Barb Roose - Surrendered: 40 Devotions to Help You Let Go and Live Like Jesus

40 Devotions to Help You

Let Go & Live Like Jesus

BARB ROOSE

Surrendered

40 Devotions to Help You Let Go and Live Like Jesus

Copyright 2020 Barbara L. Roose

All rights reserved.

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2020940202

ISBN 13: 978-1-7910-0799-7

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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You can let go.

It will be OK.

God is with you every step of the way.

Dear friend,

Im so glad to meet you here as you begin this forty-day journey to let go and live like Jesus, especially if youre in the midst of a hard or heartbreaking season of life. But even if your life feels pretty wonderful right now, youll still find the journey to be worthwhile as you learn to surrender more and more of your life to Him.

Within these pages, youre invited to embrace the life-giving, life-transforming power of surrender, which is the decision to let go and fully trust Gods power, presence, promises, and provision for your life. As youll discover along the way, surrender is your only path to lasting peace in the midst of painful problems or difficult people. Surrender isnt giving up or giving in; rather, its the decision to give over whatever you cant control, essentially declaring, God, if its gonna get done, Youre gonna to have to do it!

What have you been trying to control lately? Do you feel that externally youre doing all you can to keep everything and everyone together, but internally youre about to fall apart? If thats the case, then I want to encourage you to begin this fortyday journey today.

When something or someone in your life feels out of control, its easy to think youve got to fix things on your own or wonder if God has forgotten about you. But thats not true! Before you read any further, I want you to know this: You are fully seen and completely loved by God, and there is hope for whatever problem or situation youre facing.

For many years, I tried to fix an addiction problem of a family member. I bargained, begged, and blew up in ugly outbursts of anger because I was frustrated over what I couldnt control. Most of all, I feared what would happen if I failed.

However, as I studied Jesus time of temptation and trial in the wilderness, I realized that His example of peace and perseverance did not result from trying to force His way. Rather, Jesus relied upon His relationship with the Father to sustain and empower Him in the midst of that difficult situation.

As I learned from Jesus experience in the wilderness, as well as His life detailed in the Gospels, I discovered more and more how to pray like Jesus, forgive like Jesus, love like Jesus, and most important, surrender like Jesus. The more I applied Jesus teachings, the more I was able to surrender control to God. This journey toward surrender ultimately delivered me to one of the greatest gifts of all: hope.

Are you looking for hope today? The key is letting go of what you cant control and fully trusting God. That is what it means to surrender. Rather than living stressed out during the day and sleepless at night, it is possible to learn to surrender and experience lasting peace.

My prayer is that these devotions will be like a quick cup of spiritual coffee for youa pick-me-up for your soul. Read one devotion each day throughout the forty-day journey, or if you prefer, you can scan the table of contents and pick the topic that most resonates with you. Whether you choose to read at the start of your day to set your mind on God, in the midst of your day to refocus your thoughts (especially when things arent going your way), or at the end of your day to prepare you for tomorrow, each brief devotion will center you in Gods power, presence, promises, or provision. It is my hope that as you reflect on what youve read, the words will perk you up with a jolt of hope or help or a practical next step that you can apply in your life. Each day ends with one of six Surrender Principles, which I expound upon in my six-week Bible study Surrendered: Letting Go and Living Like Jesus:

1.I am not in control of others or outcomes.

2.I choose to live by faith, not rush to follow my feelings.

3.I can always let go and give my problems to God.

4.Trusting Gods promises will bless me, but pushing my plans will stress me.

5.When fear tempts me to flee, fix, or force my way, I will choose to stop and pray.

6.Surrender is my only path to Gods peace, power, and provision.

If you would like to learn more about these principles and equip yourself with more practical tools for the ongoing surrender journey, I encourage you to consider doing the studywhether alone or with a group of friends.

Finally, as you get started, be sure to give yourself grace to grow at your own pace. Learning to let go and live like Jesus isnt a switch that you flip but a process that takes time. My prayer is that you will discover freedom, peace, and hope as you surrender and trust God with your life.

Barb

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
(Psalm 34:18)

Have you ever gone to bed feeling like you were on top of the world, and then you woke up one day, and suddenly the world was on top of you?

Its too much, God. I cant handle anything else.

If this is you, heres what I want you to know right now, in this moment:

Dear sister with the weary soul,

you are not alone in your struggle.

God knows the weight you carry.

He hears the cry of your heart. You are seen.

Most of all, you are dearly loved.

Take a moment and let that settle over you.

God is close to you right now. You are not alone. God is present with you. Even more, He is the God who saves. This means that whatever overwhelming situation youre facing, you arent responsible for fixing it.

We all experience hard and heartbreaking circumstances. At times, those trials spread into long stretches of hardship. Spiritually speaking, we call these periods of time wilderness seasons. These seem to press the pause button in our lives. They are often high-stakes situations with no quick fixes, and we have little to no control over them. Wilderness seasons can feel scary and uncertain. Often, spiritual confusion mounts as we wonder why this is happening, where God is, or what God is doing while our lives feel like they are falling apart around our feet.