I SURRENDER ALL

Recently, I was singing, “I Surrender All” when the Holy Spirit gently spoke into my spirit, “Do you really surrender all to Me?” I quickly knew that I do not, but if Jesus could surrender His will to His Father in the Garden for my sake and for yours, I must surrender my worries and concerns regarding my family. 

I researched the song’s author, who was Judson W. Van DeVenter, a composer and evangelist. He said, “The time had come when deep within my soul I knew I must surrender my all to Christ. I struggled for five years, but at last the light came and I surrendered all. It was then that a new day was ushered into my life.” 

What does it mean to surrender? It is abandoning oneself entirely to a powerful influence, who should be God. After all, He knew us before He formed us in the womb. His eyes saw our unformed substance; in His book were written the days that were formed for each one of us (Jeremiah 1:5; Psalm 139:16). What an amazing and glorious truth!

I then asked God how to surrender all to Him. His gentle Spirit answered, “Trust Me.” However, that can be a daunting challenge, because we see a world out of control, loved one’s going in the wrong direction, and the ongoing battleground between good and evil.

Sadly, man once lived in perfect beauty, peace, and harmony with God in the Garden of Eden. Yet he chose not to trust God and believed the enemy’s lies. Both Adam and Eve’s lack of trust opened the door to Satan who is the god of this world and a murderer from the beginning, with no truth in him (John 8:44).

When Satan lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies and the author of destruction, conflict, unbelief, and death.  Thus, humanity inherited the adamic sin nature that is inherently willful, disobedient, and deceitful (John 8:44; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Romans 5:12).    

Disobedience, pride, and evil are Satan’s fruits, so God first addressed Satan’s sins and then his future, “How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!”

“You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.  I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most-High.’ (Isaiah14: 12-15). (“I” signifies Satan’s extreme self-centeredness, arrogance, pride, and rebellion.) “But you are brought down to the realm of the dead to the depths of the pit (hell)” (Isaiah 14:12-15 NIV).

If we don’t surrender to God we are surrendering to the enemy and his plans for our destruction. However, God offers a beautiful promise for those who surrender all to Him because He knows the plans He has for each person. They are plans to prosper and not harm, plans to give us a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).

God gave Adam and Eve a wonderful future and the freedom of choice. He purposely allowed the enemy to test them because He did not want programed robots that are void of choice. God’s desire was and is for people to willingly and genuinely love, worship, obey, and trust Him with all their heart (Matthew 22:37).

Human nature is carnal and will test boundaries and God. When raising our son, we taught him that life gives opportunities to make good or bad choices that will determine good or bad outcomes. 

He was two when I warned him, “Don’t touch the burners on the stove, because they are very hot and you will get burned.” So, when I turned to use the sink, he touched a burner and cried out in pain. That was a perfect example of human nature being willfully disobedient and testing limits.

Unfortunately, choices are either based on carnal wants, desires, and dangerous curiosity, or on listening, trusting and obeying God. In a child’s case, the Bible instructs children to honor (respect, listen to) their parents so that it may go well with them (Ephesians 6:23). But as adults, God is our Parent who expects our obedience, though He gives us freedom to choose.

God tells us that His thoughts are not our thoughts, and neither are our ways His ways which are higher than our ways and thoughts (Isaiah 45:8-9). God knows all things from the beginning to the end. He is aware of Satan’s plans, the dangers, and the death structure that the enemy builds on our painful past events, disappointments, weaknesses, insecurities, fears, and failures. 

Failure to trust and obey God can abort our destiny. That is why we cannot trust carnal understanding but are called to bring every negative question, thought, and habit into captivity with God’s Word (2 Corinthians 10:5). For when we are emotionally, physically, and spiritually surrendered and obedient to the Lord, He keeps us from all harm and watches over our life in both our coming and going (Psalm 121:7-8).

How do we make decisions within God’s will? The simple yet difficult answer is to “trust the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding; in all our ways submit to Him, and He will make our paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-7). Trust requires surrendering our will to God’s will and believing He will always do the very best for us (Psalm 37:5). Refusing to trust God will rob our peace of mind and prevent His blessings.  

What is the definition of trust? Trust is a firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something. Our relationship with God must be built on trusting and believing that He is faithful to His Word. (That is why we MUST read and know His Word.) 

Trusting God is prayerfully seeking Him before making decisions based on human reasoning that too often fails us. For He promises that when we prayerfully seek and trust Him, He will guide and direct us, for He and His Word are a lamp for our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105).

Great examples are read throughout Scripture when God’s faithful servants were required to do the impossible. When they trusted and obeyed God they reaped great successes and rewards. But also consider the enormous failures, tragedies, and deaths that occurred when people doubted and willfully disobeyed God’s instructions. The key to a faith-filled life is obeying and trusting God, despite what we see or feel.

PRAYER: Father, help my thoughts to become Your thoughts and to follow Your will and not my own. Help me to faithfully read Your Word and open my eyes and heart to understand Your Word. Give me an extra measure of faith to trust You, even when I don’t understand Your instructions. My desire is to surrender all that I am to Your purposes and to walk each day in faith. In Jesus name, amen.

Picture courtesy of Rcascoherrera