The Relinquished Life

*I'm starting to sense a pattern in what the Lord is trying to hammer home with me in the last few days and weeks. Here is the devotional that "just happened to be" lying open on the desk at a friend's house this week.

"I am crucified with Christ." Gal. 2:20
No one is ever united with Jesus Christ until he is willing to relinquish not sin only, but his whole way of looking at things. To be born from above of the Spirit of God means that we must let go before we lay hold, and in the first stages it is the relinquishing of all pretence. What Our Lord wants us to present to Him is not goodness, nor honesty, nor endeavour, but real solid sin; that is all He can take from us. And what does He give in exchange for our sin? Real solid righteousness. But we must reliquish all pretence of being anything, all claim of being worthy of God's consideration.
Then the Spirit of God will show us what further there is to relinquish. There will have to be the reliquinshing of my claim to my right to myself in every phase. Am I willing to reliquish my hold on all I possess, my hold on my affections, and on everything, and to be identified with the death of Jesus Christ?
There is always a sharp painful disillusionment to go through before we do relinquish. When a man really sees himself as the Lord sees him, it is not the abominable sins of the flesh that shock him, but the awful nature of the pride of his own heart against Jesus Christ. When he sees himself in the light of the Lord, the shame and the horror and the desperate conviction come home. If you are up against the question of relinquishing, go through the crisis, relinquish all, and God will make you fit for all that He requires of you.

by Oswald Chambers
From: My Utmost For His Highest
March 8th

Lord, Surrender is a scary thing. Sacrifice does not come easy. Please help us to be like Abraham, who knew that giving up Isaac was the only way to live in obedience to you and was so confident in your goodness and provision that he knew you were going to either raise him from the dead or perform some sort of miracle to make things right. May we anticipate the miracles our obedience will allow you to perform in our surrendered lives and may we wholeheartedly welcome opportunities for sacrifice that demonstrate your power, provision and goodness. Amen.