Surrender

"It's easy to be strong

I've done it for so long,

but this time, I have to remember.

This time to get what I need,

I have to surrender."

 

Surrender....to Him

Surrender.......to His will

Surrender...........to His plan!

 

Surrender.......give up; give over; cease and desist.

 

We live in such a performance-centered world. 

If you do this, you will get this. 

If you don't do this, you won't get that!

 

But, wait, you can't just expect to do and get, unless you do it.....perfectly and better than everyone else!

 

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!  Right??!!

 

BUT - God speaks upside down -

 

He says - cease from striving....

cease from constantly trying....

cease from all your dead works.....

 

and

 

trust Me!

 

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart.

In all your ways, acknowledge Him

and He will give you the desires of your heart."

Proverbs 3:5-7

 

"Come to me all you labor and are heavy laden

and I will give you rest."
Matthew11:28

 

Are you weary of trying, are you weary of always falling short?

Are you just plain weary?


January 1st came and probably most of us made the famous New Year's Resolutions and vowed that we were going to do and be better in this coming year.  Today is January 8th and I bet a lot of those resolutions have already been broken!!  Are you weary from trying already???

 

When you've lived your whole life, "pulling yourself up by the bootstraps", you learn how to be strong.  You learn how to "put on a good face".  You learn to just keep going, even when you're falling apart on the inside.  So being strong has become easy and surrendering has become almost impossible!!

 

When what you really need can only be given to you by God, you  have to learn to

surrender!

 

Surrender your ways to His ways!

Surrender your plans to His plans!

Surrender your thoughts to His thoughts!

Surrender your desires to His desires!

Surrender your will to His will!

 

Surrender your strivings to obtain His peace!

 

There is nothing you can do to win His love and His favor!  God doesn't love you because of who you are.  He loves you because of who He is!

I remember a time in my life when I was trying so hard to do something better, to be something better and I was failing over and over again.  Finally, one day, in sheer desparation, I threw my hands up and hollered (yes, I did holler!) at the Lord - "I can't do this, Lord!"  And very softly and quietly, I heard (I truly did!) this voice say to me - "I never asked you to!"

What freedom came with that one statement from the Lord!  We can't accomplish in the flesh what only the Holy Spirit can do in the Spirit when we only surrender to the Lord.

Lord, I give up!  I trust you! 
Please change my heart...
Please change my "want tos".......
Change my heart's desires to become the desires of your heart!

God works quietly, gently in our hearts.
Daily, as we continue to surrender our flesh and all its desires to Him,
He changes us!

Until one day, we realize something has changed inside of us, but we don't know when and we don't know how; all we know is it has!! 

All praise be to God!

Surrender........