REAL Estate

I consider myself blessed to be able to travel to my engineering college through some of the most scenic and beautiful parts of the countryside. As I write you this blog post, I'm pursuing my third year of Engineering in the field of Information Technology. My college is located on the outskirts of the city of Hyderabad, India. So everyday I board my college bus at 8:40AM and the bus then makes its way out of the bustling traffic, and onto the peaceful outskirts of the city. Once the bus reaches the highway, the hustle and bustle of the city streets are soon forgotten in the greenery and freshness that surrounds all your senses.
Taking pictures is one of my long-forgotten hobbies and although I don't get a chance to do it often, I still managed to capture some of the countryside with my 2 megapixel phone camera. I've added a few pictures from my journey to college, so explore the slide-show (tried to do my best, clicking from a moving bus).



It feels like God paints scenaries right in front of my eyes every morning. Hills, valleys, rocks, trees, fields, ponds, wild flowers, vineyards, sheep grazing on the lush green pastures with white clouds and blue skies in the distant horizon... God's creativity spread across nature's canvas.

One day when I was admiring all of this beauty, I started closely observing the acres of lands that I was passing by. There were lush green fields with various crops being carefully cultivated by the farmers. I saw portions where people had constructed houses to live in. Every now and again was passing through a small village that was bustling with activity. Then there were stretches of land covered with shrubs, wild grass, etc. On the same stretch I saw barren lands with absolutely no cultivation. Dried up, lying useless, baked under the scorching sun.

I suddenly felt God tugging my heart into some introspection of my own. My life can be equated to the lands I see on my way to college. Some areas of my life are flourishing. I've allowed God to work on those areas, and that now gives fruit and shelter like the fields and houses I saw. These areas of my life has blessed me, the people around me and ultimately brought glory to God. On the contrary, there are those ignored, uncultivated lands...areas in my life that I haven't surrendered entirely to God. These are the areas that hinder me from being the best that God created me to be. As the images of those dry, useless lands kept flashing in my mind, I began to realise that there were a lot of areas in my life which I hadn't completely given over to God. Although I said..."I surrender all", these were the areas that I held back from God. That night I spent time asking God to forgive me for holding onto areas of my life and asked Him to take full control. I'm still in the process of surrendering, and trust me its a daily conscious effort.

Think about the areas in your own life that you have given to God. God has used those areas to bring glory to Him and also bless the people around you. Also ask God to show you things that you haven't yet completely given it over to Him. It could be anything... a particular talent, money, an object that you cherish, studies, work, relationships, family, friends, etc. As He shows you those areas, ask Him to forgive you for not surrendering that aspect of your life. Go one step further and place it on the altar, never to take it back again. Name every area, one by one surrendering each of it completely to Him. The world will see a new YOU as you yourself start experiencing a major change and a greater anointing in your everyday life.
If I could personalize what John the baptist said in John 3:30(NIV), "He must become greater; I must become less", I would rephrase it as... "All of You Jesus and nothing of me".

I surrender all, I surrender all
All to thee my blessed Saviour I surrender all