I wrote the other day about surrender and submit.
It was not an easy one to write… and if I’m honest, not an easy one to live either.

I urge you to go back and read it. Because what I am about to share now… builds on that place.

Surrender opens the hand.
Submission keeps it open. But then… there is something more.

There is a life that follows surrender. A posture that follows submission. A calling that moves beyond moments… into identity.

Being set apart.

We often think of this as something gentle. Something poetic. Something reserved for a “certain kind” of believer. But Scripture does not present it that way. To be set apart…
is to live a life of intense concentration on God’s point of view.

Not occasionally. Not when it suits us. But as a way of seeing. A way of thinking.
A way of being. It is when every part of you, your body, your soul, your spirit… is gathered and aligned not scattered across a thousand competing desires… but held, focused, and devoted for the purposes of God alone.

And here is the tension… This kind of life will feel like a narrowing. Fewer distractions. Fewer options. Fewer places to hide. But at the very same time… It will become the broadest life you have ever known. Because when your world becomes centered on God… your capacity expands in ways you cannot manufacture.

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…”
(Rom 12:2)

Sanctification is not behavior management. It is transformation. It is the slow… and sometimes sudden…
realignment of everything within you to reflect the heart of God.

There is a deeper work…
one that only God Himself can do. We call it entire sanctification.

It is that personal, decisive act of God’s grace where something inside you begins to shift… The constant tension.
The inner resistance.
The pull between flesh and Spirit… begins to lose its authority. This is not perfection. It is release.

A heart no longer fueled by quiet rebellion… but awakened into wholehearted love. Love for God. Love for people. Not forced. Not performed. But flowing.

“For it is God who works in you, to will and to act according to His good purpose.”
(Phil 2:13)

And here is where we must be honest… We cannot sanctify ourselves. No amount of discipline, structure, or self-effort can produce what only the Spirit can form.

Christ must not just be our Saviour… He must be our sanctification. Because holiness is not something we strive to reach. It is something we receive… and then live out.

We don’t work toward holiness.
We work from it. “To become holy, we must possess the Holy One.”It must be Christ in us.

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” (Gal 2:20)

Consecration is the part where everything is laid down. And then we come to the part that costs…

Full surrender. Not in theory.
Not in words. But in reality.

This is where surrender stops being a moment… and becomes a lifestyle. Every area of your life… laid down.

Every plan…released. Every hidden place… opened.

“Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice…”(Rom 12:1) And yes… there is a dying here.

Because self does not leave quietly. There is a deep truth we don’t always want to face:

As long as self remains at the center… Christ cannot fully take His place. As Andrew Murray wrote:

“So long as I myself am still something, Jesus cannot be everything…
When your life is cast out, God will fill you.”

And this is the mystery of the Kingdom: When you empty…
He fills. When you release…
He entrusts. When you surrender… power begins to flow. Not your power. His.

Set Apart… For Him

So what does it really mean to be set apart? It means your life is no longer your own. Not in a heavy way, but in a holy one.

It means your thoughts are no longer random… your choices no longer casual… your direction no longer self-led.

It means you live aware. Aware of His voice. His leading. His heart. It means you belong… fully.

And maybe today…
this is not a message to analyse. Maybe it is a call to respond. Not to try harder. But to yield deeper.

To move beyond surrender…
beyond submission…and step into a life that is truly, set apart.

Love

V.L.