God did not say: You will not be assailed, you will not be belabored, you will not be disquieted; but God said: You will not be overcome. God wants us to pay attention to His words and always be strong in our certainty, in well-being and in woe, for God loves us and delights in us.

                                                                                             —Julian of Norwich

Have you surrendered to God’s love for you? I have to admit, this is one of the greater challenges in my life: to simply believe the Lord loves me. So today I turned to Ephesians 3:14-21 and prayed it out loud, stopping as the Spirit led, to embrace the glorious truths found in these seven verses.

So, here is my little assignment to you: for one week, pray this prayer and ask God, your Abba who delights in you, to inscribe each sentence on your heart. Then conclude your time with the simple statement, “Lord God, I choose to surrender to your love today.”

Pause right now and do just that, will you?

 When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.