Over & Over Again
Surrender is the glad and voluntary acknowledgement that there is a God and it is not me. Who among you feels good about this statement? I’m not sure that I do. For me, surrendering is hard. I have this insecurity that I live with that makes me want to be in control of my life and the circumstances around it. My heart can be rebellious toward God, telling Him to stay out of my life. I will go where I want, when I want in my life. I will keep this area, this pattern, this relationship under my own control. I will hold onto that grudge and I will enjoy the pleasure that I get from this habit. Jesus, I know You want full surrender of me, but I kind of like being in control, and, to be honest, I’m not sure I completely trust You with my life.
The problem with living like this is that it often makes us anxious and miserable. Only one thing will bring us ultimate peace: a surrendered heart. Sounds easy enough, doesn’t it? Just surrender your heart and things will be great. But you know and I know surrendering your heart is not an easy thing to. Too often we think that if we do it once, if we just say, “God, I surrender to you” then everything will be good. If this is you, how is that working out for you? Surrender is not a one and done thing. Surrendering to God is something that we do over and over and over again. For some it may be a daily occurrence. For others, you may have to surrender multiple times a day. It all depends on your life and the circumstances you’re facing.
The Apostle Paul provides us with a striking image in his letter to the Galatians, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). Part of what this means is that when we surrender to God, we will seek to handle the problems facing us in a way that honors Him. It means that you turn your life over to God and seek to obey Him the best you can in every circumstance. It means you lose a life, but you gain a life much better that the one you lost. And in the end you will see that nothing you lost was really worth keeping anyway.
~ Tim Hall https://twitter.com/1timothy12 (I encourage feedback, questions & comments - email me at 1timothy46@gmail.com)
