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When you hear the word "surrender" what comes to mind? I heard God speak this word directly into my heart this week. I've spent a lot of time thinking about it, praying about it… trying to understand it and I'd like to share with you what I've discovered.

Upon first thought, I had this image of an army raising their white flag in surrender to the enemy. It was a sign of their giving up. This image didn't bring me much comfort – at first. I think it was due to the fact that I saw this as a battle and that the "good guys" were surrendering to the "bad guys."

But as I recalled a favorite song of mine a new picture began to take shape.

Initially, I saw "surrendering" as my battle against evil. In reality, the battle is truly between me and God – ultimately fighting for who is going to be in control.

Have you ever experienced the unsettling feeling of your life and everything in it, being out of your control? Whether it was due to an illness, losing a job, or relationship struggles – I believe we've all felt the pain of having our lives turned upside down in an out-of-control moment.

So in those moments, what do you do? I think most of us grasp at whatever we can to maintain some control over our lives. In many cases, this is a turn to what is familiar and comfortable. For some, this might mean a shopping spree, or perhaps a drinking or eating binge, or working out in excess, shutting down, staying at home, whatever it is that makes you feel like your in control of your life. For me, I've found that I change my hair style and perhaps my hair color. (My rationale is that it is still something I can control when everything else is out of control.)

I suppose the last thing on my mind in these moments is to surrender. I have more of "fight" mentality as opposed to a "giving up" mentality. Again, it's all in how you look at it.

Most of our days are filled with simple decisions about how we'll organize our day, spend our money, and relate to other people. It appears as though most of life's events seem manageable and controllable. So we conclude (albeit consciously or unconsciously) that since most of life is running smoothly — that we have little need for God's intervention in the everyday, routine events.

This is a dangerous, though subtle, deception.

We end up living like little gods, shaping and controlling our daily events. We believe we have the power to change our life, to change others, to change the world. We buy the lie that Adam and Eve bought.

Our struggle is failing to recognize that we have a fragile hold on life. The reality is our lives are submerged in a struggle to "grasp" and "hold onto control". Surrendering offers us an alternate way of life. It is a spiritual discipline and gift offered to us by God.

We CAN surrender to God's will even when things happen that we don't understand. He is God, and knows everything. We don't. Many people want to accept Jesus as their Savior, but they don't want to make Him the Lord of their life. It's one thing to believe that He exists, and to believe that He died on the cross for our sins, and yet another thing to put Him in charge and let Him be the boss.

Consider Abraham and Sarah's story in Genesis. Sarah lived with the pain of infertility for years. Aging rapidly, Abraham and Sarah feared they wouldn't be able to produce an heir, even though God had already promised them that they would parent a great nation.

Held up as a great couple of faith, Sarah and Abraham struggled (like the rest of us) to give themselves to God when it came to His divine promise. So they decided to come up with their own plan to "help" God fulfill His promise. Sarah gave her maidservant, Hagar, to Abraham. Hagar became pregnant and gave birth to Ishmael.

Hagar's child became a source of tension in Abraham's house. Envy and strife eventually pushed both Hagar and Ishmael out into the wilderness. Abraham and Sarah simply didn't surrender to God's timing. They took matters into their own hands and failed to trust God.

Abraham and Sarah's story is actually a mirror image of our current struggle to trust
God. Just like Abraham and Sarah, we each face the uneasiness of being out of control and having to trust God. And just like Abraham and Sarah, we tend to muddle things up when we try to help God speed things along.

Are you willing to "surrender" and let God not only let Him be your Savior, but also Lord of your life? If you do, I promise He will be true to His word. God has some awesome and exciting things that He wants us to do if we'll surrender to His will. After all,

"Word from Scotland" from Sandy Shaw

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