Day 12: The Freedom Of Surrender
- Joni
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
TO SURRENDER!
It is so hard to do.
Yet it is FREE to do.
And no one can do it for you.
So you put it off and wait for the
PERFECT TIME.
But the PERFECT TIME never seems to come.
Because maybe the PERFECT TIME is actually RIGHT NOW,
TO SURRENDER!
What if the caterpillar refused the cocoon?
Where would the butterfly be?
What if JESUS hadn't willingly walked from the
CRADLE to the CROSS?
Where would the RESURRECTION be?
Oh,
THE FREEDOM OF SURRENDER.
And maybe this is where
"IT'S NOT ABOUT ME"
becomes very real.
Because SURRENDER means I stop saying,
MY WAY.
MY timing.
MY plans.
MY answers.
MY control.
And begin saying,
YOUR WAY, LORD.
JESUS showed us what SURRENDER looks like in Gethsemane:
“ABBA! FATHER! All things are possible for YOU; remove this cup from ME;
yet not what I will, but what YOU will” (Matthew 26:39).
There it is.
NOT MY WILL. BUT YOUR WILL.
Maybe those are some of the hardest words we will ever pray.
I don't want to, LORD,
but because YOU are asking me,
I WILL.
And WILL YOU help me get there?
Because SURRENDER doesn't mean you aren't struggling.
JESUS struggled in Gethsemane.
SURRENDER means that in the middle of the struggle,
you still choose
THE WILL OF THE FATHER!
And GOD showed us the magnitude of HIS love when,
at exactly the right time,
HE sent HIS SON:
"But when the right time came, GOD sent HIS SON..." (Galatians 4:4).
And JESUS willingly gave HIMSELF.
So when is the PERFECT TIME for you and me
TO SURRENDER?
NOW.
When you understand, and when you don't.
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding"(Proverbs 3:5).
SURRENDER!
When anxiety tells you to take control, and instead~
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to GOD" (Philippians 4:6).
SURRENDER!
When circumstances don't make sense,
"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is GOD'S will for you in CHRIST JESUS" (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18).And then, what do you?
KEEP SURRENDERING.
Because SURRENDER isn't always a one-time decision.
Sometimes I SURRENDER something to GOD and five minutes later
I take it right back.
Hmm.
There is ME again.
Trying to control what I already placed into GOD'S hands.
"IT'S NOT ABOUT ME",
for SURRENDER says,
"GOD, YOU are GOD, and I am not."
And surprisingly, that isn't defeat.
That is FREEDOM.
Because whenI finally release what I was never meant to control,
my hands are open to receive
what GOD has for me.
Aren't you glad the caterpillar SURRENDERED to the process?
Because on the other side was something completely NEW~
"Therefore, if anyone is in CHRIST, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Is there something that you are still holding onto?
What do you need to SURRENDER but keep waiting or the perfect time to release?
Maybe the PERFECT TIME isn't tomorrow,
because the PERFECT TIME is RIGHT NOW.
Open your hands.
RELEASE your plans.
RELEASE your timing.
RELEASE your expectations.
RELEASE your need to understand.
And place it all into the hands of the ONE
who already knows what comes next.
"...but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, t
hey will walk and not be faint" (Isaiah 40:31).
Oh, the FREEDOM OF SURRENDER.
Because SURRENDER isn't giving up.
It is GIVING OVER.
GIVING OVER my WILL for HIS WILL.
My way for HIS WAY.
My control for HIS CARE.
Less of ME. More of HIM.
Because...
"IT'S NOT ABOUT ME".
It's about JESUS.
So why wait for the PERFECT TIME?
The time is NOW.
Therefore...
"I, _____________, (put your name),
SURRENDER ALL"*
TO JESUS.
*(Listen to the song below)
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