YES LORD, I SURRENDER!

“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.” (Colossians 3:15) Many of our struggles in life—at least in mine—are the result of our failure to surrender to God’s call.

For instance—maybe you are facing a trial. If you are resisting the trial, you are increasing the struggle. God will carry you through the trial, but first He expects you to say “yes” to His good plan in the trial. He calls us to surrender. The longer we fight Him, the greater our struggle. The struggle intensifies the longer you say “no.

The struggle isn’t in God’s request, it’s in our lack of trust. The longer we hold out, the worse the war. The longer the wrestling match, the more elusive God’s peace. In other words, the resolution of the struggle is not, “God, if you would stop asking this, my storm would cease.” The resolution is, “Child, if you would obey, your internal storm would cease.”

Where does Jesus Christ figure in when we have a concern about our natural relationships? Most of us will desert Him with this excuse— “Yes, Lord, I heard you call me, but my family needs me and I have my own interests. I just can’t go any further” (see Luke 9:57-62). “Then,” Jesus says, “you ‘cannot be My disciple’ ” (see Luke 14:26-33).

True surrender will always go beyond natural devotion. If we will only give up, God will surrender Himself to embrace all those around us and will meet their needs, which were created by our surrender. Beware of stopping anywhere short of total surrender to God.