"Whoever wants to embrace life and see the day fill up with good, here's what you d say nothing evil or hurtful; snub evil and cultivate good; run after peace for all you're worth" (1 Peter 3:10-11, MSG).
"I'm done with it! This battle just isn't worth fighting! I'm tired. It's hopeless." As I listened to my girlfriend verbally bleed from her wounded heart, I silently lifted up a prayer and asked God for wisdom. Her pain was real. Her troubles were not imaginary. She was desperate. She wanted a way out of the maze of disappointment and betrayal she had gotten lost in. Out of the strong undertow of angst that had swept away her hope. Out of the darkness that had covered her life and taken her captive.
No easy answers flooded my mind. I had no slick, three-point "sermonette" to offer her. I'm not a therapist. I don't even play one on TV. I'm just a Christian girl who tries to be there for her friends. So, I didn't feel wise or brilliant that day as I gently, but confidently said: "I think the only way to win this battle is to surrender."
Not to the problem, but to the solution. Not to the conflict, but to the resolution. Both the solution and the resolution are found in the same nail scarred hands. In order to win in any earthly struggle or relationship battle, we must put away the weapons of our wounding words, and set aside the arsenal of our angry actions. Then with knees to the earth, we must raise a white flag in surrender … to the King.
What do we need to surrender? Our pride and expectations … our gripes and lamentations … our calculated manipulations … our righteous indignation … everything.
In order to live victoriously and win the battles we face in life, we've just got to surrender our flesh to the Spirit.
"Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, and be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless—that's your job, to bless. You'll be a blessing and also get a blessing"
(1 Peter 3: 8-9) MSG.
On the battlefield of war, when we raise the white flag of surrender, we lose. But on the battlefield of life, when we surrender, we win - if, and only if we surrender to God and not to our circumstances. We cannot control the variables beyond our own responses, but God will surely bless the woman that walks in obedience to Him.
The text in 1 Peter goes on to say: "Whoever wants to embrace life and see the day fill up with good, here's what you d say nothing evil or hurtful; snub evil and cultivate good; run after peace for all you're worth" (1 Peter 3:10-11, MSG).
We are able to run after peace and experience blessings of God in our day when we go before Him with a yielded heart. In a public address titled "Absolute Surrender," Andrew Murray said: "God is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to Him. The condition for obtaining God's full blessing is absolute surrender to Him."
What will that look like for you today? Are you ready to wave that white flag? Imagine what God will do in and through you as you daily choose to align your heart to His! Go there now. Be with the Strength-giver. Yield to the will of Him who loves you most. Blessings await you, friend.
Prayer
Lord, This is such a tough one! My life is complicated. It is very hard for me to relinquish control, yet I know that You are calling me to do just that. Help me to surrender my life into Your hands. Please dissolve my resentment, anger, fears and frustrations. Help me to choose Your ways, so that I can obtain the full blessings of absolute surrender. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
- Take a moment to thoughtfully consider what barriers exist in your heart that keep you from being willing to surrender.
- Pray that God would crush those barriers for His purposes.
- Lift your heart in surrendered worship as you sing the hymn "I Surrender All."
I SURRENDER ALL
Words by: J.W. Van Deventer and Music by: W.S. Weeden
All to Jesus, I surrender
All to Him I freely give
I will ever love and trust Him
In His presence daily live
I surrender all
I surrender all
All to Thee, my blessed Savior
I surrender all
All to Jesus I surrender
Humbly at His feet I bow
Worldly pleasures all forsaken
Take me, Jesus, take me now
All to Jesus, I surrender
Make me, Savior, wholly Thine
Let me feel the Holy Spirit
Truly know that Thou art mine
All to Jesus, I surrender
Lord, I give myself to Thee
Fill me with Thy love and power
Let Thy blessing fall on me
All to Jesus I surrender
Now I feel the sacred flame
O the joy of full salvation!
Glory, glory, to His Name!
Friend, God can work miracles in any and every situation! No matter what you face, you can choose how you respond to your circumstances. When I dive into His Word, God reminds me, time and time again, that HIS power is made strong through my weakness. Surrender your weakness to Him today and find God's strength.
HELP GWEN SELECT HER NEXT CD COVER!! :-) Gwen's next CD, Uncluttered, will be released late this fall. She and her record label, Great Worship Songs, need your opinion on the front cover! Please click over to Gwen's Facebook page at: www.Facebook.com/GwenSmithMusic and VOTE on which cover you like best!
Every step of transformation begins with your surrender to the heart of God. If you would like to learn more about how your brokenness can be reworked into a picture of God's beauty, order Gwen's book Broken Into Beautiful. This resource will help you experience the power of hope, healing and restoration!
Publication date: July 16, 2010