I Surrender

Date: Tuesday, August 4, 2026

Today in Church History: On August 4, 1532, the Protestant reformer Guillaume Farel was expelled from Geneva following his public preaching and heated debates with Catholic clergy. Farel's ministry laid the vital groundwork for Geneva's transition to the Reformation. His expulsion set off a chain of events that culminated in his return alongside John Calvin, ultimately transforming the city of Geneva into the intellectual and spiritual nerve center of Reformed Protestantism and Presbyterianism throughout Europe.

Readings: Matthew 26 | Psalm 31:14-24

Matthew 26 takes us into the Upper Room, then into the shadows of Gethsemane, where Jesus prays the hardest prayer ever prayed: “not as I will, but as you will.” Betrayal is already in motion, the disciples are asleep, and the weight of the whole world’s sin is pressing down on Jesus. And yet He surrenders, because He trusts in the Father’s plan.

Louie Zamperini was an Olympic runner and WWII vet who was tortured for several years in a Japanese POW camp. Inspired by the surrender of Jesus, during his darkest moments of captivity, he made God a desperate promise: get me through this, and I'll give You my life. After the war had ended, following a Billy Graham crusade, Louie returned to Japan to personally forgive the very men who tormented him. Surrender doesn't erase the suffering; it just refuses to let the suffering have the final word.

Devotional Prompts:

• What area of your life is hardest to hand over with an honest “not my will, but yours”?
• How does knowing your “times” are held by God change the way you face uncertainty?

Prayer: Father, when our own gardens of decision feel dark and heavy, teach us to pray as Jesus prayed. Hold our times, our fears, and our futures in Your steady hands. Amen.