The world rejects the idea
of surrendering. They equate surrender with giving up, and with loss and
defeat. However, when we surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ we release
all the stress and striving in our life. In return, we gain the fruit of His
Spirit, which defy all human logic (Galatians 5:22-23). Surrender means to trust God and to stop struggling
to live on our own in this hostile environment we call “life”. Surrender
results in our absolute submission to God’s leading for each moment of our day.
In return, we receive His deepest presence in our life along with a multitude
of blessings (Job 22:21).
The easiest way to walk in
surrender is to start obeying the Spirit’s direction in small increments. For
instance, we prefer our mate’s needs to our own. We put money in the offering
basket that we intended to use for some luxury. We take food to a sick friend
when we prefer to stay home and watch TV. We give our bicycle to a family
without transportation. We relinquish our right, as Jesus did, to prove that we
are innocent. We do not assume the attitude of a martyr; but we obey the
Spirit’s promptings with joy, knowing that God provides us with an abundance of
every good thing (Hebrews 12:2).
In our old life we
surrendered to sin, but now we have a new Master and He truly sets us free (Romans
6:16-18). Dying to self is not
detestable when we know it results not only in future treasures in Heaven for
eternity, but also in joy and peace now. This eternal perspective allows us to
pass through the less agreeable moments of surrender more easily. When God
calls us to submission to His greater will, we offer our life to Him. We
relinquish our personal freedom and He replaces it with spiritual freedom,
which is deeper and reaps lasting blessings in our spirit, body and soul – our
thoughts, choices and emotions.
We surrender our life to
Christ each new day, giving to Him the issues that weigh us down, seeking His
guidance for each moment and giving Him the glory for everything we accomplish (Galatians
3:1-3). The areas of our life that we
refuse to submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ are the venues that imprison
us. They are idols that we cherish more than our relationship with our living
Lord. If we walk through life in obedience to the Holy Spirit, we reap
blessings that never end. A life of half-hearted commitment may lose its
tranquility and happiness, but a surrendered life provides overwhelming peace
and joy.
There is no lasting freedom
outside of a complete surrender to Christ (Luke 14:33). We not only commit our life to Christ, but also we
surrender our works, talents and accomplishments to His Lordship and direction.
We view our life from His vantage point and we see the people in it as our
mission field. Our family, neighbors, friends, workmates, associates, and even
the check out people at the retail store or those waiting on us at the
restaurant are hand-chosen by God for us to influence for His Kingdom. When we
live in Christ and allow Him to live in, through and instead of us, we shed the
skin of our old life and live as His new creation for the glory of God (2
Corinthians 5:17).
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, help us to
follow You by denying our desires and dying to our selfishness. If we try to
preserve our life, we will ultimately lose it; but if we surrender our life to
You for Your sake, and give up our plans, goals and ambitions for You, then we
will gain a more fulfilling and joy-filled life (Matthew 16:25; Philippians
3:8). We realize that gaining the world
does not satisfy, because we will lose our own soul. But following You gives us
unending peace and joy (Matthew 16:24-26).
Thought for the Day:
The moments we live in
surrender to God are more richly experienced and completely fulfilling than any
others. Thank you, Megapixel Mike, for this serene photo.
http://www.flickr.com/mrickard5
