Something I feel the Lord has been laying on my heart lately is the word “Surrender.” Full surrender to Him. As Christians we might think we have given God full control of our lives. But often this is not the case. Surrender and obedience go hand in hand. When we fully surrender to God, we will be obedient to Him, no matter what He asks of us. And this works the opposite way as well. We will not do things that the Lord doesn’t want us to do. As Christians, it is vital to follow the will of God, no matter what. But many of us make big decisions without seeking God’s will first. Or we might have certain things in our lives or heart that we just don’t want to let go of.
Throughout the pages of the Bible we see so many stories that illustrate how important full surrender and obedience to God is.
Sometimes fully surrendering to God can be difficult. In Genesis 22, God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, the son he had waited a hundred years for. Any of us would have been devastated. And I imagine there are not many of us who would have obeyed. Abraham did obey, though. But of course this was just a test. God stopped Abraham from following through. We too can fully surrender to God even when it is difficult. When we learn to trust Him, we will see that He always has our best interest in mind.
There will be times when fully surrendering to God might not make sense. We might even be asked not to do something that appears to be a good thing. In 2 Samuel 7, David wanted to build a temple for the Lord. This was a great and honorable wish. But God said no because David’s son Solomon would be the one to build the temple. We too have to seek God’s will with big decisions. Even if it seems like a good thing, it might not be God’s will for our lives.
When we don’t surrender to God, we will suffer the consequences. But on the other hand, when we do surrender to God, we will reap the rewards. In Numbers 13-14, when the Israelites were wandering in the desert, they reached the Promised Land. It was God’s will that they would inhabit this area. They sent twelve spies in to check out the land and to assess the people who were living there. When they returned to the camp, ten out of twelve men came back with a sense of fear. They felt that the people who lived there were too strong and powerful for the Israelites to defeat. Yet there were two men, Joshua and Caleb, who had faith that they could take possession of the land. Unfortunately, the ten men spread fear among the rest of the Israelites. Now the whole camp believed the lie that they could not defeat the people living there. In the end, the only two adults out of all the Israelites that entered the Promised Land were Joshua and Caleb.
Just like these men, we have a choice every day. Will we fight the will of God and suffer the consequences? Or will we fully surrender to God and reap the rewards? I hope we can choose the latter.
By the way, if you want to learn more about fully surrendering to God, here is a great sermon by Dr. Charles Stanley. Enjoy!
© 2020 Bridget A. Thomas
Photo courtesy of Pexels.
Christians Read 
Really enjoyed reading this. Complete surrender to God is what I would choose but I tend to falter and rely on my own from time to time. This morning as I was walking and praying, I felt God reminding me to surrender to Him certain things that I feel I have been trying so hard to do on my own. Never thought I was leaning on myself so much but it became crystal clear this morning that I was not completely surrendering.
What a timely affirmation of the importance of completely surrender.
Blessings to you Bridget 🤗💙
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I understand completely. I have this same problem and I think most people could agree. We don’t realize we are walking in our own power, when we could be relying on the power of the Holy Spirit… That is amazing that God laid this very subject on your heart this morning! Wow! I love those God nudges! It shows just how much He really loves us and cares for us… I am so glad you enjoyed the post. Thank you for stopping by. I always enjoy hearing from you! 💜
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I wanted to comment, “Oh that’s so weird…” because just before I read your post I commented on The Perth Girl’s blog that the thought “Habits of Surrender” came to my mind. Yeah, it’s not so weird. I needed those words. I guess your post is confirmation then. Surrender is actually a very peaceful word, and after how I was feeling yesterday it’s the exact word that I need. Hmmm.. I think the Lord just picked my word for the year. ☺<3 Thanks for sharing, Bridget.
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Wow! I am always amazed when I hear how the Lord works! He is such a loving Father who wants to make sure we get the message we need! You’re right, surrender does sound peaceful. It can be difficult for many who want to hang onto control. But when we allow God to have control, we allow Him to handle our worries and struggles. Surrender sounds like a really fulfilling word for 2020! Thanks for commenting! 💜
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That word, “full,” in front of surrender is the problem. I tend to surrender “most” but want to hang on to one or two problem areas, as if I can handle them better than He can. Sigh. Thank you for this reminder. God’s got this, and I can trust Him fully.
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You are not alone! I have the same problem. But I am trying to trust Him. When we hand it all over to God, He will handle the outcome. I pray we both can take that leap of faith! Thanks for commenting! It was wonderful to hear from you! 💜
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Bridget, for me this is a life journey, because I give things to God, then take them back without thinking. Thank you for this wonderfully worded reminder.
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That’s such a good point! I think that is a common theme, especially when it’s something we’re worried about. We say we gave it to God, but we still fret over it. And like you said, we don’t always realize that we took it back. Hmm. You’re right. This is a lifelong journey. Every so often it would do us some good to run through a status check! Thanks for commenting! It’s great to hear from you!💜
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