A Life of Surrender

Sur·ren·der: to yield to the power or control of another; to give up completely.

Oof. Let’s be honest, surrendering is tough. Whether it’s surrendering our expectations, our will, our opinions, our plans - and yielding to something or someone else - it’s all hard.

When life throws something unexpected at us, we have a choice. We may not be able to control our circumstances, but we can learn to control our response. I say learn because I don’t suggest it’s just that easy. But I do believe we can grow and learn to live lives of faith and trust. We can learn that though we make our plans, the Lord directs our steps. We can settle into His perfect love and purpose in all things.

Life has thrown a lot of curveballs lately, some easier to deal with than others. Today I had planned to go to work and the weather determined otherwise. This unexpected day off didn’t upset my plans by any means but rather felt like a blessing. On the contrary, I found myself in a situation this week that felt really hurtful. My feelings were immediately on the defense and my flesh wanted to run away. As I sat there, consciously aware of this reaction within me, I began to ask myself “where is this response coming from?” I contemplated whether it was my pride, if the feelings were valid, and what the proper action steps would be if any. I realized I could only give it to God. That was the best choice. So rather than reacting, I gave it up. I had to trust that God was bigger than it all and His purpose would prevail.

This morning I read Psalm 33 and the word “surrender” immediately came to mind. My Bible has the title of this Psalm as “The Steadfast Love of the Lord” and here’s the thing - if we truly understand His love, we will surrender to it. Several things stood out to me as I read, so I wanted to break it down a bit. To begin, the starting point is praise. It opens with the following phrases,

“Shout for joy.”

“Praise benefits the upright.”

“Give thanks to the Lord…”

“Make melody to Him…”

“Sing to Him a new song.”

When our hearts are postured towards praise, it changes how we see everything.

The Psalm then points us to who God is.

“For the word of the Lord is upright,

and all His work is done in faithfulness.

He loves righteousness and justice;

the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made.”

In light of who God is, we are told what our response should be towards Him.

“Let all the earth fear the Lord;

let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him!”

Here’s what’s important to understand. Our belief in God does not change who He is. The world would say that we can each have our own truth and yes, in a way that’s true. We each have a choice in what we believe. But that doesn’t change Truth. That doesn’t change God. The Psalmist exhorts us to fear Him and stand in awe of Him. Solomon tells us in Proverbs that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” When we understand who we are in light of who He is, again - it changes everything.

This next part really got me though.

“The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;

he frustrates the plans of the peoples.

The counsel of the Lord stands forever,

the plans of his heart to all generations.”

It doesn’t matter what we plan or devise. His will and His plans will be accomplished. So why do we fight so hard? Why do we strive to do things on our own, work against Him, and cave to our flesh, instead of choosing surrender? Life can often feel out of control and maybe even exhausting. But God gave us a handbook. He gave us the answers and even told us how the story ends upfront. And yet we still somehow resist in our stubbornness and ignorance. The Psalm says “The Lord looks down from heaven” - seeing both the wicked and the righteous. Those that do not trust in Him cannot be rescued. But look, friends.

“The eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,

on those who hope in his steadfast love.”

These are the ones whom He delivers. So how do we do that? How do we live in this? Again, we are given the answer.

“Our soul waits for the Lord;

He is our help and our shield.

For our heart is glad in Him,

because we trust in His holy name.

Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,

even as we hope in you.”

Wait, trust, and hope in His love. And when we do - there is no situation we cannot face.

No matter what you are going through today, God is bigger than it all. Begin with praise, and your posture will change. Yield to His perfect love, friends. Surrender,