The Gift of Surrender

My dad loves to tell the story of my innate, strong will power, even as an infant. Growing up, he would often share the time I was in the doctor’s office, and they needed to administer a shot. He said that I practically levitated off the table in fear because I knew something painful was about to happen. He could not figure out how I knew that the shot was coming, but I wanted nothing to do with it. We laugh now that it took two nurses, him and the Dr to keep me still. To help me in the process of surrender. What I thought my father and the Dr were doing to harm me was the very thing I needed to help me and protect me and those around me. I tell you this story to share that I’ve been strong-willed since birth. I get it, honestly.

Naturally, I like to be in control. Well, I thought I did… until I began to see how my desire for control was a desperate need for protection. Unhealed wounds will have us acting out in direct opposition to the will of God. He calls us to trade our worldly standard of protection for His standard. Noticing how this pattern was beginning to suffocate and ultimately choke out good things from my life and potentially from the lives of others caused me to seek God. It reminds me of what God said in His word where he promises never to leave us nor forsake us. He showed me the patterns within my own life where I would run, hide and even fight Him at times, all in the name of desiring this false sense of protection—rejecting the promises of God in my life without even noticing.

So I asked, why do I have such a hard time trusting others? Why is it difficult for me to rest in situations that I know for a fact is out of my control? Why, when He asks me to do a specific thing, I sooooo easily make an excuse about it not being the right time. God shared that He doesn’t ask us to put our ultimate control or trust in people or circumstances… But in Him. There is a divine order. In our covenant, He doesn’t lead us into what feels like the fire to hurt us but to refine us. When we surrender, it is a faith decision that says, God, and I don’t know how this will turn out. That is your job. I trust the outcome because you are faithful.

The natural desire to control my life stems from experiencing situations out of my control that caused pain or heartbreak. Does this sound familiar to you? And while there is wisdom in guarding our hearts towards things that cause us to stumble, we are also called to walk in faithful obedience, which can feel radical and vulnerable at times. As I was studying surrender, the story that kept coming up was the story out of Genesis, where God told Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac.

In Genesis 22:1-19, the word says that God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”

Can you imagine? You’ve waited and waited.. Annnd waited for God’s promise to come to pass, only to have the Lord to direct you to take your son. Your one and only son to be a burnt offering. Like huh…? I’m not sure what initial thoughts come to your mind. I mean, I’m not a mother yet, but I can not fathom what it must have been like for Abraham. I’m sure it wasn’t anything easy or comfortable about it. I'm sure that request from God was extremely painful.

The Bible doesn’t do a deep dive into Abraham's emotions or if he said anything back to God. The next few verses tell us that He gets up early the following day, which gives some evidence that Abraham doesn’t delay. He gets up, he prepares, and he goes. What gets me is that Isaac asked his father on the way, where is the lamb for the burnt offering & Abraham replies… “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” I believe that Abraham trusted in God, trusted the spirit of God enough because of his relationship and past experiences with God. In and through previous tests and trials. Even through his past mistakes involving mishaps and counterfeits, God provided a way. He was faithful to Abraham.

That test was much bigger than Abraham’s. Our test, whatever God is asking us to surrender, is so much bigger than us. Issac was watching. We can consider the next generation; Isaacs’s children. And their children’s children were watching. We’re watching from age to generation, the revealing of this story. The bloodline that made way for Jesus--God’s one and only son Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice.

What is it that God is asking you to sacrifice? What is the thing that you are withholding from God? What is the promise that you have been waiting for? What is the promise that has been fulfilled in your life that God is asking you to sacrifice? What is that thing that is competing for the throne of your heart, muffling what God has prepared just for you? What he has for you comes complete with direction and instruction.

That thing may look like a job or career opportunity, a friendship, a spouse, a child, a timeline for a specific something to take place. Looking into this more in-depth, it may look like a surrender of pride, fear, control, a habit that could be harming you. Surrender it before God. Give that thing or those things to Him. He will walk through it with you. It is a daily call.

The chapter ends with the angel of the Lord calling out, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. Do not lay a hand on the boy…” “Now that I know that you fear God because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

The word says that Abraham looked up and found a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it. The story says that God would make his descendants as great as the stars because of Abraham’s obedience. It says that through his offspring and his willingness to obey, the blessing would fall on the entire nation. What an honor.

It sort of goes without saying, but I want to point out again that what God asked Abraham to do was hard, unimaginable, tragic, unthinkable, and bizarre even. Kind of like the relationship between that needle and me as an infant. But look at the exchange that took place because of Abraham’s divine “yes” to God….We are the descendants of Abraham. We reap the blessings of Abraham’s obedience. We reap the gift of Jesus through His obedience.

While on earth, Jesus had to make choices, along with decision after decision to walk out a sinless life and die a painful death on a cross for the sins of the world. But He rose from the dead; He has the keys to death, hell, and the grave, and therefore, we have hope in Him. The one who began a good work will be faithful to complete it, friend. In the name of Jesus.

Obedience and surrender can be uncomfortable, and sometimes it does not make sense, trust that. God will sustain us and provide a peace that surpasses our understanding. He gives peace that goes beyond any circumstance that we face. Remember that our yes to surrender has the power to transform our lives and the lives of others in such a beautiful way. The willingness to surrender can change nations.

Genesis 22:1-19

Deuteronomy 31:6

Let's live this thing!

With love,

Chalssie