Sweet Surrender
Sweet surrender… That’s how I’d describe my current season. Only we rarely ever consider surrender to be sweet, do we? After all, surrender does require the sacrifice of giving up something. However, depending on who we surrender to, there is a greater reward in exchange for what we are giving up. Of course the Who that I am referring to is God. The thing which I’ve surrendered, simply put: my expectations. My expectations of life, laid down right at the feet of Jesus. The exchange? Jesus Himself.
In our humanness, it can be so easy to get caught up in ourselves; trying to control the outcome and course of our lives.. But as believers, we don’t have to. Self-sufficiency is not a thing in the Kingdom of God because our help comes from Him. I just so happen to be God’s forgetful child, so our loving Father recently reminded me of this truth. Maybe it was the end of the year anxiety, fear of the unknown or self-consciousness.. Whatever it was, it influenced me to focus on outcome rather than enjoying the journey with the One Who already knows it. But I am so glad the Good Shepherd has a way of redirecting His sheep. He led me with His word found in Psalm 139:5 (the passion translation), which reads:
“You’ve gone into my future to prepare the way,
and in kindness you follow behind me
to spare me from the harm of my past.
You have laid your hand on me!”
Though the entire chapter of Psalm 139 is a beautiful description of God’s thoughts towards us, verse five drew me in. Because for a moment, I acknowledged God as God but I forgot Him to be God with me. As a woman who loves staying in the presence of God, I wondered why I was beginning to feel a distance from Him. Turns out, I had briefly been distracted by my own expectations, making it my focus.. Essentially my idol. Cringe… Not that there is anything wrong with having goals or desires, but when they or anything becomes a priority above God; it is an idol.
Thank God for His reminder in Psalm 139:5, that our future was already prepared. At times, we wonder, “What’s next? What’s the outcome? What’s my purpose?” so on and so forth. These genuine questions can distract us from seeking God if we don’t leave them in His hands to provide the answers. Thankfully, His word answers our deepest wonders. So if you’re in a place where you are uncertain about anything or everything; I’m here to tell you, your answer is in Christ! As is the outcome, the timing and the process. He reassures us that He has “prepared the way.” It’s done. Our purpose is to walk in it, with God. He even goes on to tell us that in His kindness, He follows behind us to spare us from the harm caused by our past. So He has gone before us and is also behind us too? This makes us hemmed in between Him, which is the safest place to be. Especially once we actually recognize it!
I love how this verse acknowledges that while yes, we’ve had some failures, fears and pain in the past; God spares us from the harm of it. It just wows me that our God knows we tend to allow ourselves to be paralyzed by the past and uses verse five as a way to reassure us of both our prepared future and protection from our pained past. Lastly, ‘His hand is on us” but I believe He wants us to grab hold of it; a sign of both trust and intimacy. And in grabbing onto His hand of grace, we release all the concerns, burdens and worries that we once held.. A sweet surrender of exchange.
Honestly, when trying to control things on our own, we experience the pressure from burdens that weren’t ours in the first place. Anytime I get even a little out of alignment with God, He allows me to feel that pressure. Maybe because I constantly ask Him to show me where I may be operating apart from Him. Of course we don’t typically enjoy the crushing that is necessary for our growth. But I can attest that it moves us closer to God. It is the kind of pressure that drives you to seek the face and heart of the only One capable of getting you through any obstacle you’ve tried on your own. In the midst of seeking God, you begin to become content in God, alone. The pressure to attain, ceases because His presence is better. The anxiousness fades because trust in Him increases. We get to this pressure point when we realize the main source is actually the Creator of our future, the Savior from our past, and the Prince of Peace for our present -Jesus.
It’s a realization that causes you to grieve the fact that you even had the nerve to overlook the Lord’s love, faithfulness, and attentiveness towards you. But after that realization, comes a beautiful posture of surrender to the Lover of Our Souls. As we surrender to Him and choose to cling to Him; an amazing relationship flourishes between God and ourselves. And expectations becomes something we don’t mind surrendering to God in exchange for His will, His timing, His excellent plan and simply Him!
If like a sheep, you’ve wandered towards a distraction, away from the Good Shepherd; don’t worry! Neglect that which fights for your attention to God, wander back home and fix your gaze back on Him. Let Him take complete care of you, lead you into what’s to come and protect you from what threatens you. Lately, every morning I have made it a habit to verbally call these things out and place them at His feet, in exchange for fullness of Him! I encourage you to try it this week as well! At the start of each morning, identify every care, worry, question or burden on your heart and [verbally] lay it at His feet, one by one. This journey is a forever process, but take it day by day, little by little, accepting the Lord’s grace and guidance. And trust that like a GPS, He will reroute us where we have missed our mark. Leading us right back to Him, where there is solace and sweetness found in surrender!
Let’s Pray:
Lord God, we thank You for Your beautiful thoughts towards us found in Psalm 139! Thank You that when we get off course, You lead us right back to You. Only You can truly satisfy the longings of our heart and though we haven’t always placed You first, we ask for Your forgiveness. Show us what we have allowed ourselves to be consumed with and help us to exchange those things for You. We place our own plans at Your feet now. Thank You that because You have gone before us and behind us, we don’t have to worry about tomorrow nor be tormented by the past. Destroy the enemy’s best work to make us think otherwise. Keep Your righteous right hand on us O God and let us never depart from Your love.
In Jesus’s name, amen.
