The Freedom In Surrender

Can I be honest? This year, 2021 has been one of the hardest I think I've ever walked through.

The temptation to give up, or go back was so incredibly strong, I did not honestly know if I would make it to the end of the year. But then I remembered Jesus, & how, in His darkest most difficult hour, He HUGGED His cross. Because He was thinking of US. WE were the joy He was thinking of that enabled Him to endure such heavy suffering, historians believe it to have been the most violent death ever recorded.

So what do you do when you're in such intense pain you can hardly see forward, but know He is calling you? How do you find your way through the pain to hear His voice?

SURRENDER.

Jesus had surrendered His rights in a hundred moments before the cross. I believe He had wept in gardens, on mountain tops, in valleys & in pastures where everything He knew to be true was preparing Him to be put to the ultimate test.

He had spent countless hours in deep conversation & prayer with His Father, knowing intimately His heart for His son, so that when the time came, not only would He lay down His life & endure the cross, He would do it KNOWING His Father's heart for Him. Remembering the Torah He had memorized since a small boy "I KNOW the plans I have for you..."

So, what is the 'cross' you're facing today? What are the things that feel overwhelming, impossible even? We have a GREAT High Priest that knows FULLY every anxiety, every fear, every pain & He is fully INVESTED in seeing us through to the end. Can we trust that?

COMPLETELY.

I'm learning through this process that the strength doesn't come AFTER, it comes DURING. All the way to the cross, & a thousand times before, Jesus showed us the way to true FRREDOM.

It comes in letting GO of control, of falling face forward into what feels like a dead end & TRUSTING the One who has already conquered death, conquered fear, conquered every pain & embracing in surrender the same path He is leading us on & has gone AHEAD. We are NOT alone. And it is NOT for nothing.

The freedom we so desperately long for comes in SURRENDER. And He's right there to meet us. Every. Step. Of. The. Way.

Prayer Requests!

If you have any, please send me a message!

For me, it's continued provision, strength, wisdom & clarity for the next few years in this commitment He's led me to.

*For those who'd like to know & support! I have PayPal, Zelle, OR can be sent through either YWAM LA or my home church in Arizona for a tax deduction!*

Our YWAM base is going through MASSIVE changes, & a major shift in YWAM as a whole is underway. Please pray for the leaders that they will have CLARITY & VISION for the next 50 years. I have surrendered to His plans for my life, which is NOT easy, but I am learning His plans & His ways are ALWAYS better. Every time.

En Agape,

Joanna