Today’s reading from 1 Samuel 7–9 and Luke 9:18–36 invites us to consider what it means to follow God when surrender is required, and how true formation happens as we learn to release control over time rather than manage our lives on our own terms.
In 1 Samuel, Israel moves through a season of repentance, dependence, and transition as they turn back to God under Samuel’s leadership, yet also begin asking for a king, revealing the tension between trusting God’s leadership and wanting something more visible and controllable.
In Luke 9, Jesus speaks directly about the cost of following Him, calling people to deny themselves and take up their cross daily, while also revealing His glory in the transfiguration, holding together both the weight of surrender and the reality of who He truly is.
Together, these passages invite us to sit with where we may still be holding onto control, and to consider how God might be forming a deeper trust in us through daily surrender, even when the cost feels personal and ongoing.
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