Surrender

When you try to control everything, everything is only controlled by your limited capacity. But when you loosen your grip, and place it in God’s hands, He can work something wonderful, beyond your wildest dreams.

Sounds nice, you might say, but it’s easier said than done. 

I think we’ve all been there at one time or another, a time when what we know and read in the promises of Scripture is asked to come alive in our hearts and actions. It’s a call to let go. Surrender. Give up, in the very best way, of trying to figure everything out and pretending we have all the answers, and freefall into the arms of our loving God who is omniscient, who is all-powerful. 

It is totally trusting, not in our own abilities, but in His who has never failed to catch the one committed to trusting Him.

It may challenge you. It may stretch you. It may call for courage that you are not used to exhibiting, nevertheless, let go, and trust. 

Relinquish control, and give room for God to work.

Father God, I am not perfect in wisdom and understanding, but You are. I lay it all at Your feet and trust Your guiding hand in holy surrender. I pray for Your help through it all. ”Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven,” (Matthew 6:10). Amen.

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” ~ Proverbs 3:5-6

“Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.” ~ Psalm 119:133

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” ~ Philippians 4:6

“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” ~ 1 Peter 5:7

Giving God My All

Giving God my all.  What exactly does that mean?

What are you holding?  What do you possess?  What is important to you?  Where does your love rest?

There are many parts of us.  And while many parts make us us, there is only one God, and He is to be over all.  Not just over all in the sense of His complete Sovereignty – but over your all, personally.

So, I ask you again, what is near and dear to you?  What do you treasure and hold in high regard?  There are no areas to be withheld from Him.  Wherever He wills, He can touch.  But how do we respond when He touches it?

As I ponder those questions, I am reminded of the time when adverse circumstances struck Job’s life in many different ways, all at the same time (Job 1-2).  Job’s response may seem mind-boggling to some for we are told in the midst of it all, he “worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:20-21). 

Job may not have understood everything, and he may have felt sorrow and experienced grief, but even in this, he surrendered everything he held dear in his choice to worship.  He held on to his integrity and “In all this did not Job sin with his lips” (Job 2:10). 

How does our heart respond when that which is dear to us has faced times of crisis?  Do we really surrender all to Him, trust, and move forward even if our steps seem heavier than before?  Or do we shut down as we try to hold on to the very last thread of that beloved thing?

To “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength” (Mark 12:30) means there is to be no part of me, or what I am, or what I have that comes before God.  Everything else must be willingly surrendered so that my love for Him shines first.