Simply Be 

By: Carole L. Haines 

 ² Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, ³ for His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. ⁴ Through these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world on account of lust.  
(2 Peter 1:2-4) 

Most of my life I have been trying to become who I already am. I have striven to be a better person, but I cannot, apart from Christ.
I have learned that on my own, I digress. In Jesus, I progress. “²¹ I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.” (Romans 7:21) 
Jesus is everything, Jesus does everything in me. I am to cease striving and know that He is God, and I am not. (Psalm 46) Transformation has very little to do with striving and abundantly more to do with yielding and surrender. This has taken me decades to learn in Christ. 

In the opening passage of Scripture, we read that “His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness…”  It’s already there through Jesus. We didn’t just receive a small portion of Christ when we believed. We received Him fully. It is yielding and surrendering to this perfect truth that gets us out of the way, so more of Him can shine forth in and through our lives. Jesus is all and in all. Like breathing, we take Him in and exhale Him out. He has called us to simply be His, with our unique personalities, giftings and talents. He works through all that He has already poured into us to bring Glory to Himself.  

“An island in the Sea may be just the top of a large mountain, and our personality is like that island. We don’t know the great depths of our being; therefore, we cannot measure ourselves. We start out thinking we can but soon realize there is only one Being who fully understands us, and that is our Creator.” 
(Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, 12/12/21) 

So, cease striving to become, Dear Child of God, and receive the truth that You already are His. Yield to what He has poured into You, surrender to His work and simply be His. More and more, simply His. He’s got you, Dear Child. Surrender to the truth that He will finish this work that He has begun in you. Believe Him and hold tight to His promises. That is the work of faith, believing God. Breathe Him in and Breathe Him out. Yield and surrender. Dear Child of God, simply be.