Devotion:
For an audio version of this devotion, click here.
Read Ephesians 5:18b.
I have always loved reading and studying history. One of my favorite historical figures is the famous general and later U.S. president Ulysses S. Grant. During the American Civil War he was given the nickname of “Unconditional Surrender” Grant, for his reply to the Confederate general asking for terms of surrender at Tennessee’s Ft. Donelson in 1862. “No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted.”
Unconditional surrender was not what the other general wanted. If I am honest with myself, it’s not what I want to hear either. The idea of giving up my own will and my independence seems to go against everything that makes us human. And yet, in the kingdom of God, we are repeatedly reminded that the more we surrender ourselves to God, the more we can be filled with the spirit and grace of God. It’s in that unconditional surrender to God that we find our new life in God’s Spirit.
One of my favorite hymns is “Have Thine Own Way” (UMH 382) The last line says” Have thine own way, Lord! Have thine own way! Hold o’er my being absolute sway. Fill with thy Spirit till all shall see Christ only, always, living in me.” How is God filling your life?
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