Surrender

to yield, give in, hand over, release, let go, relinquish,

abandon, entrust, bow down, submit,

Surrender was my personal word last year. It was the first time I had asked God for a special word or verse for the year. Something that God knew I would need or an area He knew I needed work in. It wasn’t long before I had my answer.

Surrender. What did I need to surrender? I was a born-again believer. I had forgiveness; I prayed. I went to church, loved worshiping Him. I read my bible; I was ‘growing’. It wouldn’t stop; it kept coming back to me.

So I said, “Okay, Father God, if this is from you, you need to show me where or how I need to surrender.”. So upon further prayer , deeper reflection and searching my bible; I found I was still holding onto some things that needed to be released.

For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.

Luke 8:17

This process didn’t happen all at once. It was first this, then that; then another thing would pop up; after that another. In a way it surprised me how much I had held back, held onto. I have finished taking care of most of them; others I am still working on, but the results and changes are amazing.

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

Matthew 7:11

Worry. There are many ways and areas we need to surrender in our relationship with God. The first that would come to mind for most people is our worries, burdens or cares. We worry about a lot of stuff: money, family, unsaved loved ones, the future, our health and jobs.

Yes, it is easy to say we pray about them; but after praying do we still dwell on them, trying to find an answer to the problem ourselves? Do we offer them up to Him in prayer, but then snatch them back so we can mull them over and over in our minds; or do we trust and allow the Father to work it out in His time, in His way?

…do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

Matthew 6:25, 27

Our past. This is another area we tend to hold onto. When we became believers our past was forgiven and forgotten by God; but we find it’s easier to be forgiven by Him than  to forgive ourselves. We find it hard to lay it down; to put it behind us and move forward in our new life in Christ. We carry the guilt, shame, regret or whatever it is like a boulder upon our backs. Constantly weighing us down; hindering us in our walk with Him.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

2 Corinthians 5:17

Bitterness. With some of us the problem isn’t forgiving ourselves, but forgiving others. We have held onto a memory of what happened and by reliving it over and over we have allowed a root of bitterness to take hold. We tell ourselves they don’t deserve forgiveness. This bitterness and unforgiving attitude is growing and gaining more control of our life.

And whenever you stand praying,

if you have anything against anyone,

forgive him, that your Father in heaven

may also forgive you your trespasses.

But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses

Mark 11:25-26

Pride. Still others haven’t yielded their will to God. We are still trying to do things our own way. Pride. We resist submitting ourselves under God’s authority. We don’t want to admit that He knows best; better than ourselves what we need or don’t need; what we should be doing or changing. We want to stay the boss of our own life.

When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom.

Proverbs 11:2

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But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.

James 3:17

Fear. Some of us are afraid to surrender at all. We have been wounded and scarred by life’s happenings, so much so, that we are full of fear, unable to trust. Afraid to let go and give ourselves to someone else; even if it is God. We are afraid to open our hearts wide and allow Him access. Fearful of what He will do if He has full control. Afraid He might be vengeful toward us if we fail Him. Afraid of what our future will be like if we yield.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

1 John 4:18

So what are we to do? How are we to surrender? To truly let go and yield our old ways and grab hold of the new? How do we gain freedom in these areas that we have allowed to remain in our lives? If we are to grow as He wants us to we need to be fully surrendered to Him.

First, we take Him at His word. If we say we believe that the bible is the word of God and we believe that God is truth; then we can trust what it says about Him and about what He says to us.

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

2 Timothy 3:16

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…in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

Acts 17:11

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For whatever things were written before

were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures

might have hope.

Romans 15:4

Second, we be honest with ourselves and God and admit that we have not surrendered _______ to Him. That we have been holding back for whatever reason. Tell Him why. He already knows, but voicing it benefits us. In voicing it, we sometimes are able to see what freedom we will gain by releasing it. We may also see how foolish it was for us to cling to it for so long and that makes us more eager to be free of it.

He will again have compassion on us,
And will subdue our iniquities.

You will cast all our sins
Into the depths of the sea.

Micah 7:19

Third, we repent and ask God to forgive us. For by holding this back from Him, we were giving it more importance than God. We were in a sense telling Him that He couldn’t be trusted with it. In doing this we sinned and we hurt ourselves and more importantly God.

I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

Psalm 32:5

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For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

Jeremiah 31:34b

Fourth, we fully accept His forgiveness. We ignore any whispers of the enemy telling us different. If he keeps bugging you, bind him from you in Jesus’s name. We have been set free. Take a deep breath and move on in freedom and in submission to God.

But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You.

Psalm 5:11

Fifth, praise Him and thank Him for what He just did for you. Do not neglect this, for He’s worthy of our gratitude and praise. He likes nothing more than to see us walk according to His ways. The Father loves to help us and guide us; loving us unconditionally. Nothing can separate us from this love of His. His love is gentle and kind and trustworthy.

And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

1 John 4:16

In surrendering to Him we gain freedom, lightness of spirit, a clean conscience and peace. He knows that by bringing us to a place of surrender, we don’t lose anything. No, we free ourselves to have room for all He has prepared for us. When we give Him full access to our heart and soul and mind without restraint, He is able to mold us and make us into the vessel He chose us to be.

Stand fast therefore in the liberty

by which Christ has made us free,

and do not be entangled again

with a yoke of bondage.

Galatians 5:1

Until next time, God Bless.

~Brenda

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