Surrender. Let go and let God. Often we are given that advice when our desire is not coming to fruition in a timely manner. The white flag of surrender more often feels like a declaration of weakness. A release of control stands in stark contrast to white-knuckled holds to hopes and dreams.
God put it on my heart to write about surrender after an almost three-month hiatus from blogging. I said, “really God? Couldn’t we warm back up with an inspired post about the importance of reading the Bible or prayer?” If I’m honest with myself, surrender is something I’ve always struggled with. Ever time I feel like I’m starting to get the hang of surrendering my plans to God, He throws me a curveball to my well-thought-out plans; I’m left on my knees asking for more help. This is the place that God wants you and I. It is in this place of relinquishing control that we learn more about God. So here I am, ready to share what I’ve learned and am learning about surrender.
Surrender invites the power of God’s name in our lives.
Often, we associate surrender with defeat. We think that if we surrender our desire to God, we are giving up on our dreams. A declaration of surrender, we say, is a death to our desire. However, a loss of control is an invitation for God to bear our burden and do what only He can do. Psalm 9:10 says, “And those who know your name put their trust in You, for You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.” An act of surrender is an acknowledgment of the name of God as love, mediator, and almighty. It is a step of obedience, based on trust. Surrender of our desire could mean that God takes the desire away for a time. In regards to my own singleness, God has shown love by lessening my desire for a husband so I can experience abundance in this season. On the other hand, surrender of a desire could mean that God's strengthens the desire in His time and equips us for it. Our God of love, power, might is already fighting for us and is wanting us to experience it.
Surrender allows us to act on trust, rather than fear.
The act of laying down our burdens at the cross leaves us feeling relieved. Yet later, that old familiar voice of fear returns to our heads. The voice of fear may return, but the action of picking up the burden again doesn’t have to. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths” (ESV). We can’t trust both God and ourselves. We may have this idea that “Jesus is my co-pilot”, made popular by bumper stickers. Jesus can’t be our co-pilot or we will crash. Jesus should be the pilot. We are not even in the captain’s quarters with Him because He is sovereign. We either trust God and let Him lead our ways or we rely on ourselves.
Surrender removes the distraction from our relationship with God.
Like a little kid who wants a cookie before dinner, we often want things we shouldn’t have. We beg and plead our Father to give us the cookie of our desire. He refuses because He has something better in store for us. We moan and whine because we are hungry. We miss that He may want to give it to us at a different time (after supper); we could also miss the chocolate cake He has in store for us. Our relationship with our Father is often stifled, due to the passion of our distracted cry. Isaiah 64:8 says, “But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.” The pride of our hearts tells us that we know better than our Creator. We cannot be molded into the person God wants us to be if we are too busy telling the potter how to shape us. As we give our desires to Him, we begin to develop trust in His character.
Surrender is not the end and death of a dream, but the beginning of a deeper relationship with our Father. This relationship will lead to greater joy, hope, and direction. What may feel like a declaration of weakness is a call for God to be strength and joy in your life. Even if our desire is not brought to completion, we can trust that our God is molding us into the people of God He desires us be.
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