Surrender. Often times we use that word in relation to God. We "surrender" our will to Him or we "surrender" it all to Him. But do we really know what surrender is? The first definition of Surrender on my dictionary is, "cease resistance to an enemy or opponent and submit to their authority." Hmm... That's interesting to me given the traditional use of that word in the sense of our walk with the Lord. What I've realized through reading this is that often in our walk we see surrender as exactly what it's defined as, ceasing resistance to the enemy or our opponent, and the sad part is that because of our own shortcomings, we tend to blame the Lord, and in return, we "surrender," to His wishes and demands, as if at the end of it, His plan for us was not one that desires our ultimate benefit. My friends, this should not be so. Instead, we should search within ourselves, and ask ourselves, are we asking God to surrender? Are we trying to make Him bend to our will and make Him cease His plan for us in order for ourselves to push our agenda? Are we at times inadvertently living as enemies of God? Now friends, this is not to say that we all are doomed in our depravation and brokenness, and that we are not children of God, but this is merely a reminder to all of us, mostly myself, that God is for us. His mercy is new for us every morning. That we may not resist His love for us, but embrace it, and embrace His guidance, and correction in our lives. It says in Jeremiah 29:11 (one of the Bible's paramount verses). "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, " plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." What a great truth... This brings comfort to my heart in knowing that the Lord has a plan for my life, and it is of joy to me to know that even when I oppose myself to Him, His love breaks through my defenses and envelops me in His light... I am so thankful for His redeeming love. My friend if there is anything that you can get out of all my rambling, I hope you come away with three things, first, human efforts cannot produce heavenly wisdom, second, live in reverence, not fear, and third, "Cast all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you." (1st Peter 5:7 NIV) I love you all with the love of Christ and I pray that in your walk, you see His hand working His mercy in every move you make and every breath you take! Blessings!
-Carlos
