Surrender

There is freedom in surrender.

       I heard a song lyric that completely cleared this paradigm shift up for me. “There is freedom in surrender, I know you got me”. That is why there is freedom in surrendering to our Heavenly Father. He's got our back. He's got our future. Our hopes, dreams, failures, and fears. His word says, “Cast your cares on Him, for He cares for you.”. (1st Peter 5:7)

       When we surrender all our cares, worries, fears, anxieties, hopes, dreams and everyday decisions and/or obstacles to Him, He is freer to take care of them for us. I have a question for you. Now, when I ask you this question, I want you to think very hard and honestly about the answer! Are you bigger than the Creator of the Universe? Are you stronger than the Creator of the Universe? Are you smarter than the Creator of the Universe? Do you have more resources than the Creator of the Universe? Okay, so that is more like four questions.

        It is safe to say that all of us can answer all those questions confidently… Ummmm, NO! Maybe the question should be: Do you believe the Creator of the Universe will do it? Do you believe He is willing to do it? Whatever it is that you need done. Maybe there is a dire financial need you do not see getting paid. Maybe there is a life that needs saving. Maybe there is a relationship that you long for. Do you believe the Creator of the Universe can and will take care of it? If your answer is yes, do you live like you believe it? If your answer is no, why not? Have you ever sat down and asked yourself these questions? Honestly.

       While working on my master’s degree just about every assignment asked us to reflect on something. I have never reflected so much in my life! I joke about it now, but reflecting has honestly been a game changer in my life when it comes to my mental health! Especially when I feel “icky”, I sit and reflect on my day to find what took place that may have caused this. Where is that feeling coming from?

I recognize what happened, sit with it, surrender it to my Heavenly Father, and the “icky” feeling leaves. It is not always that simple, but it is a good start.

       Take some time to write down some areas in which you have not surrendered to the Lord. Also known as “no fly zones” as a brilliant man once taught me. Areas we do not even want to bring up to the Holy Spirit in fear of what He might say about them. Listen, you can rest assured, if there is something that He wants us to give up, do or change, it is most definitely for our good. We will 100% be better off once it is done. It may be difficult, but it will only make our life better. Who doesn’t want to make their life even better?

       If you are ready to surrender, it is as simple as getting on your knees (metaphorically, symbolically or literally – whatever you feel is best for you) and verbally declaring that you surrender ________ (fill in the blank). If you are not ready to surrender, read the chapter “Honestly”! James 4:7 says to submit to Yahweh, resist the devil and he will flee. It is not easy. It may take many opportunities of surrender, but it does get better.

       Remember when you surrender things at His feet, leave it there. Refrain from going back and picking it up again. When the temptation pops back up, surrender it again. And again. And again. We are made to go to Him moment by moment, not just once! You may have to make yourself reminders everywhere!!! Trust me, this is something I struggle with on a regular basis.

       When I keep picking things up that I was supposed to have surrendered already, I try to remind myself aloud, “Father, I surrender to Your will, Your way and Your timing.” The thing is, in order to surrender to His will, way and timing we must first believe that those are the best for us. We can say all day long that we know His timing is best, but do we actually believe that? Do we live each day like we believe that?

       Have you ever asked yourself, do I fear His will for my life? Do I really want it? I always thought that I wanted His will for my life up until a year ago when I thought I wanted something I was pretty sure He did not want for me.

        I literally convinced myself that even if He did not want it for me, well, I wanted it, and I was going to go after it. Boy, did it cause me a lot of pain and heart ache. Which is odd for me because I am one to avoid emotional pain at all costs. I am the one to cut people out of my life first to avoid the sting of rejection. Obviously, there are exceptions to this when it comes to family, but out of sight, out of mind worked for me pretty well up until a year ago. The point is, how honest are we with ourselves about what we are willing to surrender?

       Okay so you have surrendered... now what? Three things I work on doing every day… Seek Yahweh first, listen to HIS voice, and obey His leading (also includes surrender)! My mom always said, “Yahweh cannot take you past your last step of disobedience.” What was the last thing He told you to do? Was there a prompting in your spirit to call someone? Or do something? If you do not remember, ask Him to remind you. He’s not sitting up there waiting for you to mess up and glaring down at you in disappointment.

       I read somewhere a great example of the Father’s Heart. Let’s say you are teaching a precious little 5-year-old (that you love dearly- which is how our Abba Father sees us) how to do something which will help them in life to know. You teach them a step and they get it wrong. Do you say, “forget it! You’re never gonna get it! I give up on you!” Um, No! You gently and lovingly show them the right way to do it again and help them back on the right path. If we as imperfect humans can do that… how could a perfect Heavenly Father be any less patient or kind? The word says that Yahweh IS love (1st John 4:8). It also says that Love is PATIENT and KIND (1st Corinthians 13:4).

       I know, I know… we mess up all the time. We miss the mark over and over. We get busy and forget to seek Him. As humans we would probably want to give up on someone that constantly defies our instruction or ignores us over and over.

Well, now that I think about it… I have kids… and they have defied my instruction quite a bit over the past 18 years. My oldest is a teenager, so he chooses his friends over me on a regular basis, yet I have no desire to give up on them. Am I perfect? No! I am a parent. Yeshua called the Creator of the universe OUR Father! A perfect one at that. Perfect patience and perfect kindness. Therefore, He loves us (yes YOU) even more than we love our own children. Which is hard to fathom. 

        One night I was lying next to Johnny, watching him sleep, admiring his precious little face, and I started to cry at the overwhelming love I felt for him. I thought to myself, "I love him so much it hurts". I heard in my spirit plain as day, “I love you even more than that.” What? But how? I could not understand that. I was such a mess. A screw up. I laid there, captivated by His unconditional love, completely undone.