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Isn’t Surrender a Sign of Weakness?
We have looked at what it takes to become a Faith Prepper over the last few weeks. We did this by learning to pray at all times by letting the Holy Spirit, through God’s Word, direct your prayers. And we also spent some time learning how to trust at all times by allowing your faith to grow by having it exercised in often unpleasant situations. But even with all of this, we still are plagued with a few questions.
• How do we go from talking about faith to living by faith?
• How do we learn to trust the Lord in all things?
• How do we know and understand His will?
• What are the practical steps we need to take to surrender our all to Him?
• And how can we go about doing just that?
The answer, according to Scripture, is found in the single word, surrender. It means “to yield, give up or over, submit, abandon, relinquish, cede, waive, or capitulate. From the Christian perspective, it means to relinquish ownership of what we consider ours: our property, rights, time, decisions, future, independence, basically our life.
Surrender, like most things, is a choice.
The classic passage on total surrender is found in Galatians 2:20. It reads: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
But there is so much more.
As Bob Dylan Said, “Gotta Serve Somebody”
In order to surrender our life to the Lord, we must first recognize we are created as a triune being. We consist of three parts: mind, body, and will. Total surrender comes when we purposely and with intention surrender all parts of ourselves to Him.
First, we must surrender our mind.
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every (what) thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ – 2 Corinthians 10:4-5.
Next, we must surrender our body to the Lord. And then finally, we must surrender our will to the Lord.
Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it” – Luke 9:23-24. Note both “desire” and “deny himself, and take up his cross daily”. This speaks of both the surrender of the will and the body or flesh.
Remember, you are not filled with the Holy Spirit because you desire to be filled nor because you confess your sins or present your body a living sacrifice— you are filled by faith. So it is with a surrender to the Lord. If we are willing but find your flesh weak, God is strong and will complete what you are unable to do. What God is initially looking for is your willingness to be all His. It all begins with desire.
One final note, if you believe God is good and He is sovereign, can you give me one reason not to fully submit and surrender yourself to Him?
Me neither. Other than pride. And that’s not a good thing.
So where are you in your journey to surrender your life to the Lord? Have you surrendered yourself and left your life in His hands? Or have you, like many today, surrendered one moment and then snatched it out of His hands the next? Are you tired of the endless struggle and sense of failure? If so, then keep listening.
