My idea of how my Spiritual Rhythms Retreat was going to go and God’s plan for my week were very different. I had a mishap on our first full day that caused me to not be able to fully participate in different things throughout the week. I wanted to get the most out of the Spiritual Rhythms Retreat and be active, but I was forced to slow down and not be as active as I wanted to be.
Through this, God showed me my unwillingness to fully submit to Him. I wanted my plan so badly that I could not understand why God had a different one. The evening of the day that I had my mishap, we had our session on the spiritual discipline of submission. Matt Dee defined submission as “putting someone’s will above your own in both behavior and attitude.” It can be so easy for me to say with my mouth in the Lord’s Prayer, “Your Will be done,” but I realized how often I am insincere when I pray that.
It is one thing to say that I submit to God’s plan, but to be truly submitted involves both “behavior and attitude”.
My attitude reflects where my heart is. During spiritual rhythms, I really struggled with submitting to God’s plan for the week in my behavior and attitude. I wish I could say it got easier towards the end, or even that it is easier now, but I am still struggling to submit truly. Praise God that He is merciful and understands my struggle. As I get back into the routine at Impact, I want to grow in submitting my behavior and attitude to God’s will and not just praying it, whether that be major things or minor things throughout my day. I will never be able to do this without Him.
Submission is trusting in God’s sovereignty, but it is also trusting in His strength to carry me through trials, because I will vainly strive to submit if I do not rest in His strength. Psalm 127:1 says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.” I pray that God would strengthen me to daily submit my desires and my will to His plan, and that He would continue to show me the freedom and peace there is when I die to self and rest in Him.
Mary Strickland, Class of 2027
We believe that when a student is rooted in truth, they become a catalyst for the Kingdom wherever they go. Help us continue to forge disciples who possess the resolve to stay faithful and the tools to make disciples. Your investment in the Multiply Fund makes this transformation possible.