What do you need to do to cooperate with God's purpose for your soul and your relationships?

Surrender your soul to him. Give him your heart and soul. Let him own you. Ask Jesus to move into your life.

Surrender your life to him. Every day, first thing every morning, surrender your day to his Spirit's control and will for your life. Meet him in Scripture and prayer and worship. Put yourself in his molding hands, and ask him to use this day to make you more like Jesus.

Surrender your relationships to him, asking him to redeem them to make you more like Jesus. Surrender your resources to him--your time, talent, treasure, and touch--asking him to use them to make you more like Jesus.

Now, see all that comes as his gift. Whether good or bad, easy or hard, see it as coming from your Father who redeems all he permits or causes. See everything as a means to his end of making you like Jesus. Live in expectant joy as you look forward to all the ways he will work through all things for his glory and your good. Life is his gift, until eternal life is yours forever.

Last year I was privileged to stand before Michelangelo's massive statue of David. Where others saw flawed marble, the great artist saw Israel's shepherd king waiting to be revealed.

How did he carve such a masterpiece? His answer was simple: "In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it."

"Hewing away the rough walls that imprison the Christ within you"--that's what your Creator is doing with your life this morning. This is the word of the Lord.