“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” James 4:10
“Present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as righteousness to God.” Romans 6:13
We were at a home fellowship a couple of weeks ago and one of the group members said that she felt God’s word for her in 2024 was “courage.” Another friend said that his word for 2024 was “abide.'” and another said that her’s was “grateful.” Peggy and I began prayerfully considering what our 2024 word or words might be. The Lord God has definitely been, faithful, our protector, and our provider.
Peggy feels that her word for 2024 is “submission.” Submission means the action or fact of accepting or yielding to a superior force or to the will or authority of another person. The person of Christ. It means for us, submitting to God’s will and plans done by God, in His way and in His time. Letting go of our own need to control or manipulate what God designs for us or others.
My word for 2024 is somewhat similar it is the word “surrender.” Surrender means to give up, and hand over my rights. To abandon oneself to Christ. Surrender can have a negative connotation, but I see it in the positive sense. I see it as the great exchange. As we surrender more of ourselves to Christ, we invite more of Him to live in us and through us. While it may not be easy, the great exchange offers blessings in this life and the next.
2023 was a year of ups and downs and all arounds. I’m grateful for the constant Christ in and inconsistent world. I would invite you to prayerfully consider what your word for the season is, and we would love for you to share it with us.
May we together stand on the promises and faithfulness of God’s word to us.
Happy New Year and to God be the glory!
The Von Raeders in Nepal