Surrender

I am currently reading "Surrender, The Heart that God Controls" by Nancy Leigh DeMoss and just felt led to share some of what has spoken to me from this book.

She starts each chapter with a quote, and below are some that have made me stop in my tracks, so to say, and think a bit...

"Surrender is not the surrender of the external life, but of the will; when that is done, all is done. There are very few crises in life; the great crisis is the surrender of the will." Oswald Chambers


"I have been before God, and have given myself, all that I am and have, to God; so that I am not, in any respect, my own.... I have given myself clear away, and have not retained any thing as my own." Jonathan Edwards


"Lord, send my anywhere, only go with me; lay any burden on me, only sustain me; and sever every tie, but the tie that binds me to Thy service and Thy heart." David Livingstone

These quotes have had me thinking, examining my life and my heart, and trying to determine how surrendered I am to my Lord and Savior. To be able to say that I am not in any respect my own, and that I have given myself completely away, retaining NOTHING as my own, to me is a very hard thing to say, and an even much harder thing to live... And to be available for the Lord to send me anywhere, lay any burden on me, and sever every tie but my tie with Him; again a very hard thing to say to and to live out. How were these people able to make these statements and live them out, how did they overcome their flesh and their selfishness? My guess is that they were so overwhelmed with the love of Christ and His sacrifice for them that their hearts and minds were totally sold out to Him, no matter what...

Nancy points out that "surrender involves a transfer of allegiance and a transformation of perspective that ought to affect every aspect of our lives." Surrender is not the same as commitment, as some people today think it is. Surrender is giving up all that you are and all that you have; being committed is saying you will be faithful to do something or to a cause, not necessarily at a cost at all to ourselves. Living a surrendered life is "to continually say no to self and yes to God."

She further points out that "surrender to the will of God is a mark of the truly converted. The terms of our surrender to the Lord Jesus are nonnegotiable and unconditional. What does He ask us to surrender? In a word, everything. Christian surrender means that we come to Him on His terms, as the conquering general of our soul, and say simply, 'I surrender all.' We lay down our arms, we hand everything over we have, everything we are, everything we hope to be."

But just because we surrender does not mean that we lose... as many in this world would think. "Christian surrender brings us what we now see is beauty, life, joy, and true good. We are given eyes to see the glory of Christ we previously despised, and in surrendering to Him, we finally see the surpassing value of Christ over all that the world ever could have given us." In surrendering to Christ we receive freedom, freedom from being controlled by the things of this world, freedom from being controlled by the flesh and selfishness, freedom to serve our Lord with reckless abandon.

Father God, Help me to be completely surrendered to you, in all that I am and all that I have, and all that I hope to be. Show me areas in my life that are not surrendered to you, and help me to let go and give them all up to you. Lord, I know that this can not be a one time thing, show me and enable me to daily live a surrendered life, hour by hour, minute by minute, by your precious Holy Spirit. Overwhelm me with your extravangant love so much so that surrendering to you and to your ways will not be a difficult thing, but would be the heartfelt overwhelming response to the love of my Savior, done with a quiet and gentle spirit. As this year quickly draws to a close and as I plan to embark upon a new year with You, may it be one of complete and total surrender to You, Your will, and Your ways. In the mighty name of Jesus, Amen.