Throughout my Christian walk, I’ve really wanted to obey Jesus and surrender all of myself to Him. Many Sundays we sang worship songs such as “I surrender all” by Jason W. Van DeVenter, 1896. I truly wanted to obey, but I didn’t really understand what surrender looked like or what it really meant. As I read the words of DeVenter’s song, “I surrender all”, I do believe that DeVenter really got it! His words, seem to be a prescription or a formula for surrender: loving and trusting Jesus; humbly bowing before Him and letting go of worldly pursuits; experiencing the presence of the Holy Spirit and desiring to be filled with the love and power of God. I think that to write these words, one must have found that sweet place of surrender to Christ. ( http://library.timelesstruths.org/music/I_Surrender_All/ ) But for me, I could sing the songs and I knew in my head that surrender was submitting my will and ways to the lordship of Jesus Christ and yet, I wasn’t really there.
We can’t follow a prescription or formula for surrendering completely to Christ, but DeVenter’s words are actions that bring us closer to God. And we can trust that as we pursue God in faith and desire to obey Him, He will draw us to that place of submission. Little by little the Lord Jesus in His mercy takes His truths from our minds and deposits them into our hearts, transforming us more and more into His image. If you’ve walked with Christ for any time now, you know that He can transform us in a blink of an eye, as in instantaneous, but often it’s little by little. This reminds me of one of my favorite verses which describes so much of my walk with the Lord and His sanctifying presence in my life – Exodus 23:29 & 30. The Lord says that He’s going to drive out our enemies from before us, “But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.” Little by little, I surrendered parts of my heart and life to God and He drove out those enemies that were keeping me from totally trusting Him.
Overtime, I began to understand surrender. I wish that I could say that surrender came easily and quickly for me, but it’s been a process. My sins of unbelief, fear, and rebellion hindered me from fully surrendering. I still had the mindset that I knew what was best for my life, the lives of my family, and pretty much the world. I wasn’t believing or trusting that God is working a good plan, and that He truly is the sovereign God of the Universe.
Several years ago, I was headed to a conference on racial healing. I had been looking forward to this conference for months. The day of the conference, I was in excruciating pain from the effects of Lyme Disease. In utter pain and frustration, standing in my kitchen, I threw my arms up into the air, and I cried out, “What do you want from me, Lord?” His voice spoke clearly to me – “Surrender to me.” I had heard those words before, but this time, a shift took place in my heart and in my life as I repented of my unbelief, fear, and rebellion. That day I truly surrendered to my Lord and King and submitted my will and ways to Him. As in the day of my salvation, my life was never the same.
The voice of the Lord had spoken to me, “Surrender to Me,” and my response was, “Yes Lord, I surrender to you.” But last summer, my response changed to, “Whatever Lord”. My “whatever Lord” wasn’t a flippant “w h a t e v e r” but a submitted heart crying out to the Lord, “Whatever You have for me Lord Jesus, I receive it and I say yes.” You see, so many of my plans and the dreams of my heart hadn’t come to fruition. Disappointments abounded and yet, in the Lord’s kindness and grace to me, He brought me to a place of submitting to Him in a new way, “Whatever You have for me Lord Jesus, I say Yes!” How does one come from a place of holding back parts of their heart and lives to the Lord to saying “Yes” and then “Whatever You have for me, Lord?”
As we pursue God and desire to obey Him, loving Him and walking with Him, His grace, power, and love transform our hearts. Repentance, which is from His loving hand, turns us away from unbelief, fear, and rebellion and towards Him. Holy Spirit moves and enables us through His power to surrender it all to Him. Our love and trust for Him grows, our hearts are humbled as we see Him face to face, and we come to know Him more intimately. Our fears are exchanged for faith.
At the time a year ago when I said, “Whatever you have for me Lord Jesus, I say yes!” I had no idea what the future held, and I certainly didn’t know that I would be here today, facing a diagnosis of cancer. But through this journey, in His amazing kindness, He has grown my level of faith to a place where I know that wherever He’s allowing me to go (He didn’t cause this cancer), He’s right here with me. He’s leading and guiding me; He’s loving me through it; and He’s got me in the palm of His hand. These same truths are for you as well. Wherever you are at this very minute, the God of the Universe, Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit are with you and He will never leave you nor forsake you. You are in the palm of His hands and His love for you is never failing, never forsaking, and always true. Say Yes to Him today!
Scripture: Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you ; and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Prayer: Dear Father, I thank you for Your amazing grace and for your amazing love. I thank You that You are always working good for us and that You will never leave us nor forsake us. I thank You that Your will and Your ways are always the very best for us and that we say yes and amen to You. Father, I pray that You will strengthen us for the journeys ahead and that Your sustaining grace upholds us by Your righteous right hand. May we grow in faith and trust You through the trials of this life. May we glorify You by walking in faith and submitting to Your wills and Your ways in our life. May we surrender our whole hearts to You more and more everyday. In the precious name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,”declares the Lord, “plans to give you hope and a future.”
Hearing the Voice of God: My Journey with Breast Cancer 