but it's us laying down what part of it by laying down our desires me like Jesus in the garden is not my will but you was benign and and that's the posture we need to take as believers. This is family life today.

Our hosts are David and Wilson on Bob Lapine. You can find someone family life today.com have a problem with surrendering with letting go with loosening your grip on your agenda and surrendering to God's plan for your life. Talk more about that today with Laura story stay with us and welcome to family life today. Thanks for joining us. We had a treat when Laura story the double award-winning singer-songwriter who has written such songs is indescribable and the song blessings and other songs. She stopped by our headquarters your family life and we got the staff together and we we talked with her and she sang some songs for us and it was was a delightful time was that she's amazing and she so great.

She pulled then in this van and the kids all come out and see what comes out and that she's honest and Maria I think listeners are can allow this to Ed as you as you will hear there's a depth to her life and her soul and it was funny was your role other kids is plopped out and rolled all over and they ran into the childcare and then she walks in and just shares her heart was beautiful before we hear from her. This is of course Christmas week next week is the last week of the year and David Robbins to present family life has got a reminder for family life today listers David start off by saying thank you.

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Now let's turn to the conversation we had recently with Laura story we we talked with her about the theme of surrender, which is the theme of the book she's written called I give up and in our conversation, I asked a question about the book I think I found a mistake, on the back cover. Laura no longer wants to control her life to say is Lawrence found it trying to control her life is futile, that it does go on to say she wants to be rooted in the God who is in control and that's true. The idea of surrender, we tend to think of somebody coming to faith in Christ. That's what they do, they surrender the time that it's over. Then you move on to renders a daily process. Absolutely it's constantly accusing surrender with for every moment, always with our time with our money with their families and their children without a job, whatever it is, whatever it is that God begins to eliminate in your life you're holding too tightly to for me if there's something I find myself frustrated that it's not working out the way I think it should. Usually it's God showing me that my grip on that thing or that person that I'm trying to manage that group is a little too tight and I hate that. The other what I surrender was done, you know, there's no more trials, and yet every day is a little bit of crying. The handoff is something I'm trying to control. Here's what I find myself wrestling with the difference between surrender and passivity, trying to figure out when am I supposed to yield and when am I supposed to step forward and not yielding and back.

You have an answer for me when I surrender really what were asking is what God is asking is for us to surrender the things that he is supposed to be in control of that we are trying to be in control of his things. There there. Our jobs, let's say the person it's unemployed if they just sit in bed every day and watch television because they're just bringing surrender that the Lord there's so many things that we can get in most of these arenas us and I think that we can be dealing the end of the day, we have to come to a point of saying I done my job to trust him and what that looks like a very practical way is I can go to bed at night and sleep peacefully have to be up bringing my hands over whether or not to come through on his part. Throughout the book, you've got white flag prayers.

Yes, so did the players come first before the chapters came up with these and thought I'd bet.

These are all prayers that you prayed over over prayers white flag prayer, number two, number two, I don't want to compete with you for control of my life. You know me. All my fears in patients and at times even my unbelief. Holy God, Creator of the universe. Help me to daily surrender to you, as the Lord of my life so as to not licensed in the prayer come first chapter compares this came first chapter presents everything from reasons why we should surrender to how to surrender anything at the end of each chapter. If you as a reader could look back and I agree with.

I think I agree with God being trustworthy enough for me to surrender to give the reader a step they just doing that very moment. Nothing that would take more than 15 seconds and all of it is supposed to be a thousand little steps surrender.

If it's not, it's like surrender and forgiveness are very there like second cousins. You can say oh I forgive that person really what is is you saying I forgive that person and make the choice every time they come to mind, to forgive them thousand little time surrender looks like it's saying I want to want to surrender and and is white flag prayers and helping our organ at the house a little steps that the filling of the Holy Spirit is a continuous right, we are continuously be being filled with the spirit so in the same way that every moment were to walk in the part of the spirit every moment were to be forgiving every moment were to be surrendering and it is an ongoing process that white flag prayer comes at the end of chapter 2, I just read the title of chapter 2 dear God, let's be co-ruler way to totally fine with surrendering to God if he is doing it my way. Like that passenger that I got really like to drive in really want to drive and I don't have trouble trusting the person that's driving. I'm always looking of the shoulder same way and it would be a little bit quicker control problem is the only reason why we would be that way towards God as if we really believed that he needed our help, which we know better than he does, which says that an inflated view of self and we really saw the Psalms discuss so much of this book, especially as a worship leader.

I'm just kind of enamored with the Psalms that the Psalms talking about the greatness of God and you, what is man that he will be mindful of his elect one.

Once we realize that really, it's kind of silly for us to be kind of co-ruling with him doesn't invite us into it because he constantly in his words talking about us being part of his work, but it's us laying down were part of it by laying down our desires me like Jesus in the garden says no, not my will but yours be done. And that's the posture we need to take as believers, always easing.

I think it looks different sometimes.

Sometimes it's an emotional and I'm the first time I told Jesus, I am calling. I surrender everything passion follow you and their other times my sister died when I was 39 minus range left for boys and it was one of those times where I knelt before God and I said I see no sense and this is the dumbest thing I do this and so that surrender.

I will follow you as an act of my will. Because I'm feeling so great about that. I will follow you because I know you're faithful and I can trust you. Even when it doesn't feel like it right now and so it can be different times but it's still active surrender. I think about when the crowds would away from Jesus and he looked at the disciples, and so to leave and to Mesa where else to go. You will words of eternal life, and in those moments where we look at we say I don't get this. And this does not make sense to me. We also find ourselves in a world where else can we follow. You have been so gracious in the midst that even in adversity. There's no place else to go for life has purpose or meaning or makes any sense. And so even though this doesn't make sense, you make more sense than anything else we know.

Yet in the middle that as we all know it's still hard to pick up the white flag like I still want to maintain a sense of I can get this move. Each chapter is a surrender till I am surrendering my will to your will tell more about what you did at church a couple months ago related to control issues. The bicycle my wife this message together, and she says we gotta bring the tandem bike to church with this bike that hangs in our garage is never been written 12 years old. I always want to sell it. She will not let me pull this thing down. Can you bring the tandem to church feel like this idea of what I would like to learn just surrender. Surrender stage and I said I didn't church so my sister had told me.

Came home, told me about Jesus and she said like this is how we receive eternal life long suppressed had a relationship with him. And so I got on the tandem bike on the front of it and I said Jesus get during the sermon and I go the same way I've always gone in the same things I always did and now I'm feeling guilty because Jesus is on the back and he sees me and I feel like me, you let me guide your life and take you on this journey and that's a fearful thing to let him take us somewhere because we don't know where he can take. Start and so when I let it on the front take my life. At first sight. He's leading me that we never expected or wanted, and then unattended bike I get on those handlebars on this on my and I start leaning over Jesus, don't go this way. She actually sat on my head that's the hardest that drivers and believing that surrender isn't supposed to be this this frustrating freeing thing yet surrender people have this image surrender being like else on the mountainside problems and better not surrender all, because first of all, these these like things that we can just throw up into thin air, and they disappear like cancer and fertility. Things like addiction. Those are weighty things and said what biblical surrender actually looks like it's looking at the things in our life that we try to carry their heavy and looking in our own hands and seeing these frail, selfish hands that often fumbled and making a conscious choice in a very rational choice to trust those things into greater, stronger, more trustworthy, more loving hands really is more when a biblical picture of surrender. You wrote a song about this recently, and also the beginning of the Lord doing this painful work in my this last night, I thought all will have Lord alter the map whole part I played it I said no I won't tell you the whole thing. Okay sweetie spray say no to all and Laura take a minute here and just pray for those who need to surrender today who are trying to climb over from the backseat into the steering position and say I want control.

Just need to let go and what the Lord Dir. lives. Would you prefer father.

We acknowledge that too often we buy into the lie of the world tells us that we must be independent and self-sufficient. We must be strong.

We acknowledge now that what we have in you because of your sign we are able to be weak. You call us to dependence and you call us to surrender. So, for each person who struggles now trying to carry something weighty that they were never meant to me given us the faith in you are trustworthy. God, to lay we visualize it now.

Going from our hands to yours. We trust you and we thank you that you are a God who delights in doing exceedingly more than we could ever ask for. For our good and for your greater glory pray in the name of Jesus, would you guys like four-story to an interview with Laura story done with our staff. Family life. The I think a lot of people can relate to the need to surrender to give up the desire to want to control all the details of your life do you feel with control. Should I keep waiting for my desire to control the go way that it never seems to Bob part of the human condition.

I think all of us feel safer. If we feel like were in control but controls an allusion yet I you know I love the line in the song open hands just saying it's the line of clenching fist a life of fear that I'm a clenching fist guy you hold that I want to hold on and it's really hard to open the hand and so can you trust God can be trusted. But it's really difficult. I don't think we can experience all God has for us until we do unclench that fist and give him everything because that's when the journey really begins in the adventure with God by thinker times God says okay if you want to hang on hang on. We'll see where this goes in the life of surrender. Kind of a, it's a little like skydiving, which I've never done your prescribed I never have. I so want to hold onto my sister had a whole lot of the play maker God says when you let go where military coups can be glorious and maybe scary for a while but not always easy to write. I've said this. I've seen this written the visual of if you have your fist closed you can put anything into it right and it really is true until you let go and trust God you don't know what he might have for you. It might just be peace. I think that's a conclusion that Laura comes to in the book that she's written called I give up the subtitles. The secret joy of a surrendered life. There is peace when you surrender to God and to his purposes and his will get copies of orders book our family life today resource Center. Let me encourage you to go online to order your copy again.

The title is, I give up by Laura story. Our website is family life today.com, the number to call to order is one 800 FL today. Again, you can order online@familylifetoday.com or you can call to order one 803 586-329-1800 F as in family L as in life, and then the word today and we talked back to the beginning of today's program about this being year-round family life's year-end financial need that the matching gift that is available so that your donations get matched dollar for dollar. We didn't mention the fact that when you make a donation here at year-end, we want to say thank you by sending you a couple resources that are our gift to you in exchange for your support of this ministry. One of the gifts will send you is my book.

Love, like you mean it. That's all about what the Bible teaches about what real love is supposed to look like a marriage relationship and the other gift is a flash drive that has more than 100 of the best family life to programs over the last 28 years programs with Dennis and Barbara Rainey with Dave and Wilson with guest we've had talking about marriage talking about parenting about relationships. You will receive the flash drive and the book is our thank you gift when you make a urine donation right now and your donation will be matched dollar for dollar. Again, you can donate online@familylifeto.com or you can call to donate one 800, FL, today is the number thanks in advance for whatever you're able to do to help us here at year-end and we hope you can join us again tomorrow when Josh and Kristi Straub are to be here to talk about our kids and how we help them develop emotional intelligence emotional understanding how we help them words to what they're feeling.

Hope you can tune in for that thinker engineer today.

Keep Lynch along with our entire broadcast production team on behalf of the host statement and Wilson came back next time for another edition of family life, family life to this production of family life of Little Rock, Arkansas. A crew ministry help for today hope for tomorrow