Surrendering - Brandy Knutson

As someone who has grown up in church, there have been seasons of my life where I haven’t been as consistent with reading my Bible or holding regular rhythms of connection with God. In some of these seasons, I have felt like I was journeying alone. Other times, I’ve felt like I was being carried. Sometimes it felt like a task to check off of my to do list rather than an engagement of my heart.

Lately, I’ve been in a season where I keep going back to Psalm 23. Every time I sit down to read my Bible, that’s the place I want to turn to. Sometimes I’ll start somewhere else, and then I end up right back in the same spot. I've been reading it in my Bible, copying it into my journal, looking it up in other translations, reading study guides and notes about it. I’m hooked on it. And right now, it feels like exactly the right place for me to be.

It's a deep meditation of my heart that finds me multiple times a day, and that feels like an extra gift of grace right now. Rather than fighting against it and reading something else, because that’s what I’m “supposed to do,” I’m leaning in and learning to surrender in new ways to the things that God is placing before me. It’s a different kind of surrendering that's new to me in this stage of my walk with Jesus.

I don’t know where this newsletter is finding you today, but I want to encourage you to lean into whatever God is calling you into in this season of your life. I pray that you are able to find His presence and His comfort in it, and that the meditation of your heart is centered on His faithfulness towards you.

Psalm 23 (NET)
The Lord is my shepherd,
I lack nothing.
He takes me to lush pastures,
he leads me to refreshing water.
He restores my strength.
He leads me down the right paths
for the sake of his reputation.
Even when I must walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no danger,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff reassure me.
You prepare a feast before me
in plain sight of my enemies.
You refresh my head with oil;
my cup is completely full.
Surely your goodness and faithfulness will pursue me all my days,
and I will live in the Lord’s house for the rest of my life.

Brandy Knutson
Communications | Hope City Church