Be Victorious and Surrender!

Be victorious and surrender?  How does this work?  Don't we lose when we surrender?  Well, it all depends on the situation.  If we surrender in a game or in some sort of combat, we admit that we cannot win and thus accept defeat.  However, in terms of God and our Christian life, when we surrender, we are victorious!  Only when we are fully able to trust in God and offer our lives and everything in it can we truly be blessed and honor Him. 

This excerpt from http://www.allaboutfollowingjesus.org really hits the nail on the head.

"Surrender means to yield ownership, to relinquish control over what we consider ours: our property, our time, our "rights." When we surrender to God, we are simply acknowledging that what we "own" actually belongs to Him. He is the giver of all good things. We are responsible to care for what God has given us, as stewards of His property, but by surrendering to God, we admit that He is ultimately in control of everything, including our present circumstances. Surrendering to God helps us to let go of whatever has been holding us back from God's best for our lives. By surrendering to God, we let go of whatever has kept us from wanting God's ways first."

I really like the part that says that everything that we have belongs to Him.  It is up to us to acknowledge that and offer what we have to Him, since it is His anyways.  I underlined and bolded the word "time."  It makes things so much easier when I think of "my time" as God's time.   It's like all the time that I have is God's, so I should be planning my day based on God first and everything else second.  Therefore, rather than trying to make time for meditation and reading God's word in our busy lives, we should be trying to fit our other activities into our God-centered lives.

Also, when we surrender, we give up our worldliness and selfish motives, and are able to have a stronger passion for God's will for our lives.  Imagine how much God can shape us and work through us when we are able to let go of the things we are clinging desperately to... when we are able to stop living in fear and begin trusting in God and His provision.

I keep this verse in my wallet so that I can be constantly reminded when I begin losing focus.

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well."

Matthew 6:33 (NIV)

Surrendering to God is certainly not a one time thing.  It is more like a daily thing.  As humans, we get so distracted and swallowed up by our own lives that we often forget the bigger picture.  Therefore, we need to constantly pray for wisdom and strength so that we may live a discerning and sacrificial life. 

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"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." Deut. 6.