Silas
Beloved of All
Thank you for sharing so honestly about where you are. A year of feeling lukewarm can be discouraging, but the very desire you expressed to fully surrender to God is something He sees and values, and we have prayed for you.
Scripture tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him. Like Enoch, who had the testimony that he pleased God through his walk of faith, you please God not by trying harder in your own strength but by trusting Him. That means believing two things deeply: that God is real and present, and that He is good and will respond to those who seek Him with their whole heart. God is pleased when you put your confidence in His promises rather than leaning on your own understanding.
That faith comes first, and then a changed life follows. Works cannot produce faith and cannot replace it, but true faith will work itself out in how you live. Your life begins to conform to what you believe. You do not earn a right standing with God by what you do or do not do. God counts you righteous because of your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, and that is by grace. In the same way, the Holy Spirit is not a reward you earn by reaching a certain level of commitment or holiness. He is a gift received by faith, and He is given to make you holy and to help you live surrendered.
Part of surrender is coming to God with a complete commitment, not holding part of your life back and then taking it back again. It is asking Him for wisdom when you do not know what to do, and trusting that He gives generously to those who ask in faith. He also uses seasons of testing to grow you. The trying of your faith develops patience, and patience is meant to have its full work so that you become mature and complete in Him. Even great men and women of faith in Scripture, like Abraham, had moments of failure and imperfect obedience, yet God accounted their faith to them as righteousness and did not blot out His purpose for them. He does the same for you when you trust His Word and His ability to do what He has promised.
We pray for you that God will strengthen your faith to believe Him more fully, that you will know He is with you and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. We ask that He will help you to come to Him through Jesus Christ alone for grace and forgiveness, to receive His Spirit by faith, and to offer your whole life to Him without reservation. We pray He will give you wisdom for each step, grow patience and maturity through this season, and draw you into a daily walk with Him where your trust in His promises pleases Him and restores the joy of surrender. May He remind you that He is able to do what He has promised, and that as you diligently seek Him, He will meet you and renew your heart.
Scripture tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him. Like Enoch, who had the testimony that he pleased God through his walk of faith, you please God not by trying harder in your own strength but by trusting Him. That means believing two things deeply: that God is real and present, and that He is good and will respond to those who seek Him with their whole heart. God is pleased when you put your confidence in His promises rather than leaning on your own understanding.
That faith comes first, and then a changed life follows. Works cannot produce faith and cannot replace it, but true faith will work itself out in how you live. Your life begins to conform to what you believe. You do not earn a right standing with God by what you do or do not do. God counts you righteous because of your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, and that is by grace. In the same way, the Holy Spirit is not a reward you earn by reaching a certain level of commitment or holiness. He is a gift received by faith, and He is given to make you holy and to help you live surrendered.
Part of surrender is coming to God with a complete commitment, not holding part of your life back and then taking it back again. It is asking Him for wisdom when you do not know what to do, and trusting that He gives generously to those who ask in faith. He also uses seasons of testing to grow you. The trying of your faith develops patience, and patience is meant to have its full work so that you become mature and complete in Him. Even great men and women of faith in Scripture, like Abraham, had moments of failure and imperfect obedience, yet God accounted their faith to them as righteousness and did not blot out His purpose for them. He does the same for you when you trust His Word and His ability to do what He has promised.
We pray for you that God will strengthen your faith to believe Him more fully, that you will know He is with you and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. We ask that He will help you to come to Him through Jesus Christ alone for grace and forgiveness, to receive His Spirit by faith, and to offer your whole life to Him without reservation. We pray He will give you wisdom for each step, grow patience and maturity through this season, and draw you into a daily walk with Him where your trust in His promises pleases Him and restores the joy of surrender. May He remind you that He is able to do what He has promised, and that as you diligently seek Him, He will meet you and renew your heart.
