06/02/2026
Opposition, resistance, and every one of our foes will shout our faith right out of our soul if we let them. Our minds can either entertain the world or the Lord. Our will is the gatekeeper to our mind. Our will can either be surrendered to the Lord or to ourselves. Who will we give our will to?
We cannot overcome the enemy by ourselves. May God protect us by teaching us to surrender our will to Him. We are safe when God is our keeper. Religion falsely tells us we can keep ourselves and that we have what it takes to fend off the lies of our foes. Religion offers forms and appearances of godliness, but at its core it is empty. When we surrender our will to the Lordship of Christ, that is when we find peace.
We were not made to be god. We cannot rule our lives as well as we think we can. The stronger the will of a person, the longer it often takes for them to wake up, yet many never do. The heart can harden toward God, and love can grow cold. There are many reasons for this, but we should all pray, “God, keep us tender before You.”
If you can read these words and understand them, your heart has not hardened beyond return. A hardened heart makes us stiff-necked. Those who have been turned over to their own will often do not know it. They cannot see it. But if we can recognize hardening in our own hearts, let us bring it before God so He can break up the fallow ground.
Every day we are faced with the same decision Christ faced in Gethsemane: our will or our Father’s will. We are called to take up our cross and follow Him in the power of His Spirit, no matter how much our flesh resists. When we go the way of the cross, the only way we endure is through the resurrection power of Christ working within us.
Hardness leads to anger, bitterness, and resentment. Only the truth of the Gospel and the conviction of the Holy Spirit can break through. It remains a mystery why some respond to conviction while others continue to harden their hearts.
If God is convicting you today, do not harden your heart. Stay open to Christ being Lord over every area of your life, no matter how difficult the road becomes. God will complete the work He began in those who belong to Him.
The tempter will always try to get us to rely on our flesh and take matters into our own hands. Do not rush ahead of God. Trust His timing. Trust His ways. Take every thought captive that contradicts the Word of God, and surrender your will daily to the One who knows you better than you know yourself.