This past weekend, I had the privilege to attend a Women’s Retreat at my church, Kempsville Baptist.  The speaker was Loree Becton, founder of Precious to God, a ministry to victims of human trafficking in the Richmond, Virginia area.  Loree shared her story about how God moved on her heart and how that lead to helping hurting women in her city.

As Loree shared her story, she stressed the significance of personal repentance and surrender.  We can’t serve God unless we’re ready to serve – in other words, before we can do anything for God, we must be right with God.

Our relationship with God is hampered when we have unconfessed sin in our lives; therefore, repentance is vital.  We must be willing to confess our sins to Him and allow Him to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  And the wonderful thing is, He will do it!  He will clean us and make us ready to do whatever He calls us to do. Now comes the hard part – surrender.

Loree made a point about surrender that I haven’t been able to get out of my mind – “There is a difference between committed and surrendered. When we commit to something, we are still in control.  When we surrender, we give up our control.”  She went on to say that many people are “committed” church members but few are “surrendered”.

And in that statement lies a huge problem – we get comfortable going to church and participating in programs, but don’t step out of our comfort zone and do what God calls us to do.  We do what’s easy – go to church, sit in Bible study, hang out with our friends – but don’t allow the Word of God to compel us to action.  We’re committed but not surrendered.

Don’t get me wrong, being faithful in church attendance and Bible study is important. But our attendance should lead to action – living out our faith in ways that impact those around us.

For Loree, it meant ministering to prostitutes. It meant stepping into a world she was completely unaware of.  But God put it on her heart, and after much wrestling, she surrendered to the Lord.  She did the hard thing – stepped out in faith to a completely unfamiliar situation.  Now she is making a difference in the lives of hurting women in Richmond.  All because she surrendered.

So, what about you? Are you committed? Or are you surrendered?  And lest you think I’ve got this down pat, let me assure you I don’t!  It’s an everyday choice (sometimes an every hour choice!), to surrender my will to the Lord’s will.  But you know what? It’s worth it every time.

This blog is an area of surrender for me.  God kept bringing it to mind, again and again and again. And I kept giving Him excuses, again and again and again.  Then finally I gave in and said “Yes Lord. I’ll do it.”  It isn’t easy but I’m learning what it means to be obedient, even when I don’t feel like it.

Is there something God is calling you to do but you keep giving Him excuses? Get alone with Him, spend some time in reflection and repentance.  Then surrender to His leading. I promise you, it will be worth it.  God values our obedience more than any sacrifice we could make.  Won’t you surrender to Him today?

You can learn more about Loree’s ministry on their Facebook page, “Precious to God”.