In All Things

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess. 5:18).

We probably all agree that this verse is far easier said than done. It is counterintuitive and downright hard to practice every day in every circumstance. I was listening to a recent sermon from Immanuel Church in Nashville that mentioned this quote from C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity:

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of— throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself” (IV, 9).

We don’t much mind the repairs we knew we needed, but it’s hard to appreciate the other renovations. It’s particularly difficult when He tears down the little additions we’ve built ourselves. To use Jesus’ imagery from Matthew 7:24-27, we know we need to build our house on the rock, but then we may decide to add a shed hanging off one side, and a vacation cottage on the beach sand. When He comes in to rebuild, instead of being complimentary of our building efforts, He tears them all down. It would be one thing if this happened just once when we first commit our lives to Christ, but it becomes a lifelong renovation project of conforming us to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29).

The big question is, can we give thanks even for the things we don’t much like or understand? Sometimes that’s not too hard, when we remember that God is in control and we can trust His plan for our lives. But all too often we (or at least I) start second-guessing His plan and wondering how good it can be if we have to surrender the things that we think will make us happy. It’s also easier with some parts of life than with others. I can think of one arena of my life where the sacrifice of certain relationships, although painful at the time, was and is well worth the benefit of eternal life with Christ and His family. Now I can give thanks for that renovation, but thanksgiving has not always been my first choice.

When the rich young man came running up to Jesus to ask “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus pointed to the one thing the man was unwilling to give up—his riches. It is hard to let go of temporal things for the seeming uncertainty of “treasure in heaven” (Mark 10:21). It’s interesting that the passage immediately goes on to Peter’s statement, “See, we have left everything and followed you” (v. 28). In other words, “Jesus, is it really going to be worth it in the end?” Jesus reassures the disciples that it is worth it, not just for eternity but for this life as well, and He also points out that the greatest cost for many of us is relational, not material.*

If we truly trust His plan, then giving thanks in all circumstances does become a little easier, though still a test of faith in hard times.

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever” (Psalm 136:1ff).

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*An observation for which I am indebted to Sam Allberry.

© 2022 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Surrender

I wrote some additional verses to the hymn “All to Jesus I Surrender,” inspired by the following quote from Carolyn Weber in Holy Is the Day:

“I pray for something I have never actually tried before for before: I ask with all I am that my embittering desires be lifted from me. I kneel in the grass and ask God to remove everything that is not a desire first and foremost for him… God must be the Alpha and Omega of my desire if I am to truly live, or else my desires will consume me and I will die not only the Great Death, but countless little deaths landing like stinging nettles on exposed skin, every hour of every day… I desired that in longing for God first, and entrusting all my other longings to him, I would be fulfilled by an abundance far greater than I could ever imagine.”

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All to Jesus I surrender,
Lord, I give my fears to Thee.
Thou alone my loving Shepherd
through this valley gently lead.

Chorus:
I surrender all,
I surrender all,
All to Thee my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.

All to Jesus I surrender,
in my weakness, Lord, I fall,
trusting Thou art fully sovereign,
on Thy mercy, Lord, I call.

All to Jesus I surrender,
Thou art Lord of heav’n and earth.
Lead Thy people by Thy Spirit,
Thou, the Head of this Thy church.

All to Jesus I surrender,
lead us in Thy will and plan.
Take us into Thy good future,
lead us by Thy righteous hand.

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“Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of [His] heart” (Psalm 37:4).

© 2022 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Eyes and Hands

I wrote the following poems around 1996 and just came across them again. They seemed appropriate for Holy Week.

Your Eyes

In my mind’s eye
I see you there,
Hanging on that rugged cross.
You don’t die like other men.
“Forgive them for they
Know now what they do.”
You lift your head,
Your eyes meeting the eyes
Of each one gathered there.
Each one turns away
Unable to bear your gaze,
And then your eyes meet mine.
Instantly I know you know.
You know my sin
Because you bear it there.
I am ashamed and
Start to turn away,
But then I remember,
“Forgive them for they
Know not what they do.”
I look back to your eyes.
You meant those words for me.
Even as you bear my sin
You ask the Father
For my forgiveness.
I meet your gaze
And I know
I am forgiven,
And I bow my head
In thanks.

 

With Open Hands

With open hands I come to You
I give You all my fears.
With open hands, release to You
The cares of all the years.

I tried to give them up before,
But held them in tight fists.
I come again to You once more
To give You all of this.

With open hands I come to You,
Hoping only to receive
The Holy Spirit, promised to
All those who will believe.

With open hands and open heart
And open life I give
To You alone, to cleanse each part
That in Your life I live.

© 2021 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Brokenness, Surrender, Holiness

Following are several quotes worth pondering from Brokenness, Surrender, Holiness: A Revive Our Hearts Trilogy, by Nancy Leigh DeMoss:

“Broken men and women don’t care who finds out about their sin; they have nothing to protect and nothing to lose. They are eager for God to be vindicated. David’s response when confronted with his wrongdoing was that of a humble, broken man. And his was the heart that God honored. Again and again, God’s Word reveals that He is not as concerned about the depth or extent of the sin we commit as He is about our attitude and response when we are confronted with our sin” (52). “But once we have really been contrite and humble before God, it will not be threatening to be humble and honest with others—we have nothing to lose, no reputation to protect—because we have died. The broken person is willing to say, ‘Will you pray for me? I have a need in my life—God is dealing with me in this specific area’ ” (94).

“Because God is holy, we must be holy. And here’s the good news—because God is holy, we can be holy. If you are a child of God, the Holy God lives in you. He is the standard for your holiness, and He is the source of your holiness—He is your righteousness. He can wash your unholy heart with the blood of Jesus and make you clean—so the world will know what He is like… To be holy is our created purpose. It is our destiny. And it will be the outcome for every true child of God and for the entire body of Christ” (293-294).

“As Christians, we have not been left alone to deal with our sin. God has graciously put us into a body of believers who are called to look out for one another and to stand together against the enemies that would threaten our holiness. This family—the body of Christ—is a vital provision God has given to help us in our pursuit of holiness. This is why it is essential for every believer to be in a committed relationship to a Christ-centered local church. Many believers today think nothing of jumping from one church to another every time they find something not to their liking. In fact, a growing number of Christians don’t see the need of plugging into a local church at all. Some are disillusioned with their local church experience. They think they can have an independent relationship with God or that their spiritual needs can be met simply by plugging into the Internet. Being disconnected from the local church, for whatever reason, is a dangerous way to live. Not only do these ‘lone rangers’ miss out on the blessings of functioning within the context of the body of Christ, but like lone sheep away from the safety of the flock and the watchful care of the shepherd, they are vulnerable to predators of every sort” (344).

“We have tiptoed around Old and New Testament passages that proclaim the holiness of God, His hatred of sin, and His wrath and judgment against unrepentant sinners, preferring to consider only references to His mercy, grace, and love. We have promoted a ‘gospel’ that says it is possible to be a Christian while stubbornly refusing to address practices or behaviors we know are sinful. We have accepted the philosophy that it’s OK for Christians to look, think, act, and talk like the world” (368).

What more can be said?

“Surely that man must be in an unhealthy state of soul who can think of all that Jesus suffered, and yet cling to those sins for which that suffering was undergone. It was sin that wove the crown of thorns; it was sin that pierced our Lord’s hands and feet and side; it was sin that brought Him to Gethsemane and Calvary, to the cross and to the grave. Cold must our hearts be if we do not hate sin and labour to get rid of it, though we may have to cut off the right hand and pluck out the right eye in doing it” (J. C. Ryle, Holiness).

© 2019 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

I Surrender

In her book Brokenness, Surrender, Holiness (a compilation of three books), Nancy Leigh DeMoss writes,

“Our will was opposed to [God’s] will. We were intent on going our own independent way, and as a result, were estranged from the God of the universe. Even when the Spirit opened our eyes to recognize our rebellious condition, we may have sought a way to bring about peace apart from surrender. We did not want to continue suffering the unpleasant consequences of our resistance, but neither did we want to lay down our arms. Then the message was sent to our hearts: There can be no peace until you are willing to accept My terms—unconditional surrender.”

And yet even when we have made a decision to surrender to Christ’s lordship, we often try to take it back later. We still desire to have control over our own lives. “I’ll surrender the parts I don’t like, but this part is still mine to do with as I please!” DeMoss shared what Josef Tson identified as a “shift from the call to full surrender, to the call to commitment.”

“Christian surrender means that a person lifts his or her hands and says to God, ‘Here I am; I surrender; You take over; I belong to You; You dispose of me!’ But this is America, the country of the independent people! This is the place of ‘Nobody should command me! … I belong only to myself! A call to surrender, and even more, to full surrender, simply doesn’t go well with such people. Therefore, the preachers… hit on the word ‘commitment.’ You see, commitment means ‘I engage myself to do something for you.’ or, even lighter, ‘I promise to do something for you,’ but I remain myself and I may keep my promises or not...

“[Bible translators] did not like the term ‘bondslave’ to be applied to people. Who wants to be somebody else’s slave? Therefore, they replaced it with ‘servant.’ Again, a reflection and demand of the independent spirit! In the Greek, ‘slave’ is doulos; ‘servant’ is diakonos. In the Greek Bible one never, never diakoneo to God—one never serves God; one only douleo to God—that is, one slaves to God.”

Many people have made some commitment to God, but their absence of any meaningful participation in the Body of Christ is one indication that they never surrendered to Him. And all of us need to surrender again and again as God reveals areas in our lives that we’re still holding on to. Just today I was reminded that if I want to be conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29), I must surrender my all rights over my life and my choices. I am no longer my own, for I was bought with the blood of Christ (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Therefore anything that stands in opposition to His lordship must be given over to His control. “Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and… put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22, 24 ESV).

Tson is correct that we in America don’t want to surrender to anyone. July 4th is known as Independence Day, but no one who belongs to Christ is truly independent. Actually, every living being is dependent on God, but Christians are the only ones who acknowledge our dependence on Him and willingly surrender to His control. Will we do so again today and tomorrow and every day to come?

“Father, I abandon myself into Your hands; do with me what You will. Whatever You may do, I thank You: I am ready for all, I accept all. Only let Your will be done in me, and in all Your creatures—I wish no more than this, O Lord” (Charles de Foucauld).

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

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© 2019 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

New Apparel

I recently listened to a podcast from CCEF. They used an interesting analogy for sanctification and growing in Christ. It’s like being given a new set of clothes and having to discard the old, comfy, worn clothes we like. After a while the new clothes become more comfortable, but then we have to change once again. Trusting God is a constant surrender of the old life and learning to walk in the new life. Those who are completely unwilling to change may not actually be Christians. As Sam Allberry has said more than once, “If you think the gospel is something that can be slotted neatly into your life without any change, it’s not the real gospel you’ve got.”

I can look back at different times in my life where I had to give something up and did so willingly. But other times I have delayed and held on to the old clothes as long as possible, like the rich young man in Matthew 19 who was unwilling to let go of his riches to follow Jesus. I wonder if he returned later after reconsidering? I believe God often gives us more than once chance to surrender. Sometimes we have to let go a little at a time. And it’s not just sin that we need to give up. It can also be good things such as certain relationships, the career we think we want, or our dreams of the future.

Sometimes I’m not sure I want to change in a particular area, and other times I realize I have to again surrender something I’ve taken back. I tend to think that I should be farther along in my Christian walk, that I am a disappointment to God and others because I feel stuck here. “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain…” (1 Corinthians 15:10a ESV). It seems like I’ve been wearing this set of clothes for a while now, but God said through the Apostle Paul that His grace toward us is not in vain. He also said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9b). He will accomplish His purposes in us and through us in His own good time. Our reluctance to change is no surprise to Him, so we can’t disappoint Him.

I came across this quote that had been taken out of its original context:

“It [is] impossible… to be converted to Christ while at the same time loving [your] sin. It is true that anybody who comes to Christ will come with sin. In fact, he or she will come precisely because of that sin—that is, to be rid of it and its awful result. But to come to Christ while loving and cherishing sin is totally impossible. It is like an airplane trying to fly in two directions!”

The context in which I found the quote (a Sunday school lesson) might lead one to think that the author is referring to all the areas of sin in a person’s life at the time of conversion, when in fact he was referring to an individual who wanted to knowingly continue one particular sin and yet become a Christian. The fact is that we don’t even know all the areas in which we are holding onto sin even after a lifetime of faith in Christ. If God revealed every sin and forced us to choose before we could come to Him for eternal life, no one would be saved. Jesus told the woman caught in adultery “Neither do I condemn you” before He told her “Go and sin no more.” Some people try to reverse the order and say, “If you forsake all sin, then God won’t condemn you.” God is far more gracious than we even realize. He is gracious enough to reveal our sins and to cultivate our distaste for sin over time.

Tammy Maltby writes in Confessions of a Good Christian Girl:

“Even though I knew my Savior, I kept coming to points in my life when I needed more of Him than I ever thought possible… I learned firsthand that good Christian girls need the grace of Jesus just as much as unbelievers do—and that grace is abundantly available to anyone who is willing to be honest about her pain and cry out for help. But honesty can be a problem, especially for us good Christian girls, because we are so used to thinking of our lives as before-and-after stories… [The] implication is that once a person accepts the Lord, she stops sinning and lays all her brokenness outside the door. The implication is that churches are populated by those who are joyfully and triumphantly healed. And that’s just not true...” (3, 6).

Thankfully, God understands me better than I understand myself, and He extends grace for each change along the way. He knows just how much time and grace is needed to both inspire and enable change. Perhaps someday I’ll look back and realize I have changed without even realizing it. For example, I remember times in school where I played sick so as to avoid public speaking. Now I know that wasn’t nearly as big of a deal as I’d thought at the time. God brought a change in perspective over the course of several years. I trust He can and will do something similar for any and all areas of my life that may be contrary to His perfect plan. His grace is never in vain.

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely... He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).

© 2018 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com.