Welcome to Week 5 of More of God’s Presence. If you missed the other posts in this series, you can find them here:

Week 1: The Shepherd
Week 2: Green Grass
Week 3: Still Waters
Week 4: Restoration

THE PATH

Sometimes I like to take all the credit.

You know, like when one of my kids does something really amazing and I sit there and grin from ear to ear thinking, “Yep, that’s my kid!”

Or when I actually get all the laundry caught up and even match all the socks that have been sitting in a basket for months, yes, months. I might even take my husband on a tour of the closets and drawers just to let him know how awesome I am. Thank you very much.

Or when I’m in public and all my kids have on matching clothes, their hair is brushed, and they are all smiling like they love me – that’s when my pride really gets puffy. What you can’t see is the moments before when we were in the van and I was really letting them have it about talking ugly to each other. I might even bribe them with trips to Sonic or Dunkin Donuts. Can I get a witness?

I don’t know what it is for you that makes you feel worth, but I’m learning more and more about what my worth is really made of. It’s not in my children and how they behave or misbehave. It’s not in my housekeeping skills, or meal plans. It’s not even in the way I act, love, or work.

My worth is summed up in one word – surrender.

But not surrender like, “I give up, my kids are driving me crazy!”

or

“I’ve had it, I’m never doing laundry again!”

But surrender as in, “I submit my entire will, desire, and life to the control of Almighty God.”

He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Psalm 23:3b

I love the way Psalm 23:3 paints a clear description of surrender. It looks something like this:

1. It’s not about me. It’s about “He”.

HE leads me in the paths of righteousness.

2. It’s not about success. It’s about surrender.

He LEADS. Success comes in the surrender.

3. It’s not about other people. It’s personal.

He leads ME.

4. It’s not about what I want. It’s about where He is.

He leads me in the PATHS of RIGHTEOUSNESS.

5. It’s not for my gain. It’s for His glory.

He leads me in the paths of righteousness for HIS NAME’S SAKE.

Although I would love to sit content in my own success, I’m learning real success comes only through sincere surrender. My worth fights to be won through my mothering, my working, my doing, but I’m learning real value is only found in a soul that is willing to submit everything.

It’s hard to be led, when you always want to lead, and it’s difficult to feel value in the simplicity of being a follower. But as I wrestle with this idea of walking the paths of righteousness, I am beginning to realize the true worth of surrender.

When I walk with the Shepherd, I realize I am nothing. Not in a worthless way, in a magnificent way. I quickly understand the value of His glory and the place where it resides. It’s not in my doing, producing, and conquering that I succeed and work for God.

It’s in my personal, private walks down the paths of righteousness that I find a success like I’ve never known before. It’s full of glory that no one sees. It’s full of grace that no one else hears. There’s a place of quiet rest there and I long to go back again and again. The only struggle I face there is the battle of my own sin, and even that is forgiven and cast into the sea.

If you are like me and allow pride into the daily grind, consider the option of surrender. It’s truly one of the most majestic experiences of the Christian life. Let’s walk the path with the Shepherd.

What does surrender mean to you?

What else about Psalm 23 speaks to your heart? I always love to hear your thoughts!

Share this with someone you love!

Love & Blessings,

Micah