{"id":15521,"date":"2026-10-13T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/?p=15521"},"modified":"2026-09-07T12:51:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T17:51:00","slug":"freedom-through-surrender","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2026\/10\/13\/freedom-through-surrender\/","title":{"rendered":"Freedom Through Surrender"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Two-minute read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In his letter to the Romans, Paul asked them to surrender their bodies as a living sacrifice to the Lord. Paul appealed to them because of the mercies God had already done for them. This means giving God our actual, everyday lives, not just giving Him our thoughts for an hour on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After all, if you only ate once a week, what would that do to your body?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Living for Christ means more than just going to church on Sunday and then putting Him back in the box. Following Jesus means choosing to pursue Him every day. Our bodies become a living sacrifice when we continually surrender to God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your hands belong to God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your words belong to God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your time belongs to God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your choices belong to God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your ordinary Tuesday belongs to God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All this equals faith expressed in how we actually live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So this morning, when I cleaned out my attic and craft room, I did so to the Lord. Taking my time and systematically going through everything, one object at a time, I created piles for donation, trash, and keep. Then I organized everything into one of these three categories. Once finished, I loaded my car, drove to a local Christian organization, and made my donation so they could make money from what I no longer needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lord calls us not to become like the world, but to become like Christ. We shouldn\u2019t just identify what we shouldn\u2019t do; we should allow God to transform us into new creatures. When transformation happens, we become altogether changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it all starts in the mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we renew our minds in Christ, spending time with Him, in the Word, and with others, transformation occurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSomeone else can use this\u201d became my prevailing thought this morning as I worked. Thinking about others and working as if for the Lord motivated me to finish the job when I wanted to quit. When I wanted to leave everything to sit for a day before donating it, a nudge from within said, \u201cDo it today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so I did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And now, having finished the mundane job, I feel God\u2019s pleasure at my obedience. My thoughts led my actions, and even in the most boring tasks, the Lord transformed me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God\u2019s mercies change what we give Him; His truth changes how we think. And a transformed mind produces a transformed life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Journal Questions:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n