Total Surrender

Turning over my plans. Embracing His path. Finding peace in surrender.

Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.

Romans 6:13

It’s hard to surrender. It feels good when we feel like we have a plan for everything. Being in control is something we take pride in. Especially as women, we love to plan and show others we have a life blueprint. It gives us a feeling of comfort like we have everything together. But true freedom is found in the total opposite. Completely surrendering ourselves to God releases us from the pressure to be all ‘put together.’

The start of surrendering is always difficult. It is hard because it usually requires us to let go of something we love. It could require letting go of a project, a relationship, a job, a desire, a business, or all of the above. That initial process of letting go disrupts our comfort. It changes our idea of normal and consistency. For me, in this season, I had to surrender the idea of perfectionism. I am very particular, and perfectionism can be a crutch for getting stuff accomplished. After we let go, we then have to confront the reality. We no longer have that thing we let go of. We have to face the fact that we had an unhealthy relationship with whatever it was we let go. Realizing that I struggled with perfectionism made me reflect on all the ways I used it in the past and how I allowed it to hold me back. Perfectionism had become an idol to me. It held more weight than the things God was calling me to do. The third part of the surrendering process is opening up ourselves to whatever is next. Once we surrender, we must prepare for whatever God is ushering in. As I continue to surrender my perfectionism over to God, I remain committed to obedience. I will be obedient even when I don't feel confident. I know that if God called me to it, he will see it through.

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Luke 9:23

Looking at the verse in Luke, we see Jesus saying that we must deny ourselves. We also need to take up the cross daily. The word “daily” is important because it signifies the idea of creating a habit. We must intentionally sacrifice our own desires for God’s will and his plan. Surrendering is a process, not a one time event. In my seminary course, we have been discussing human nature and how our flesh operates. We concluded that by nature, we are self-serving instead of self-sacrificing.

Jesus is the perfect example of what it means to sacrifice. In the Garden of Gesthsemane, we see Jesus in prayer. He is expressing his feelings towards the events that are to come.

And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and He *said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? Keep watching and praying, so that you do not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cup cannot pass away unless I drink from it, Your will be done.” Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. Then He came to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let’s go; behold, the one who is betraying Me is near!” Matthew 26: 39-46 

Jesus was overwhelmed with carrying out the will of God. He knew that he was called to this but he still felt sad, afraid, and anxious. (Jesus had feelings just as we do!) But he approached it with total surrender. He shared his true feelings with the Lord in prayer, but he ended with “Let your will be done!” He surrendered his comfort to the plan of God. He knew he had to surrender his life for all of mankind.

Do you ever think about what is on the other side of your surrender? Once we open up our hands and release what we are clinging to, God can come in. He is then able to change some things around. To surrender takes courage, it takes faith, and it takes trust. In order to surrender to God, we have to be convinced that his plan is better.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight Proverbs 3:5-6

We trust God because we have seen him move on our behalf in the past. We can take both personal testimony and the testimony of others as proof what God can do. Once we release our hand, God can be the potter in our lives. He can take all the pieces we are trying to place together and create something more beautiful than we could ever imagine.

We can’t give God only half of ourselves. How can someone fix something without having all the pieces?  God requires our full yes. It’s a part of the call as followers of Jesus. When Jesus chose his disciples, they surrendered their current lives and decided to follow Christ. They left all their worldly attachments and distractions. Instead of self-reliance, they became sole reliant on whatever Jesus would bring to them.

Therefore, I urge you,brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice,holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world,but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2

As we continue to grow in our journey, we have to continuously seek God’s will for our lives. We must die to our flesh daily and always operate in the spirit instead of the flesh. When we commune with the Lord he will show us the next steps. Surrender keeps us coming back to him for what’s next.

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