MAY THEME – “SEEING THE VALUE OF A SOUL FROM GOD’S PERSPECTIVE”
BEATS FROM YOUR PASTOR’S HEART
THE LIFE YOU ARE DEFENDING MAY BE THE LIFE GOD IS TRYING TO CHANGE
Luke 9:24 — “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.”
There is something in all of us that wants to hold on. We hold on to what feels familiar, what feels safe, what feels like “us.” We build routines, reactions, and ways of thinking that we learn to defend—sometimes without even realizing it. And then we pray… we ask God to move, to change things, to bring breakthrough. Yet often, while we are asking for change, we are quietly protecting the very things that need to be surrendered. Jesus speaks a truth that goes against everything natural to us: the life you try to preserve is the life you lose, and the life you surrender is the life you actually find. That means the tension you feel may not be God resisting you—it may be God inviting you to release something you’ve been holding too tightly.
WE OFTEN DEFEND WHAT GOD IS TRYING TO TRANSFORM
There are parts of your life you protect without thinking—habits that feel normal, reactions that feel justified, thought patterns that feel right. You’ve lived with them so long they feel like part of your identity. But God does not leave us where we are—He lovingly works to transform us. The struggle comes when what feels familiar is not what is best. You may defend it because it feels like “this is just how I am,” but God is saying, “This is not who I created you to be.” Transformation often feels like disruption. It challenges what you’re used to. It confronts what you’ve accepted. And because of that, we can resist it—even while praying for change.
FRUSTRATION OFTEN COMES FROM RESISTED SURRENDER
Some of the frustration in your life is not because God is absent—it’s because something is being held onto that He is asking you to release. We pray, “Lord, fix this,” while quietly saying, “But don’t touch that.”
We want relief without surrender. We want change without letting go. But God’s work is deeper than surface-level adjustment. He is not just changing circumstances—He is shaping your heart. The Holy Spirit doesn’t just deal with outward actions—He addresses attitudes, identities, and internal patterns. And when we resist that work, we feel tension. Not because God is working against us—but because we are holding onto something He is trying to free us from.
SURRENDER IS THE DOORWAY TO TRUE LIFE
Surrender feels like loss at first. It feels like giving something up, like stepping into the unknown, like releasing control. But in the hands of God, surrender is never loss—it is exchange. You release what is temporary…
to receive what is eternal. You let go of what limits you…to step into what frees you. You lay down what you’ve been protecting…to experience what God has been preparing. You cannot experience resurrection life while protecting old life. The life God has for you is not built on what you can maintain—it is built on what you are willing to surrender.
Imagine someone holding tightly to something in their hand—so tightly that their knuckles turn white. You offer them something far more valuable, something better, something life-giving—but they cannot receive it. Why? Because their hand is already full. The problem is not what you are offering. The problem is what they refuse to release. In the same way, God often has something greater for you—but your hands are full of what you’ve been holding onto. Until you release it, you cannot receive what He is trying to give.
What you are defending may be the very thing God is trying to change. What you are holding onto may be the very thing keeping you from freedom. The question is not whether God is able to work—it is whether you are willing to surrender. Because the life you cling to will eventually frustrate you…but the life you surrender will transform you.
WARFARE PRAYER
Father, show me clearly what I am holding onto that You are asking me to surrender. Search my heart and reveal anything that resists Your work in me—any habit, mindset, reaction, or attachment that is keeping me from fullness in You. Break my dependence on what feels familiar but is not from You. Give me courage to release it, even when it feels difficult. Teach me to trust that what You have for me is greater than anything I am trying to protect. I surrender it to You now. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
DAILY CHALLENGE
Ask God today to reveal one specific area you are protecting—something you have been holding onto out of habit, fear, or comfort. When He shows you, don’t delay. Surrender it intentionally. Speak it out, release it to Him, and take one step of obedience in that area today. What you release to God… He will redeem.
MONDAY’S PRAYER REQUESTS
Ann Stanley – Rockdale Medical
Aston Savage
Britany Smith ~ Breast Cancer
Christopher & Yting Kelley
Danny Jarrard
David Franklin
Dinay Rodriguez
Ellen Boyd
Jean Muehlfelt
Jillian Gray
Kim McClain’s Daughter, Amanda
Mary Williams
Mike And Paula Ferris And Family
Nancy Riley
Phillip Roach
Susan Bankston – Congestive Heart Failure
Theresa Bain
Wes Knight
Amy Garner’s Dad
Andrea Nix– Friend of the Shelnutt’s
Angela Bryan’s Sisters
Annette Ford
Brando Echarte
Carol Lawhead – Riverside in Conyers
Darlene Kelley – Cancer Treatment
Darlene Wiggins
Debbie Foskey
Deon Lotter
Don And Karelle Franklin – Mae’s Cousins
Doris Loyd
Dr. and Mrs. Davis
Ed Adkins – Friend of Brian Edwards
Ed Franklin’s Son In Law – Heart Surgery
Eric Magnusson’s Mother
Eric Ward
Friend of Linda Hodge
Gayle Sparks
Gloria Young
Jake Jenkins
James Burnette
Jean Partee
Jean Partee’s Sister
Jessica Headrick
John McClain’s Mother
Joni Oberhage
June Cronan
June Cronan’s Sister
June Davis
Kailey Bateman
Kim McClain’s Mother
Kim’s Sisters – Ann & Brenda & Mateen
Lillianna Magnusson’s Mom
Linda Mays
Lonzo Christian
Lori Blount’s Mother
Mary Williamson – Dana Jackson’s Mom
Mrs. Franklin
Nancy Brown
Nora Allison
Paul Bateman
Ron And Johnnie Barry – Friends Of Ashton & Glenda Bateman
Rose Fuller – Pruitt-Monroe Nursing Home, Forsyth GA
Roy Roach
Scott Lanier
Scotty Nix
Stephanie Seivers – Friend of the Shelnutt’s
Steve Michaels
Tammy Shelnutt
Tom Witcher