Surrender

SURRENDER

When I hear the word surrender, I think of war.  In every battle, either someone wins and someone loses….or someone surrenders.  Surrender means that someone gives up.  They get to a point where they say “I can’t do this anymore”.  They give in to their opponent.  They hand over everything they were trying to hold on to.  Most often, it’s the things they’d held onto so hard…the things that were most valuable to them.  They relinquish control. 

I also think of a police chase.  When someone is running from the police, they use everything they can think to use to avoid getting caught….hiding, speed, lies, disguises, excuses, and even weapons.  When they are out of options and finally realize they are not going to win, they slowly step into the light, lay down their weapons, and raise their hands into the air. 

Now, lets apply those ideas of surrender to our surrender to God. 

There’s a battle for our lives.  Every day.  Every single decision we make, every thought we have, every word we say…everything about our lives plays into this battle.  Unfortunately, we try to be the lead role in the battle.  We try to solve our own problems, raise our own kids in our own way, choose for ourselves who we will marry, plan our own careers, and pave our own way.  In actuality, we end up fighting with the wrong side! We end up fighting against the One who could help us the most.  The One that could save us.  Whether you’ve fought this battle your whole life and constantly felt the affects or you are just now understanding that you cannot do this anymore, surrender is crucial.  It’s time to say, “I can’t do this anymore.”  Spiritually surrendering doesn’t mean you give up, defeated.  It means you give up trying on your own.  It means you relinquish control. It means you stop holding on to everything you’ve held on to for so long.  It means you put everything about you….the good, the bad, and the ugly…into the hands of Jesus.  Surrendering to Him doesn’t mean you lose.  It means you win. 

Our lives can also become like the police chase.  Except in this case, we are the runner and Jesus is the one chasing after us.  When we are living our way, doing our own thing, we tend to run from Jesus and living fully for Him. We hide.  We run full force into anything other than His arms.  We lie.  We use every excuse we can think of.  We even try to disguise or cover up who we are.  We run and run and run.  Maybe it’s not as apparent as the criminal being chased by the police.  Maybe your life seems put together.  It’s likely you have everyone deceived, and possibly, you’ve even been deceiving yourself.  In reality, if we are not running toward Jesus, we are running away.  Luckily, He never stops chasing after us.  It’s time to slowly step into the light, lay down every weapon and device we’ve used to run, and raise our hands in surrender. 

In battles, there may be prisoners of war.  In police chases, there may be prison time.  Surrender can be costly.  Relinquishing control is not an easy decision.  I’m certain that the surrendering side of battle weighed out the pros and cons of their decision first.  In the end, however, the negative effects they would feel because of their surrender were a better option than not surrendering at all.  The criminal knows there will be consequences to his actions once he hands himself over to the police, but at some point, he decides that the consequences he will face because of his surrender were a better option than continuing the chase.  It will likely cost us something when we decide to relinquish control of our lives.  But, we must understand that the cost of our surrender is a better option than trying to live without Jesus at the wheel. 

Sometimes, a surrender is conditional.  One side agrees to do certain things in exchange for the surrender of the other.  Other times, there is no such offer.  For us, we would be crazy to think we could demand a conditional surrender with the One who has already died on a cross for us.  We cannot say “Jesus, I will surrender my life to you IF you do this.”  Our surrender needs to be a total surrender with no strings attached.  However, the awesome thing about Jesus is He has already promised us so much.  We do not surrender to earn what He has promised, we surrender because we realize we cannot do life without Him.   His promises are always true, but when we surrender ourselves to Him, we’ve opened the doors to the fulfillment of those promises in OUR lives. 

WARNING: In war, there is a term called “false surrender.”  Basically, one group would “surrender” to draw the enemy out of cover to attack them off guard.  While this was often effective in battle, it will not work for us.  We cannot half-heartedly surrender to Jesus and expect a victory.  The difference in a false surrender during war and a false surrender to Jesus is that instead of it helping us, a false surrender will draw US out of cover and allow Satan to attack us off guard.

Surrender isn’t a one-time deal.  It’s not a single decision that lasts forever.  It’s a process.  And it’s hard.  We would be naïve to think that total surrender to God would equal an easy life free from troubles and challenges. Surrender doesn’t prevent problems or trials; surrender gives you a hand to hold as you walk through them.  Surrender requires a level of trust that says, “Whatever happens, it’s part of God’s plan.”  Why do we, as humans, struggle with relinquishing control in our lives?  Do we think our ideas and plans are better than the plans God has for us?  Do we somehow think God doesn’t know what He is doing?  Or maybe we honestly believe that God’s ways are better, but we don’t think we deserve His goodness and love so we continue to do things on our own. We keep trudging along, doing the best we can, but with every step we keep sinking deeper and deeper.  We think our faith and life in Jesus depends on us - instead of trusting in His power and faithfulness.  The truth is… well, Jesus is truth.  He is bigger than our challenges.  He is bigger than our trials.  He is bigger than our plans.  His views for our lives are bigger than we can see for ourselves.  And He is waiting on us to lean into Him.  Total surrender isn’t easy, but it is worth it.  Every day, every moment, choose to surrender to Him to the best of your ability.  He knows your heart, and He is willing to help you along the way.  What a beautiful adventure life can be when we surrender ourselves totally to the One who loves us extravagantly!