Jeremiah 32-33

Hebrews 1

“In all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.”   —Proverbs 3:6

When we submit ourselves as a slave to Jesus Christ for life, there are three things that He does for us, which we will explore in the next three devotions. The first thing is that the Master plans the program of the slave. In Romans 1:1, Paul says, “This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News” (NLT). We could reinterpret Paul as saying, “My life has been handed over to Jesus Christ. Therefore, as a slave of Jesus Christ, I have a divine call from heaven to be something on earth. I have been called to be an apostle.” This calling is uniquely Paul, because he goes on to say, “…set apart for the gospel of God.” Hence, the confidence that Paul has as a slave of Jesus Christ is that he is called to be something.

When we submit our lives as a slave to Jesus Christ, what we are called to will differ from person to person. Some of us may be called to be a teacher, or a gardener, or an accountant, or a doctor, or a driver, or a musician, or a mother. It does not matter what we may be called; the point is that a slave of Jesus Christ does not have an agenda of their own. They are asking, “Lord, what is it You want me to do?” All the interests and activities of the slave are tied to the interests and activities of the master. When we meet someone who is a slave of Jesus Christ and find out what they are interested in, we will know something of what God is interested in because the interests are connected and tied up. 

How does one know what God’s mind is and His will? A key verse that gives us the answer is Proverbs 3:6, “…in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” The NKJV translation says, “…in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” What does it mean to “acknowledge Him?” To acknowledge God means we relate every situation to Him in a disposition of dependence, and He will guide our paths. 

Of course, we can resist Him, we can grieve Him and we can say, “I’ve got my own agenda.” But we can also make the choice to say, “Lord, what is it You want me to do?” As we submit our lives to Christ, we can be certain that He has a plan and He will direct us.

Lord Jesus Christ, what is it You want me to do? Help me to know and be obedient to what You are calling me to do. Thank You, Lord.