Merriam-Webster
Dictionary defines surrender as: to give oneself up into the power of another;
to yield. Yield can be defined as: to give up possession of on claim or demand.
So many
people truly never fully surrender their lives to Christ. They hold on to their
desires, their expectations, and their control. Control is a lot harder to give
up if you live in fear and circumstances are too be controlled and heavily
monitored. We may even try and control the outcomes of certain events because
allowing God to have His way maybe too vulnerable or even scary for us. We want
certainty at all costs, since we live in this unpredictable world and our lives
have been a series of things we could not mange or control. Fully surrender to
Christ also means that Christ is trusted even if we can’t figure out the
outcomes or even see the solution to our problems. You may have control issues
if you have been hurt or have endured series of trials that have damaged your
soul. Life may seem so unpredictable to you and downright scary at times. You
fear the worst case scenarios because in your eyes you have seen and
experienced devastating circumstances in your life and the life’s of those you
loved.
Are you going
God’s way and letting go of control and surrendering or you going your own way?
Control
freaks have a hard time fully surrendering and letting go. Fear is usually the
culprit and the unknowns and uncertainties of life are too unbearable. We believe,
as control freaks, that we can at least somewhat, manage and control our lives
and everyone else’s. We believe that total surrender may involve vulnerability
and trust at all costs and those are too risky for us.
There are
many reasons people have trouble with fully surrendering their lives to Christ.
Sometimes it is difficult to trust what you can’t see, or you feel like if you
don’t take over every aspect of your life and everyone else’s that the
consequences of not controlling and intervening will be severe. Control freaks
play the “what if” game all too often. An example would be, “What if I don’t
step in to help my sister again, what will happen, will God step in?” Most of
the time, control freaks would say to that question, “I am not sure what God will
do if He steps in or chooses not to step in, and I might not can handle His
ways so I will step in and take control.” In a way we play God and we believe our
outcomes and ways are better and are more sufficient to meeting our own needs
and the needs of others.
We may not
like the way our life is turning out or has turned out, so we try and get certain
things to line-up the way we would want them too. We are not truly satisfied
with what God is doing, so we take over. We take over our families, and
sometimes friendships and complete strangers at times. All because we want our
certain outcome to happen.
What would
happen if we truly let go and surrendered? What if we could completely trust
God that if He chooses not to give us what we believe we want or if He chooses
to handle our families the way He sees fit. Is it possible we are getting in
the way of our own freedom and getting in the way of our families deliverance?
We don’t want our family and friends to go through consequences and pain so we
step in and rescue them, but what if God wants them surrendered to Him so that
He can work in their lives. Perhaps you should get to the roots of why you keep
stepping in to help others, or even the reasons you cannot fully surrender your
life. Maybe you had a blueprint for your life and it is not turning out like
your blueprint that you had in your mind. Perhaps you are even fighting against
God’s plans for you because you will not let go.
Are you ready
to surrender your life, your family? Are you ready to trust God’s ways are
better than your ways? Are you ready to stop living in fear of the “what if’s?”
Surrender
starts when you can truly say,” Not my will be done but your will Lord.”