I Surrender!

What is it that is so frightening about total surrender? Should giving control of our lives and circumstances to an Almighty and Wonderfully Loving Creator God really give us the willies?

What are we so worried about?

Perhaps the difficulty stems from our love of self, we care too deeply for our own petty desires and feelings to want Him to direct our paths. For a Christian, this becomes a non-issue. Our flesh is crucified in Christ and the victory is already won by Him, so loving ourselves takes on a new dimension. If we truly wanted the best for ourselves- or for the new creature we have become in Him- we would want Him to craft our destiny because He is our all- and we trust Him.

This fear of surrendering must be a heart issue then- but aren’t they all? We fear what new and frightening experiences might await us on the other side of surrender. God must have forgotten what is right for us! We don’t trust that His will is best. We don’t really believe that He will carry us on wings as eagles. This blatant disregard for God’s promises begs the question; Has God changed His desires for us? Does He love us any less than when He pulled us in our wretched condition from the miry clay and set our feet upon the Rock? We accept His sovereignty and power insomuch as it saves us from the penalty of sin, but would rather be in charge of everything else ourselves and make our own decisions, thank you very much! Herein is the root- our flesh desires to remain as it is, unchanged by grace, and it resists anything that presents a struggle that it cannot overcome by itself. It certainly does not wish to rely on the sufficiency of sovereign grace! Pain might come with surrender; trials certainly, but our deepest desire in our new identity in Christ is to overcome, to win! We can’t win if we never play, can’t cross the mountains if we never begin to climb.

“But something terrible may happen if I give Him control!” our flesh cries out.

To this I reply, “I realize that death must be a terrible concept for you to grasp, but since you must die, OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!” It cannot be cruel to speak like this, our flesh is already dead- it just doesn’t know it yet. There is no need to pander to our sinful desires, no reason to break the news gently.

“Maybe this is true, but something may happen to YOU if you let Him do as He wishes,” it persists in an eerie tone. Well, what could happen, may I ask? Death? This is true, I could become a martyr, or die in a car crash, or be injured, but what does this mentality reveal? Is this the worst that could happen to me?

We act as though God is sitting on His throne crying “Death! Death to the Christians!” God forbid! That’s Nero’s place in history. Him and a few million other people I could mention. We know for a fact that Jesus promises to give us Life- and Life more abundantly at that. If He deems that bountiful Life more attainable through death, then so be it! It’s better to die- and to live, than to live- and never have the chance to die.

One more misconception presents itself. Does our surrender really give God anything that He already did not have? Control? of what? Authority? over whom? Who and what are not already under His supreme authority? Can He not decree life and death freely even now?

Then what comes of our surrender? What is the point? It is clear that our surrender gives Him nothing, but provides us with everything. In surrender we find peace, joy, contentment, and One Who will supply all our needs out of His riches in glory. We will be empowered in His kingdom, filled with righteousness, and be able to stand pure and unashamed before Him. If we don’t embrace Him, the worst by far will happen; we will be in bondage to our flesh, not liberated in Christ, unable to serve Him Who gave all for us. He will not be in bondage, He will not be unable, but we will be.

Death to the Flesh!!