Surrender

 What happens when things don't go our way?  What happens when a child defies a known directive?  What happens when a monkey wrench get thrown into your perfectly laid out plans for the day or week?  What happens when an authority figure requests or tells you to do something you just don't want to do, because you think your way is better? To be perfectly honest, I have thrown more than one temper tantrum over events like these and it is not pretty.  

    In our culture, the answers to these questions would most likely be:

 "Stand up for yourself!" or "Believe in yourself!"  

Possibly, "Don't back down!" or  even, "You don't deserve to be treated this way."  

The Evil One has so permeated our culture that we are taught to worship ourselves and place ourselves on quite a pedestal.  This feeds our sin nature's appetite for self-gratification.  In an effort to teach our kids confidence, they are taught to look inside themselves for strength, instead of to the One who created them.  After several decades of this mindset, we now have adults who "think more highly of themselves than they ought" (Romans 12:3 warns us against this specifically).  Is it any wonder that we see rampant addictions of every sort, violence, and broken relationships at every turn? When we look to self, we do not have the strength to curb these sinful impulses. Or, if we seem to, we only replace them with another equally detrimental compulsion. 

    Once again, the Bible is our manual for life.  There are answers! Christ was given to us as the perfect example for us.  Philippians 2:5-8 tells us:

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

    Christ's example is exactly the opposite of all that we see taught today.  Humility, obedience, surrender... this looks nothing like pride, arrogance, even self-confidence.  To the unbeliever, this would seem preposterous, even comical.  However, our worth is not found in what our culture thinks of us.  It is not even found in what our closest friends and family thinks of us, as difficult as that is to hear.  Our worth and confidence is in Christ alone.  We do not have to grovel with heads in the mud, feeling as if we are worthless.  As children of  the Most High God, we have an elite standing! We are worthy.  This only happens as we realize that only through Christ do we have this standing.  Only because of Him do we experience the privileges of the Royal Priesthood, where we have direct access to the presence of Almighty God.  

    As we walk a life of total surrender, we can trust that Christ has our eternal welfare in mind. We can be bold in proclaiming the gospel, knowing that He alone is worthy of praise and adoration.  As we think of ourselves less, He fills us with His attributes and we grow more like our wonderful Savior.  Through complete surrender, we receive His strength.  No, it does not look at all like the world perceives strength.  Instead, this yields eternal rewards.  

    As we learn to surrender our will, our desires, our plans to the One who can see all and knows all, we will experience a peace that passes all understanding. As events occur today that are outside of our control, or offend our prideful human nature, we can calmly move forward, trusting the outcome to the One who has all things under His control.  

I pray that we will live a life of total surrender to the will of the Father today. 

💓 Heather Sparks💓