When I hear the word surrender, I think of someone furiously waving a white flag as if their life depended on it or someone at gun point with their hands raised, willing to give/ do anything in order to spare their life.
Surrender is hard! It's giving up your rights, your control over your life to do another's will, to follow them instead of yourself. We all are surrendering to someone or something. The question is what? Who? Are they things? People? Money? Acceptance? Often I think I have my life all figured out and begin to follow my little map. Then I'm offered a choice: follow the expectations of the world and fit in OR follow Jesus and stand out. These choices pose an ongoing struggle in me as the world's expectations of who I'm supposed to be and what I'm supposed to do haunt me daily. They make Jesus seem so distant standing there on the sandy shore as I view Him from the confines of this boat I'm drifting through life on. His simple request to "follow Him", to give up everything - my hopes, my dreams, my desires, me, myself, and I - every part of me - seems impossible. Or is it that I just don't want to? hmmm....
The further I drift from Him, thinking all hope is lost, there He is, walking, yes walking the raging sea to meet me where I'm at, patiently waiting for me to look Him in the eye, take that leap of faith, get out of the boat, and follow Him. He asks us to follow Him so we can do what the world has never fathomed - the impossible. He has good plans for me far better than my own (Jeremiah 29:11-13) and I can't do them on my own. I must surrender. My life depends on it.
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