Surrender has never been a
positive word or concept. If we surrender in a war, we admit that we are the
losers. If we surrender to a major illness and it takes our life, we are
considered as weak and that we gave up rather than fight for our life.
Yet, in the Christian walk, if we
lose our life, we gain life (Matthew 10:39). This is called a Biblical Paradox
- two contradictory statements that are surprisingly both true!
There are many paradoxes in God's
Word:
- Living in full surrender to the Trinity, we are freed from our flesh, the world, and the devil - John 8:32-36.
- If we give away, we gain; if we keep for our self, we tend to poverty - Proverbs 11:24; Acts 20:35.
- To truly live, we must die - Philippians 1:21
- Depending on God in our weakness gives us His true strength - 2 Corinthians 12:10.
- As bondservants of the Lord Jesus Christ we find fulfilling freedom - Romans 6:18.
In order to surrender, we first
learn humility. God resists the proud; but blesses the humble (James 4:6). Jesus
humbled Himself to take on human form and die for our sins (John 3:16-17), and now
He is exalted, as we will be also in eternity (James 4:10; Philippians 2:8-9).
Unreservedly surrendering to
Jesus Christ, without any hesitation or attachment to this world, brings us true
peace and joy that is never available without fully surrendering to Christ in us
(John 14:27).
Surrendering all to Christ, we
gain His forgiveness, peace, provision, blessings, character and identity. We
lose our insecurities, pride, self-centeredness, etc. and gain His love, power
and sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).
Prayer:
Father God, surrendering to Your
wisdom and love gives us peace that does not depend on our earthly
circumstances. We relinquish our goals, opinions and dreams and fully embrace
Your will for our life. Help us not to resist Your Spirit's guidance or to rely
on our human understanding, but to trust in Your mercy and grace, which is new
every single morning (Lamentations 3:22-23).
Jesus is our all in all. He is
our whole life and we need nothing and no one else to live a fulfilled life
(Colossians 3:3-4). We find our center, our "true north", our
equilibrium and our gratifying path in life in full surrender to Your will.
Help us also to find freedom from Satan's lies that keep us captive to fear, so
that we can walk in Your perfection and freedom.
( www.transformationprayer.org )
Thought for the Day:
God uses trials and adversity to
bring us to the end of our self-sufficiency, so that we are willing to
permanently throw our self totally into surrender to His love and care every
moment of every day.
