Is it Time to Surrender in Your Christian Life?

Living sacrifice is synonymous with surrender.

We can sum up what God wants us to surrender in one word: everything

Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, this is your true worship.  Do not be conformed to this age but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is good, pleasing and the perfect will of God.  Romans 12:1-2

Very early in my Christian walk, God threw me into the pool's deep end.  It was truly three years of trial after trial after trial.  My business closed, I suffered financial hardship, I was staying with a sister, and her house burned down; now I am homeless, have no job, and I was still participating in sinful lifestyle decisions that, for the first time, had me convicted ….it was not for the faint of heart and although I had invited Jesus to control my life, had I known this is what He had in mind, I may have backed out on that invite.  But Jesus knew that I had a control problem. I had a “if it’s to be, it’s up to me” mindset.  An I can do it myself, I am strong, independent, smart, and have it all together problem. Except I didn’t.  Yes, I wanted Him to live in my heart, but I wanted to control how life went.  And I wanted it cushy, cozy, and comfy.

I don’t think I’m the only one, though.  Every human being has an inborn determination to run his own life.  The initial point of surrender (giving our life to Christ) sets the stage for a lifetime of surrender, and what I needed to learn was that to live out a surrendered life was to understand that I would have to continually say no to myself and say yes to God.  I learned quickly that living out of alignment with being a “living sacrifice” would not make life easier or more peaceful.  It was only when I gave up the right to my body, my mind, and my will that I experienced fruit.

Surrender involves a transfer of allegiance and a transformation of perspective. Jesus came expressly to do the will of the Father. He flawlessly modeled living sacrifice. If we want to be a church that models itself after Jesus, then we must allow God to have His way in us, just as Christ agreed to do.

For God so loved the world that he gave His only Son that whoever may believe in Him will not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16

While Gethsemane is the supreme example of surrender, before the garden, in eternity past, God so loved the world that he gave... At that moment, Jesus surrendered Himself to the will of God to become the sin-bearer of all mankind. Our savior will forever be a surrendered servant. 

I love that John’s crucifixion account includes a significant detail that is not included in the other gospels. He tells us that after Jesus drank vinegar, he said, “IT IS FINISHED.” With that, He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. Can you see that? In one last willing, volitional, powerful act, He bowed His head and chose the pathway of surrender.

As Christ’s surrender took him to the cross, so will ours.  Surrender, being a living sacrifice, is a moment-by-moment relinquishing of either our body, mind, or will.  Total surrender to Christ as Lord means submitting every detail and dimension of our lives to His sovereign, loving rule.  And with that comes a host of blessings that cannot be experienced any other way.  We receive:

·       grace to obey God,

·       release from having to run our own world,

·       the peace of God,

·       unexplainable fullness of joy

·       and greater fruitfulness than we ever dreamed possible.

I’ve experienced all of these many times in my own life, and I often look back and wonder, “Why did I ever resist the will of God?”

So, what would total surrender look like for you?  Would you have to relinquish control of spending habits? Personal possessions? Personal opinions? What is your schedule and time? Dream of marriage?  Baby? Health? Habits?  Hangups?   We cannot call Him Lord and then proceed to run our own lives.  To call Him Lord means to say YES – to His will, His word, and His ways.

My walk, while initially painful and difficult, confusing and fraught with tears and hardship, has transformed me.  The renewing of my mind has been a beautiful metamorphosis, and I would not change any difficulty that I have experienced. I have said YES, Lord, to many situations that I did not want and broke my heart, but in those times, the hard eucharisteo times, I have experienced the sweet center of Jesus’ heart, abiding there, and yes, at times hiding there.  The world wants to control our minds, so it exerts pressure from without, but the Holy Spirit changes our minds by releasing power from within.  Prayer and His word will allow you to say:

·       YES to His choices for your life – even when they are inconvenient or uncomfortable.

·       Say YES to difficult or painful circumstances you cannot understand or change

·       YES, to everything revealed in His word

·       YES, to His plans, His purposes, and His priorities

·       YES, to His disciplines

·       YES, to his control over your appetite, your body, your time, your relationships, your future.

To some, that type of surrender might seem like bondage, but to those who have waved the white flag of surrender, they know it is the only pathway to true freedom.