by KArBill

Created on: September 09, 2009   Last Updated: September 11, 2009

A word that is instinctively abhorrent to most people is "surrender." It signifies defeat, quitting, submittal for those of the feminist persuasion. Of course we understand that those terms are taken out of context. Surrender is submitting to God. It is an act of great love, andit is a fight against our natural tendency to surrender to sin and try to remainindependent of God, to exercise our free-will to suit our own purposes.

These tendencies resist surrender. To surrender is to give up completely your whole being, your will and your life to the Lord, unconditionally, fully and completely. To surrender is to acknowledge you are weak. It is a rejection of pride and conceit. Contrary to popular belief, it takes courage to willingly surrender oneself, to completely relinquish all assumed control over your life and give it all to the Lord. In submission, your weakness becomes your strength through God.

2 Corinthians 12:9, And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness." (KJV)

To surrender ourselves is to free ourselves of the contradictories of self and the unstable and unreliable demands and influences of society. We rely solely on God and His wisdom to rule our lives. Surrender is to understand we belong to Him; we owe are lives to Him; our salvation is because of Christ and the grace of God.

Often, stressful situations drive us to act immediately to ease the cause of anxiety. For example, you are stuck in a position where your vehicle needs major repair in order for you to get to work but the rent is also due that week.

The natural tendency is to try to find any way of resolving the issue on your own, to do what you can to get out of that mess. It is normal that you put your best and most intense efforts into resolving the issue, but you do it on your own.

"I can deal with this", "I can handle this" you say to yourself as you struggle with what to do. It is a self-serving attitude that often leads to more anxiety. This is where the power of surrender is applied. Surrender your will to the Lord, pray to Him, surrender it all to Him and submit to His will while you act on this problem. You will be under the influence of the Spirit to guide you in the right direction.

"Be anxious for nothing" (Matt 6:25-34) Our faith in God and surrendering all to Him should reduce our inclination to worry and be anxious. Excessive worry and anxiety is not holding faith in God, proving you are still looking to yourself to cover

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