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RISE AND SHINE CHRISTIAN SERVICES
February 18 & 19, 2011
Discover yourself to reclaim your destiny
Meditations for your quiet moments
Surrender
Until we accept and cooperate with the law of gravity, we can't fly. Until we accept and cooperate with the law of economics, we can't succeed in business. Getting the idea? Surrendering to God is not weakness, it is wisdom. Only a fool resists God, because it's a fight we can't win. It's in surrendering to Him that we are empowered to succeed in what He's called us to do. Surrender is demonstrated by obedience. It's saying, 'Yes, Lord,' to whatever He asks. To say, 'No, Lord,' is a contradiction. How can we call Jesus 'Lord', and refuse to obey Him? Luke 6:46.
Peter demonstrated true surrender when Jesus told him to try again. '"Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net." And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish' Luke 5:5-6. Surrendered people obey God even when it doesn't seem to make sense. Abraham followed God without knowing where it would take him. Hannah waited on God's timing without knowing when. Mary expected a miracle without knowing how. Joseph trusted God's plan without knowing why circumstances happened as they did. Each was fully surrendered to God, and they came out on top. 'How will I know I'm fully surrendered?' we ask. When we rely on God to work things out instead of trying to manipulate others, force our own agenda or control the situation. We don't have to be in charge, we simply let go and let God have His way. When we start to do things God's way instead of our own, we experience three great benefits.
First, we have peace: 'Submit to God, and you will have peace; then things will go well for you' Job 22:21.
Second, we have freedom: 'I will live in freedom, because I follow Your orders' Psalm 119:45.
Third, we have power: 'Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you' James 4:7.
Stubborn temptations and overwhelming problems are defeated by Christ the moment we surrender. As Joshua approached the walls of Jericho he encountered God, fell down and worshipped, surrendered his plans and said, 'What does my Lord say to His servant?' Joshua 5:14 Joshua's surrender led to a spectacular victory. Here's a paradox: victory comes through surrender! Surrender doesn't weaken us, it strengthens us. Surrendered to God, we don't have to fear surrendering to anything else. William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, said, 'The greatness of a man's power is in the measure of his surrender.' Eventually everybody surrenders to something. If not to God, we'll surrender to the opinions and expectations of others, to money, to resentment, to fear, to our own lusts or ego. We're free to choose whatever we surrender to, but we're not free from the consequences of that choice. E. Stanley Jones said, 'If you don't surrender to Christ, you surrender to chaos.'
The supreme example is Jesus. The night before His crucifixion He surrendered to God's plan, saying, 'I want your will, not mine.' And He is our example!
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