What I Didn’t Know About Surrender

It is late in the evening, as I sit here and write.  The days are noticeably shorter, so it is already very dark outside on this evening in August.  I don’t know about you, but I find that although the days move slowly, they accumulate quickly, therefore time moves slowly but passes quickly all at the same time.  I don’t know that this statement even makes sense, but it is my current experience.

I was able to slip away to the beach for a few hours a week or so ago. It was there, as I sat on the sand and listened to the waves, that the Lord spoke to me about surrender. He has been speaking to me for quite some time, in bits and pieces.  Reminding me He has a plan for me – inviting me to come to Him and rest – asking me if I am tired, yet, of always trying to be in control. Helping me to understand, day by day, a little at a time, what surrender really looks like in my everyday life.  But this day, on the beach, He summed it up for me. 

I was so deep in thought, listening so carefully to what God was placing in my heart, that the older gentleman who was walking on the beach, shifted the trajectory of his walk in my direction, to pause right in front of me.  I looked up at him and he smiled kindly and asked me, in French, if I was meditating.  Although I caught it, even in another language, he repeated it slowly in English for me.  He didn’t wait for my answer- he just swept his hand out toward the ocean in a large arc, and said – “This, this is good for the soul – good for the spirit”.  With one more smile, he nodded his head and continued on his journey.

As he went on his way, I looked out at the ocean and heard God say, “Tell me what you didn’t know about surrender.”

I smiled.  That was clever.  He didn’t ask what I knew or thought I knew – He asked me what I now know that I didn’t know before.  It’s a nice way of telling me I didn’t know all that I thought I knew. Also, a reminder that He has led me through a path in the last weeks, that has allowed me to learn what I needed to learn to respond in surrender.

How do you understand surrender? What comes to your mind?  How does the thought of it make you feel?  Honestly.  

I guess somewhere in the back of my mind I saw surrender as being beaten down, defeated, not able to win, and so standing up (hesitantly and fearfully, with great regret) and waving a little white flag that signalled that I was done, giving up, and ready to submit to a life of hard labour for the other; an “other” who did not have a good plan for me.

Sounds like something from a movie, doesn’t it? 

And perhaps, that is the way of surrender in the movies.  Or maybe even life in this world.

But, as Christians, although we are in the world, we are not of the world.  Therefore, how we understand things must be based on the truth God shows us, rather than what we see around us.  Often that truth looks a bit “upside down”. 

I am continuously amazed at the patience God has in showing me His truth, day after day. Helping me to see the world, myself and Him, through His eyes; changing my perspective, that lens I have developed over the years through which I see and understand things.

And I never know exactly how He is going to change that perspective.  So, as I sat on the beach, I began listing the things I hadn’t understood about surrender:

1. Surrender is active, not passive – it requires intentionality- you must choose to surrender, it doesn’t just happen to you
2. Surrender takes strength- it is not weakness
3. Surrender takes courage – it is not for the faint of heart
4. Surrender brings relief not regret
5. Surrender helps you to feel more in control not less – more in control of the parts of your life you are actually in control of (like choosing to surrender)
6. Surrender causes things to happen – it does not hinder things from happening or cause them to stall
7. Surrender is more than acknowledging you are not in control – it is two-prong * choosing to let go of the control & *choosing to trust that He has a good plan for me
8. Surrender does not lead to captivity- but to freedom

   2 Corinthians 3:17 “Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty {freedom}.”

9. Surrender does not lead to fearfulness or uncertainty -but to peace

   John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

10. Surrender does not lead to labour for an “other” – but to rest in Him

    Matthew 11:28 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

11. Surrender is not a one-time thing- it is a daily choice
12. Surrender is hard – it can be easy
13. Surrender is easy – it can be hard

He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” Matthew 26:39

Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.” Matthew 26:42

God showed me an interesting thing.  When Jesus was praying in the garden of Gethsemane, He asked God if this “cup” could pass from Him- nevertheless, He surrendered to God’s plan.  That was in verse 39. Then, a few verses later, after His disciples fell asleep on Him when they were supposed to be praying with Him, in verse 42, He prayed a second time, “if this cup cannot pass away from Me……” – almost like He was asking again. 

There will be times, when you surrender, then ask again, “God does it have to be this way?” That is OK.  God knows us, what we are made of, and how many times we will ask for things to be different, before we surrender and after we surrender and before we choose to surrender daily.  He is a gracious and loving Father.

Has God been talking to you about surrender?

Where are you at with that? 

Is He still reminding you that He has a plan for you?  Inviting you to come to Him and rest? Asking you if you are tired, yet, of always trying to be in control. Is he still helping you to understand, day by day, a little at a time, what surrender really looks like in your everyday life.  Or is He sitting with you at the beach, summing it up for you and asking you, “Tell me what you didn’t know about surrender?”

Wherever you find yourself on this journey – know that He is faithful, He sees you just as you are, He knows exactly what He has for you and He LOVES you so very much.

Life doesn’t always look the way we thought it would and we often are pretty sure we could come up with a better plan given half the chance. 

However, in the midst of all that, I am choosing, today, tomorrow, and the next day to not only acknowledge that I am not in control and to give up my need to feel as if I am in control, but to also trust that God has a good plan for me. 

Today I say: “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” – AND “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.”

What will you choose to do?