“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:1,2)
God knows all He would like to do in and through us. We discover His will through submission. Submission involves the willingness to do the will of another.
Surrender should be a one time act. It is equivalent to repentance. It is what happens when we get genuinely saved. We go from being God’s enemies to God’s friends; from the servants of sin to the servants of God. Submission is the daily outworking of that surrender. We don’t forever lose our will when we get saved. Continually, it remains in the power of our will to place ourselves at our own disposal or at God’s. We enquire of Him what we should do, or we move without a thought for Him. We simply please ourselves or we bother to know what would please Him.
Our days can be spent in profitable or vain activity, depending upon how yielded we are to God. Yes, we can do many things; but real power comes when we are moving in God. He gives power to those under His authority, not to the self-willed.
When we finally stand before Him, we will give an account to Him for the deeds done in our body. The good works will be those that were done at His direction; the evil works will be those that were done of our own will without a care for His mind on the matter. May we begin now to lay up treasure in heaven – “gold, silver, precious stones.” May we not find in that day that only “wood, hay, and stubble” await us.