God is Our Source Therefore, We Are Empowered to Live in Surrender

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Did you know that if a land experiences a drought, all the vegetation in that land will die? But if there is a river, the trees by the river will not die. In fact, they won’t even know that the land experienced a drought. How is this? Because its roots are directly connected to the source—the river—through subterranean tunnels.

The same is true for us. When we are directly connected to our source, we will not be affected by the drought of the land around us.

Today, I would like for us to explore four questions to further help us understand our source.

What is a ‘source?’ What is the definition of it? I think sometimes we confuse a source with a resource or sometimes even provision, so we will start with that.

What is God a source of?

What does that mean to us? What does it mean for God to be our source? Why does it matter so much?

How do we apply it in our daily lives?

1. What is a source? (What is the definition of it?)

Source 1. a place, person, or thing from which something comes or can be obtained. Origin, place of origin, spring, wellspring, fount, starting point, provenance, derivation root, beginning, genesis, start, rise, cause, author, originator, initiator, creator, inventor.

2. The act of rising; an ascent.

? 3. The rising from the ground, or beginning, of a stream of water or the like; a spring; a fountain.

? 4. That from which anything comes forth, regarded as its cause or origin; the person from whom anything originates.

Colossians 1:16-17 (NKJV) “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”

What is a source? Jesus is our source. A source is an origin of things.

2. What is He a source of?

According to the verse above, Jesus is the source of our life, of heaven and earth, and everything there is in it. He is the source of all that was created, visible and invisible. He is the source of power, authority, dominions and principalities, all things, 100% of it, come from Him. Let’s look at some specifics:

Psalms 27:1 (TPT) “Yahweh is my revelation-light and the source of my salvation. I fear no one! I’ll?never turn back and run, for you, Yahweh, surround and protect me.”

He is the source of our salvation, of our revelation, of our courage and boldness, our protection.

Psalms 36:9 (TPT) “The fountain of life flows from you to satisfy me. In your light of holiness we receive the light of revelation.”

He is the source of holiness, of light, and again, of revelation.

Now, can we take a second here on this verse… How beautiful is this?

“The fountain of life flows from you to satisfy me.” The word ‘fountain’ can be translated as spring, which is also the same word often translated as source. What this verse is saying, in essence, is that from the very beginning, God’s intention when He created our lives was to keep us satisfied. And when we are connected to the right source of life, God, that’s what we are: satisfied.

Isn't that beautiful!?

He is the source of our fullness, our wholeness, our satisfaction, our completeness, our perfection.

Psalms 119:104 (TPT) “For your truth is the source of my understanding, not the falsehoods of those who don’t know you, which I despise.”

He is the source of our understanding, the source of truth.

Psalms 104:34 (TPT) “May you be pleased with every sweet thought I have about you, for you are the source of my joy and gladness.”

He is the source of our joy and of our gladness.

2 Corinthians 13:11 (TPT) “Finally, beloved friends, be cheerful! Repair whatever is broken among you, as your hearts are being knit together in perfect unity. Live continually in peace, and God, the source of love and peace, will mingle with you.”

He is the source of love and peace.

He will mingle with us! He is interested in mingling with us! Wow! The good of the universe wants to hang out with me? With you? YES! He does! And He gives us the peace to sit with Him and do just that!

3. What does that mean to us? Why does it matter?

Understanding that Jesus is our source, in every area of our lives, is the only way to live a lifestyle of surrender.

A lifestyle of absolute surrender is allowing the Holy Spirit to take over our entire being, while we submit to Him. Surrendering every thought, will, desire, emotion, feeling, fear—everything.

If we don’t understand that God is our source of true life, joy, gladness, health, and that He wants the best for us and has our best intentions in mind, how could we ever do that?

Galatians 5:25 (TPT) “If the Spirit is the source of our life, we must also allow the Spirit to direct every aspect of our lives.” Galatians 5:25 (AMP) “If we [claim to] live by the [Holy] Spirit, we must also walk by the Spirit [with personal integrity, godly character, and moral courage—our conduct empowered by the Holy Spirit].”

Now, OF COURSE we all want to walk by the spirit, with personal integrity, godly character, and moral courage. OF COURSE we want our conduct to be empowered by the Holy Spirit, and we want Him to direct every area of our lives. We know it in theory, and we all understand that in theory, but to live that reality on a daily basis is a whole different ball game. It’s daily work that never ends and never gets old.

4. How do we apply that to our lives?

Psalms 1:1-3 (NKJV) “Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.”

This Psalm is some what of a parallel with?Joshua 1:8 (NKJV)

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.” We find some simple yet effective instructions here for us.

Think, speak, act.

On another post, I talked a little more about meditation according to the Bible.?(Meditate on The Word of God—The Key to Our Wholeness and Our Promise Land) But here, let’s quickly focus on these three simple steps: 1. Think:?We must be aware of our thoughts, submitting them to the obedience of Christ. If our thoughts aren’t in agreement with the Word of God, then God is not the source of those thoughts, and nothing good will come from it. Thoughts produce feelings, which produce actions that turn into habits and become a lifestyle. 2. Speak:?It helps to speak the Word of God out loud, so that our ears can hear what we are saying and come into agreement with it. Speak the Word of God and how He is source of the very thing you may have a hard time overcoming. 3. Act:?We don’t always have to “feel like it” to be able to act accordingly. We aren’t going to go very far if we allow ourselves to be moved by feelings all the time. Act in obedience to the Word and to The Holy Spirit.

In Closing...

These are very simple instructions. You know me, I love simple. And as I always say, simple does not equal easy. Simple simply means… Simple! Straightforward! Sometimes, the simple things are the hardest things we have to do.

Let's take action, and do the simple things, moved by the Holy Spirit.?

GO TO BLOG POST TO SEE AND DO THE ACTIVATION FOR THE WEEK