“The more we let God take us over, the more truly ourselves we become – because He made us. He invented us. He invented all the different people that you and I were intended to be. . .It is when I turn to Christ, when I give up myself to His personality, that I first begin to have a real personality of my own.” ~ C.S. Lewis
“Surrendering is not repressing your personality. God wants to use your unique personality.” ~ Rick Warren, “The Purpose-Driven Life”
Surrender.
It sounds like giving up, doesn’t it?
And, actually, it IS giving up!
Giving up control!!
I’ll admit it. I think I’m a bit of a control freak.
Even though I know that I don’t have control, will NEVER have control, and don’t really WANT full control (because how can I possibly know how to manage my life and the lives of all those around me!) I still consciously and subconsciously try to control just about everything.
I make lists and plans for the day, the week, the month, and the next 5 years. Mostly what I plan never works out. But I still get caught up doing it. Obsessively so.
I’ve even had pride in what a great planner and organizer I am. Until most of those plans didn’t work out so well.
I have to keep reminding myself that “Many plans are in a man’s mind, but it is the LORD’S purpose for him that will stand (be carried out).” Proverbs 19:21
That scripture tells me that it’s NORMAL for us to make many plans. But it also instructs, warns, and assures me that only God’s purposes will be stand.
The reason why many are still troubled, still seeking, still making little forward progress is because they haven’t yet come to the end of themselves. We’re still trying to give orders, and interfering with God’s work within us. ~ Rick Warren, “The Purpose-Driven Life”
Yes, I totally surrendered my life to God when I was 19 years old. It was a definite “moment.”
I stepped off that performance stage and took off my masks—masks of being a perfect student, a perfect friend, a perfect daughter.
I admitted to myself and to God that I didn’t have the answers and I desperately needed help—-needed Him to take over.
There is such freedom in doing this simple act of complete surrender.
“Sometimes it takes years, but eventually you discover that the greatest hindrance to God’s blessing in your life is not others, it is yourself—-your self-will, stubborn pride, and personal ambition. You cannot fulfill God’s purposes for your life while focusing on your own plans.” ~ Rick Warren, “The Purpose-Driven Life”
After experiencing that freedom, you would think we would never get back up on that performance stage…but we do.
It may not be the same stage but, sadly, we often climb onto a NEW stage of performance—only this one is for God and other Christians and to try and “represent” God well for those who don’t yet believe.
We put on new masks—the “I’m blessed and happy and joyful all the time” masks.
We need to stop pretending we’re perfect Christians—that we have it all together—that we don’t cry, question, suffer, and sometimes even struggle to believe.
We will never reach any kind of perfection in this life.
But I do believe we can experience new levels of freedom when we walk in surrender, trust, obedience and grace—and even the ACCEPTANCE of our flaws and failures.
That no matter how many times we mess up, or get back on that stage, we are still completely loved.
Completely.
It’s just that when we are on that performance stage we aren’t free.
Loved, yes. Free, no.
“Fear keeps us from surrendering, but love casts out all fear. The more you realize how much God loves you, the easier surrender becomes.” ~ Rick Warren, “The Purpose-Driven Life”
So as a follower of Christ, I had to learn that there would be many more “moments” I would need to surrender. In fact…ALL the moments of my life. { Our flesh nature is quite strong. }
For me personally, I think I took a major detour from learning what true surrender was when I got caught up in what is termed “the faith movement” of the 1980s. And it certainly isn’t that “faith” is wrong! Of course not! Jesus tells us to have faith.” Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God.” Mark 11:22. (And so many other scriptures in the Bible talk about faith! But faith isn’t the subject of this blog.)
A lot of the teaching we heard in the 80s implied that with our faith we could control almost everything and that if we had enough faith we would be delivered from every problem and wouldn’t ever suffer. We would be completely healthy, very wealthy, and every prayer we prayed would be answered in just the way we demanded and commanded. { Yikes. I cringe at this now… }
Yes, there was a lot of truth taught, and for me and my husband those were years of priceless, rich study of God’s Word and precious times of getting to know God.
But there were some things I had to unlearn, too, and it wasn’t pain-free.
It was many years before I began to better understand surrender. That it was something I had to do on a daily basis.
Surrendering is not a one-time event.
Paul said “I die daily.” 1 Corinthians 15:31
“There is a moment of surrender and there is the practice of surrender, which is moment-by-moment and lifelong.” ~ Rick Warren, “The Purpose-Driven Life”
I had to want God’s will for my life more than my own agenda.
And, believe me, I had LOTS of ideas of how I wanted my life to be. Most of us do. And my ideas for my life looked like near perfection.
You know you’re surrendered to God when you rely on God to work things out instead of trying to manipulate others, force your agenda, and control the situation. You let go and let God work.
~ Rick Warren, “The Purpose-Driven Life”
True surrender shouldn’t feel like “one more thing to do” to please God.
True surrender feels more like freedom.
It’s free falling into the arms of grace.
It’s being completely and unconditionally loved for who you are at any given moment.
And in the knowledge of that love, we surrender our lives to His—knowing He created us and He has our best in mind, even when it takes some twists and turns and doesn’t look the way we thought it should.
I clearly remember a pivotal time in my life when I had to surrender to getting a surgery that I had tried to “believe away” with “my faith” for almost 10 years! Having to get the surgery brought confusion to me and “my theology.” My reality wasn’t lining up with what I believed.
Even more confusing was that I could see God working one little miracle after another as He arranged my surgery—from sending me to one of the top surgeons in Orlando for what was wrong with me (And I had no idea she was even a surgeon—-a Christian surgeon—I thought I was just seeing a doctor! Up to that point I had been totally resistant to surgery because in my mind it meant “lack of faith!”), to my missionary sister-in-law and bestie being in town for just those 2 days, to the surgery being slated on the National Day of Prayer, to later helping save the uterus of a young bride-to-be who had the very same thing wrong with her that I had and who was frantic when her doctor said he was going to have to perform a hysterectomy! I sent her to my surgeon and, after hours of a very complex surgery, her uterus was saved. Two little boys are now in existence because of all of this.
So…my “perfect answer” for a miracle healing wasn’t nearly as miraculous as all that God did for me, and others, instead. And there was so much more than what I relayed here-— as if those weren’t enough! Which they were!!
The spiritual growth I had was one of the best parts of all! And the love I received from friends and family.
One of my “worst times” —my so-called “faith failure”—became one of the most fruitful times of my life!
That’s why surrendering to God and HIS plans is so important.
We can’t push and force and demand our own answers.
We should definitely resist our enemy with our spiritual weapons of faith, the Word of God, and prayer.
And then we surrender our will and ways to His answers and provision.
Sometimes it will look and feel good.
And usually it will seem confusing (at first).
And often it will feel a bit painful.
But the results and outcomes?
Better than anything we could have ever come up with because God has the whole picture.
We “see” so very little. That’s why we have to trust Him!
So I’m certainly not saying that when we surrender our wills to God, everything will be easy. Of course not. But it will lead to love and peace and purpose and miracles that are seen and unseen.
THAT is the beauty of surrender!
We watch God’s will unfold.
And it won’t be all about us!
Genuine surrender says, “Father, if this problem, pain, sickness, or circumstance is needed to fulfill your purpose and glory in my life or in another’s, please don’t take it away.” This level of maturity does not come easy. Surrender is hard work. It is intense warfare against our self-centered nature. ~ Rick Warren, “The Purpose-Driven Life”
When we surrender to God, our life isn’t as burdensome any more. It can get fun.
We are in for an adventure—-a faith adventure.
It’s a time of discovery of who we really are behind the all those masks.
We aren’t trying to impress anyone anymore. Not God. Not any person. Not even ourselves.
We become like little children exploring and discovering new things about life, about God, and about our place in all of it.
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
The blessing of surrender is that we will experience peace, freedom, and God’s power. Surrender doesn’t weaken you; it strengthens you. ~ Rick Warren, “The Purpose-Driven Life”
Surrender is an act of obedience to a God we love and trust.
Surrender is foundational to Christian spirituality and is the soil out of which obedience should grow. Christ does not simply want our compliance. He wants our heart. He wants our love and he offers us his. He invites us to surrender to his love. ~ David Benner, “Surrender to Love”
I like the title of David Benner’s book—“Surrender to Love”—because we know that God is Love.
So when we surrender to God we are surrendering to Love.
I think that’s a lovely way to look at surrender.
Love would never hurt us or lead us astray.
In fact, Love leads us to all the people and places and purposes that will fill the empty spaces in us and in others, too!
Love leads to glorious freedom and joy—the freedom and joy to love and be loved, and to fulfill the beautiful purpose that God has had in mind for us since before we were born.
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)
Surrender. Surrender to Love…
So give yourselves completely to God James 4:7a (NCV)
Surrender is not the best way to live; it is the only way to live. Nothing else works. All other approaches lead to frustration, disappointment, and self-destruction. Nothing is more powerful than a surrendered life in the hands of God. ~ Rick Warren, “The Purpose-Driven Life”
BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
Surrender to Love ~ David G. Benner
Absolute Surrender ~ Andrew Murray