Have you ever truly thought about the word "surrender"? It may bring up memories of your high school history class where you learned about General Robert E. Lee’s surrender to Ulysses S. Grant, which was the beginning of the end of the bloodiest conflict in American history.
The word "surrender" is a battle term that means giving up all rights to the conqueror.
Every day, we have a choice. Surrender to the enemy (Satan) or surrender to our Lord and Savior.
“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:14-15
When we surrender to God, we are setting aside our own wants and desires and eagerly seeking His will for our lives. Surrendering to God should not elicit fear but excitement and expectation because the Lord tells us, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
Despite knowing this, the idea of surrender might make you feel uncomfortable. Human nature desires to be in control, and surrendering seems counter to that. I hope to show you that surrendering daily to Jesus is what actually sets you free.
Whether we realize it or not, each choice we make is a form of surrender. Every thought or action is one of obedience or sin. When we surrender to the enemy, we are allowing Satan to rule our minds, which can flow into our actions.
If you're like me, you never thought about your sin as being a form of surrender, but it is because we are in a spiritual battle every day. Do we surrender to the enemy, Satan, and go down the path of sin? Or do we surrender to the Lord, whose death and resurrection let us walk in freedom from sin?
Satan’s goal is to sow seeds of doubt, to make us feel unworthy, and to convince us that sin is fun. Unfortunately, surrendering to Satan is easier because he appeals to our selfish nature and likes to point out the shiny, delicious apple on the tree. He can be insidious in his approach and twist God’s word to convince you, “Did He really say that?”
There are many pitfalls of surrendering to the enemy. If you’ve never accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, the pitfall is eternal separation from God. For the believer, it may be suffering from anxiety or depression if you spend a lot of time worrying because you are not trusting the Lord. You may suffer physical ailments from living a worldly life. You may experience both of these effects if you’ve made a decision that you knew was not from God but you did it anyway. The pain from giving into that sin will be greater than any “pain” you were deceived into thinking would happen had you agreed with God and made the obedient choice.
Surrendering to the enemy only leads to bondage and pain, much like surrendering to an evil conqueror.
But there’s hope!
If you are seeking peace and freedom from sin and this world, this is the hope you can have. If you are a believer, this is the hope you already have:
"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and or sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you." Romans 8:1-11
You have a choice every day to either surrender to the enemy or live in the Spirit that dwells in you.
Listen to His still, small voice that says, “This is the way, walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21).
Which way will you walk?
"The story of the tax collector Zaccheus is the perfect word picture of what it looks like to seek after Jesus, find Him and surrender to Him. Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, 'Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.' So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, 'He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.' But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, 'Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.' Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.'” Luke 19:1-2
Zaccheus was so eager to see who Jesus was that he climbed a tree just to get a glimpse of Him. Jesus knew exactly where Zaccheus was and invited him to come down out of the tree so he could dine at his house. Zaccheus responded immediately and welcomed Jesus gladly. Zaccheus then repented of his sins and surrendered to Christ Jesus.
Friend, if you don’t know Jesus, seek after Him with your whole heart. He already knows you and everything about you. You don’t have to get yourself right before surrendering to Him. Jesus has come to save the lost! Accept His invitation and repent of your sins, and Jesus will say, “Salvation has come to you!” Rejoice and be glad! Your act of surrender has given you eternal life with Christ Jesus!
As believers, every morning God promises us new mercies to meet whatever we face that day. He has already gone before you and is with you, He will never leave you or forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:8). If we carry that knowledge into every new day, the choice of who we will surrender to will be an easy one. We can face the day without worry or overwhelm.
Sadly, I wish I could say this was me every morning, but it is not. In fact, today, I have been up since 4 a.m. with my worries. Despite my best efforts to cast my burdens upon the Lord and tell myself, “This is not my load to carry,” I kept picking it back up. Not only that, but when I drifted back to sleep (very lightly and troubled, I might add) I was dreaming about the very thing I was worried about! I was literally making the choice to surrender to the enemy in my sleep!
I’m not saying it is easy to surrender to the Lord in every aspect of our lives because it’s not. But we have a God who understands our weaknesses…
"Jesus understands every weakness of ours, because He was tempted in every way that we are. But He did not sin! So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved grace, and we will find help." Hebrews 4:15-16
When we come to our merciful God in our struggle to surrender, He will help us.
Surrender is a sacrifice. Jesus modeled for us the ultimate surrender when He submitted to being crucified for our sins. In gratefulness and love, the very least we can do is choose Him daily and surrender to the will of the Father, knowing that He loves us with an everlasting love. With every act of surrender to Him, we experience a closer intimacy with Jesus. Our relationship with Him grows and flourishes.
May the words of I Surrender All, a beautiful hymn written by Judson W van de Venter, become your life’s song:
"All to Jesus I surrender
All to Him I freely give
I will ever love and trust Him
In His presence daily live
All to Jesus I surrender
Humbly at His feet I bow
Worldly pleasures all forsaken
Take me, Jesus, take me now
I surrender all
I surrender all
All to Thee my blessed Savior
I surrender all
All to Jesus I surrender
Make me Savior wholly thine
May Thy Holy Spirit fill me
May I know Thy power divine
I surrender all
I surrender all
All to Thee my blessed Savior"
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/Boonyachoat
is a blogger, author, women's ministry leader, pastor's wife, mom, and grandmother who is passionate about the Word of God. Her blog Growing Together in Grace and Knowledge and her books Choosing to Trust God: Breaking the Habit of Worry, A 30-Day Devotional and Choosing to Trust God Companion Journal reveal her heart for providing Biblical insights to encourage women to grow in and through their struggles while equipping them to overcome. Karen and her husband live in Rhode Island and enjoy walks in the woods, owling, and spending time with their grandchildren.