I wonder what life would be like if I truly chose to surrender to God. It’s one of those words that seems intimidating for a type “A”, choleric, seemingly independent person such as myself. Truthfully, I believe we’re raised in a society that teaches us that raising the white flag, giving in, and submitting to the will of another is a sign of weakness. And it’s when we take this worldly mindset and apply it to the spiritual realm that we encounter our greatest tragedy.
God has been revealing to me this mystery of surrender and how it has affected so many facets of my life. Like a broken record, I continue to play the same exact tunes of anxiety, worry and concern over and over again in my head as if in some way it will eventually medicate my problems. I choose to not heed the wisdom quoted by Mark Twain, “I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.”
Or the flip-side to this story is that a lot of the things that I wanted to happen never did, because God intended something so much greater, deeper, and more meaningful than any ideal conclusion I could ever muster. So instead of trusting the One who loves me, watches over me, guides me and has known me since the beginning of time, I rely on my own devices to try and force the circumstances to work out in my favor. I begin to manipulate, control, strive, worry, fret, stress and eventually crash and burn because I chose not to trust. But no one said surrendering to God was ever easy.
A Childlike Faith
I guess that what Jesus meant when he said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (NIV, Matthew 18:3-4). I believe we can go through life saved and fully redeemed by the blood of Jesus but never truly experience His kingdom while on this earth.
And yet we are called to be more than conquerors! Jesus did not come to take upon Himself my sin, pain, fears and anxieties just so that I can continue to live in bondage to them. We are set free, empowered by the Holy Spirit that resides in us, and more than able to face any situation we face with the love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control that is given unto us!
This is the victory we ought to claim. Surrendering to God is not a weakness. In fact, it is what we were made for. It is our destiny. And by trusting in the One who has our very best intentions in mind, we will begin to live as we were made to live. This is world changing power.
So I choose to release and trust in the God of love who calls for me to fully surrender and trust his good, perfect and pleasing will. At these crossroads I will lay down my burdens at the foot of the cross and trust that whatever happens is part of something so much bigger than me, as I draw closer to Him. Set the world on fire!
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