In a war, the soldiers sometimes surrender a battle, but sometimes they
actually surrender the whole war. Spiritual warfare is very similar to a
physical battle.
If we surrender in a battle, we live to fight another day. If we
surrender the war, we leave the outcome to a higher power. God is our Higher
Power, and He desires that we completely surrender our life, love and will to
Him.
Our Father knows best, and He wants only the best for us. He will never
leave or forsake us, and He provides for our every need as we trust exclusively
in His provision and care (Hebrews 13:5; 1 Peter 5:7).
The alternative is to fight the war from our own strength. This
predictably ends in us suffering from battle fatigue with no more strategy to
win the war.
Even if we surrender temporarily, with aspirations to return to the war
in our own strength once we recoup, we end up right back where we are
now…exhausted, discouraged and feeling overwhelmed.
We must come to the end of our self at some point in our life and
totally surrender to God every thought, word and deed - led by His Spirit in
everything we think, say and do.
We accomplish so much more with our remaining life than we ever did
during all of the years on our own recognizance. We waste so much time when we
live life our way instead of God's (Ephesians 2:20).
It is never too late to surrender, however, no matter how old we are. Sometimes,
it takes us a while to learn to "let go and let God". The point is to
totally surrender every battle to the Lord and we will eventually win the war
as well.
Prayer:
Father remind us to trust only in You with our whole heart, not to rely
on our human intuition or wisdom, to totally surrender to Your will and purpose
for our life, and to allow You to direct every battle of the spiritual warfare
in which we are embroiled (Proverbs 3:5-6).
We cannot trust our heart or our mind to safely lead us (Jeremiah
17:9). Only in Christ do we have half a chance of making a lasting difference
in this world (Philippians 4:13). You give us Your wisdom and Your Word,
directed by Your Spirit with a fail-safe battle plan every time (James 1:5;
Psalm 119:105).
Thought for the Day:
True power and wisdom come from Christ in us, not from our own
resources; so the wise will totally surrender to Him each moment of life and
wait expectantly on Him alone.
- John
15:5; Psalm 46:10
