Have you reached a place of surrender?

Chapter Thirty-three:

When we hear the word "surrender" we often think of losing to an opponent, begrudgingly giving in or giving up.  It is a word that has a negative connotation to it, and none of us want to feel like we have been outdone or have lost to another.  In fact, our nature is to fight and not let another win or have control over us. Webster's dictionary describes surrendering as "to yield to the power, control, or possession of another upon compulsion or demand; to give (oneself) up into the power of another, especially as a prisoner." That is definitely not something that we would willingly want to do.

However, as a believer and follower of Christ, the term surrender takes on a totally different meaning. It means less of surrendering and more of finally submitting all to God...we submit our plans, our hopes, and our dreams to Him. Even the word "submission" can have a negative meaning for some.  We pride ourselves on our independence and the idea of submitting to another, even God, can be a real struggle.   

We can be quick to say we agree with and identify with Galatians 2:20 which says, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." But are we being honest with ourselves?  I know in my own walk it took many struggles for me to finally get past my own way of wanting to do things and finally reach the point of surrendering all. God has had to allow many problems in my life to occur in order to break through my stubbornness and self determination as I believed I was already doing what I thought God wanted me to do.  Now, looking back, I realize God was being patient with me and waiting until I got to the point where, exhausted and tired of trying to make things happen, I finally gave up and gave in. My words said I wanted to be used by Him,  but my actions showed otherwise. 

As long as I had my own interests and ambitions, however noble for the Kingdom they seemed to be, I was not able to be in tune with God's real plan for my life.  My own desires on how I wanted to be used, my will and my pride kept me going in the wrong direction. I can now honestly say that since I have surrendered my will to His I am far happier and more content because I am finally doing what I was originally meant to do. And, surprisingly, it is not what I thought I would be doing.  God had to break through my independence, and looking back, I sadly realize that I could have reached this point a lot sooner.

God can bring you up to this point, also, but He cannot and will not force you to surrender. It has to come from within you, and if that means breaking the hard layers of self reliance you have built around yourself then you will probably go through many times of frustration and confusion. We have to reach the point where we are willing to sign away our rights in order to become a true servant of Christ. 

Jeremiah 29:11-14 says, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity."

When we surrender, it does not mean we give up who we are, our personalities or our talents/gifts.  God created us with those in us from the very moment we were conceived.  He means for those to be used for His glory and wants us to use them, but in the right way. He does not want us to be robots who succumb to His every wish, He simply wants us to willingly follow what He has in mind for our lives.  It is when we refuse to surrender to His will that we are led astray and get off into areas that can be difficult to return from and can harm us during the process.

We read in the book of James 4:7, "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you". When we read this we usually focus on it being a Scripture that helps us fight against attacks of the enemy.  I suggest that we consider it from another viewpoint.  God is asking us to submit to Him, in the context of surrendering to Him.  I believe that if we are totally surrendered to God then we will be stronger and more able to resist the devil and he will have to flee.  

Romans 12: 1 says: "I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." God is asking us here to give up the right to ourselves and give Him the right to ourselves. When we give ourselves totally to God we will discover that He can and will work through us in amazing ways. His Spirit will be able to burst forth from us in a way that can never happen if we choose to hold on to any part of us so we can keep it unsurrendered. Why is it that we are willing to surrender in some areas of our lives and other areas are a major effort to give over to Him?  Do we stubbornly want to hold on to some degree of self reliance and independence? 

One of the main hindrances that stop us from totally surrendering to God is our disagreeing with Him over what we feel we should be doing for the Kingdom.  We may not even realize that we are in disagreement with Him, we simply presume that something is stopping us from reaching that goal when in reality it is God that is stopping us.  We often approach things with preconceived ideas of what God wants us to do when we really have not been in prayer long enough to find out if it really is His will.

What we would consider as having done a reasonable amount of work for God's Kingdom could actually stop us from total surrender.  We can feel we have done quite a bit for the Kingdom, but do not allow that to fool you into thinking that you are totally surrendered to God and His call on your life.  We allow our own decisions, and what we have done, to be our guide rather than having God be our guide. Total surrender to God is something that has to happen internally and is something that forever changes you.  

One of the most precious times in our lives is when we finally come to realize that we cannot figure it all out.  While it goes against our desire for self reliance and feeling that we are right (which can be pride in disguise), it brings comfort and rest knowing that God is in total control. It is a hard place to be when we are forced to come face to face with those hidden areas of our lives that still exist and it is at that time we must choose...self reliance or total surrender. Matthew 16:26 says, "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it."  Losing our life sounds scary as we do not really know what that means or where it will lead us, but it does force us to come to terms with just how much we  trust God.  Do we trust Him enough to obey Him, regardless of what we think may happen or what we hope will happen? 

I recently came across a poem posted on the internet, written by Adam Herring:

"Here I am, standing on the edge.
I can't make it alone anymore.
I fall to my knees,
Lord, I give up. Forgive me.
I've come to the place,
Where you are is what I need.
I have no one to blame.
I give up, take away these sins.
Too long the road I've walked,
Carrying in my heart,
Those things I should cast aside.
This is where I give up.
Here I am, waiting for your love;
Waiting for your embrace,
Giving my soul and might to you.
Forgive me."

Oswald Chambers said in reference to Philippians 1:20, "It's as if Paul were saying 'My determined purpose is to be my utmost for His highest--my best for His glory.' To reach that level of determination is a matter of the will, not of debate or of reasoning.  It is absolute and irrevocable surrender of the will at that point.  An undue amount of thought and consideration for ourselves is what keeps us from making that decision, although we cover it up with the pretense that it is others we are considering.  

When we think seriously about what it will cost others if we obey the call of Jesus, we tell God He doesn't know what our obedience will mean.  Keep to the point--He does know.  Shut out every other thought and keep yourself before God in this one thing only--my utmost for His highest.  I am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and Him alone." He goes on to say, "If we are truly surrendered, we will never be aware of our own efforts to remain surrendered. Our entire life will be consumed with the One to whom we surrender. The consequences and circumstances resulting from our surrender will never even enter our mind, because our life will be totally consumed by Him."