Surrender yourself to the Lord, and wait patiently for him.
Psalm 37:7
Surrender isn’t a very popular word in our culture. Even the first few definitions in the dictionary have some rather negative connotations related to that word.
- “To declare to an opponent that he or she has won so that fighting or conflict can cease.”
- “To relinquish possession or control of something because of coercion or force.”
- “To yield to a strong emotion, influence or temptation.”
- “An act of declaring defeat at the hands of the opponent.”
God asks us to surrender our lives and everything we have to Him, but you will never see Him using coercion or force to get us to do so. God asks, but our response is our choice. It also doesn’t have anything to do with declaring defeat at the hand of an opponent because as God is always for us, He is NOT our opponent and surrender to God always leads to victory, not defeat.
Surrendering your life means:
- Following God’s lead without knowing where He’s sending you
- Waiting for God’s timing without knowing when it will come
- Expecting a miracle without knowing how God will provide
- Trusting God’s purpose without understanding the circumstances
Yikes…. Those are some pretty big statements but the good news is that they are ALL possible to proclaim with Christ living and breathing in us. No, we could never fully surrender on our own with all of our flesh getting in the way; but with God in us, all things are possible…. We merely need to just get out of His way!
With that being said, I think it is also important to note that while it is impossible to only be half surrendered {sort of like you can’t really be half pregnant…}, we must constantly be striving toward full and complete surrender to the will of God. It IS possible to live a surrendered life and you will know you are there 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. You don’t have to always be in charge. Instead of trying harder, you trust more.
You also know you’re surrendered when you don’t react to criticism and rush to defend yourself.
Surrendered hearts show up best in relationships. You are not self-serving, you don’t edge others out, and you don’t demand your rights.
Jesus is the supreme example of self-surrender. The night before His crucifixion Jesus surrendered himself to God’s plan. He prayed, “Father, everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine” (Mark 14:36). Jesus surrendered Himself to God’s will. He prayed, “God, if it is in Your best interest to remove this suffering, please do so. But if it fulfills Your purpose, that’s what I want, too.”
What does this look like for 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 life, please don’t take it away!” This level of maturity certainly doesn’t come easy. In Jesus’ case, He agonized so much over God’s plan that He sweated drops of blood. Surrender is hard work. In our case, it requires intense warfare against our self-centered nature…but it IS possible!
But HOW do I surrender to God, especially when the pull of the world is so strong in my being? Remember that your entire life is run by your thoughts. Your thoughts are either submitted to satan and the things of this earth, or submitted to God and centered on heavenly things. When you are in distress about anything, that distress takes place in your mind…in your thoughts. Distressful thoughts are not heavenly thoughts but rather they are thoughts about things on this earth.
Colossians 3:2
“Set your mind on things above, not on the things that are on this earth.”
Philippians 4:6-8
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, whatever is excellent, worthy of praise let your mind dwell on these things.
Whatever is on your mind and in your heart that causes you distress, just say to God:
“I surrender this to You. Of myself, I can do nothing. If anything is going to be done about this matter, you will have to do it.”
This process breaks satan’s power over your thought pattern that has held you in bondage to the problem. To get started in the process of overcoming your difficulty, be SPECIFIC about what I would really like to overcome: {fear, anxiety, relationship difficulties, rage, eating disorders, depression, bad temper, anger, procrastination, job stress, pride, marital strife, drug addiction, smoking, fantasy addiction, etc.} Now mentally take that situation and put it into the palm of your hands. Just cup your hands in front of you and imagine that your situation is sitting in your hands. Now take your cupped hands, lift your situation up and mentally put it into the outstretched hands of your Heavenly Father and pray:
“Our Dear Heavenly Father, I lift this situation up into the palm of Your hands. I ask You to put a shield of protection around it that no evil can penetrate. I put this matter solidly in Your hands, and I ask you to take care of it. Thank You, Father, for taking care of this matter. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”
(Did you ACTUALLY take the step of putting the situation in the palm of your hands, and then ACTUALLY lift up your hands, and put the situation into the outstretched hands of Jesus? If not, please take the time RIGHT NOW to take that LIFE-CHANGING step of action.)
God tells us in Psalm 55:22:
“Cast your burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain you. He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.”
If this is something you have been dealing with for weeks or months and have not been able to resolve it yourself, then you should feel comfortable with putting it into the hands of your Heavenly Father and leaving it there, giving Him the opportunity to take care of it.
Blessings,
About Megan Smidt, CCLC
Wow, gal, this is powerful stuff! I love how you always use Scripture to back up what you share. You should write a book!
This is so relevant, especially considering our discussion yesterday and today in the Esther study. I plan to print this out, reread it, and put it in my Esther book to refer back to. So many good points!
Thank you, Megan!
Wonderful, Clella!!!! I appreciate your encouragement so much. Your comment about me writing a book was ammo for Craig this morning, LOL!!! He says “He is going to start kicking me in the butt about it.” LOL!!! I love that this will be a blessing to you!!
Fantastic Megan. Encouraging and beautiful written! I think of John when we think of total surrender. When the Roman leader wanted him to bow to him and light incense in his honor and John refused in obedient to God. The leader was so angry he “tried” to kill John by having him slowly lowered into boiling olive oil..slowly starting with his feet and inched into the oil until his whole body was lowered into the oil. When they took the large hook to drag the pool of oil and raised it up, John was totally unscathed and sitting up ALIVE on the hook. The Roman soldier then had him sent to the Isle of Patmos. Can you imagine being boiled in olive oil, but John never gave in, He was obedient to God and that Roman leader could not Kill him..Praise the Lord!!!
Mary, as I read my Bible and also learn about the lives of all of the martyrs in the history of our faith…. it brings me to tears to learn of their unwavering faith in God and how they would not compromise…. with GLADNESS. THAT is the type of faith I pray we will all walk out for our Heavenly Father. Complete surrender. Thank you for taking time out of your day to read this… it touches my heart 🙂
Megan, you are a blessing. The doctors are still unclear what is the thickening in my ileum, thus I’m going to have a colonoscopy this sept 12 @ 0630 am. I cupped my hands in front of me, imagine my pain, fear, anxiety, stress inside my cupped hands and lifted it up in the outstretched hands of Jesus and prayed. After praying with tears in my eyes, I felt peace and whatever is the result of my colonoscopy may God’s will be done in my life. Praise The Lord for working in the lives of His people 24/7. God bless everyone!
Praise God!!!!!!! Thank you for sharing this <3 HE IS SO GOOD!!!!!!
Wonderful! 🙂 Too many times we, as women, equate surrender and submission with losing or being weak. Not the case! With surrender comes POWER from the Holy Spirit as he leads and directs us! We are no longer bound by all our garbage – we are FREE!!! Great job, Megan! May God continue to bless your ministry!
SO true…. and we KNOW the amount of courage and strength it really takes to surrender, Robin!!! Bless you. sister <3
Awesome Blog and Truth spoken ,.. Loved it!!! Thank you 🙂
So thrilled it blessed you, Kim <3
I agree with Clella….I am printing this out and putting it one copy in my Bible and one in my Esther study binder! You have no idea how much this blog speaks to my heart…. scratch that….YES, you do!!!! THANK YOU!!!!!
Love you, Christi!!! Thank you for giving me this space to spread God’s truth <3
Oh my goodness! Wow! I cannot find words to express how this touched me. Thanks for the reminder that relinquishing control to God is not defeat but a powerful blessing. Love the idea of printing this out :). Thanks Megan. Love ya <3
YAY YAY YAY!!!!! This is SUCH a powerful blessing <3 Give it ALL to Him today and everyday!!!
praising God for His goodness, His grace, His mercy to us! His placing these words into your heart have been a blessing to us (who KNOWS how many of us…oh, right! He KNOWS!) <3
surrender brings about that peace which is beyond our understanding. "Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. And God’s peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."
i simply love that exercise of surrender! <3
God gives us all the answers we need….. Give all your troubles to Him and live in peaceful surrender <3
I love you and can’t wait to read more ! What a blessing you are to me ! Praise Jesus !
Virginia