Knowing Him Daily

09.July.2026

There is a moment that comes right after surrender, after you have laid everything down and opened your hands (the way we talked about last week) when you would think the hard part is over. However, that is often exactly where the real question begins, because surrender is not the finish line, it is the starting gate.  The very next thing the Lord wants to deal with is whatever has been holding you back from walking in everything He has called you to. And this moment does not arrive on the same schedule for everyone. Whether you are a brand new believer or you have sat in a church pew for thirty years and just realized you were never living the fully committed life you were called to, the timing does not matter, because some new believers step into this with nothing to unlearn, no religious tradition or old thinking to put away first, while others have to peel back years of ideology before they can even see clearly what is being asked of them. So many churches preach that the moment you are saved, that is the finish line, but it is not, it is only the beginning, and wherever you find yourself opening your hands today, the Lord meets you there just the same.

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind 2 Timothy 1:7 Fear is so often the thing underneath the thing. We call it caution, we call it wisdom, we call it waiting on timing, but if we are honest, a great deal of what keeps us small and quiet and safely in the background is simply fear wearing a more respectable name. And fear was never given to us. It is not part of our inheritance. What was given to us instead is power, and love, and a sound mind, and until we recognize the difference between the two, we will keep mistaking a stolen spirit for our own personality.

“For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.” Galatians‬ ‭1‬:‭10‬

This is the second thing that holds us back, right alongside fear, and it is the pull to manage how we are perceived rather than simply obey. So many of us have spent years shaping ourselves around what will be acceptable, what will not ruffle feathers, what will keep the peace, and somewhere in all that shaping we lost track of whether we were still pleasing God at all.

And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word. Acts 4:29 This was the early church’s prayer when they were staring down real threats, and notice what they did not pray. They did not pray for the threats to disappear. They prayed for boldness in spite of them. That is the holy determination the Holy Spirit wants to place on the inside of us, not the absence of opposition, but a settledness so deep that opposition no longer has the final say over what we do or say.

Whatever has been holding you back, name it honestly today. Let the Holy Spirit set that holy determination on the inside of you, the kind that sets you apart completely for the word He has called you to carry.

If you have never given your life to Jesus Christ, you can do that right now. Pray this with me: 

Dear Heavenly Father,

I confess that I have sinned, and I believe Jesus died for my sins and rose again on the third day. I ask Jesus, come into my heart and be my Lord and Savior. Thank You for saving me. 
In Jesus’ name, 
Amen.

Make today count and see you tomorrow.