Surrender

There’s been so many times in my life when I have brought my requests to God and it looks something like this: "God I need your help with ________ and if you do ______ things will be okay; Please make that happen." In my mind I know what needs to be done and I just needs God’s help to make it happen. When I do this, I am not surrendered. I’ve decided what needs to be done. Whether it’s about a relationship, task, financial issue, parenting, job, or something else, I’ve already come up with the perfect solution. After all, I do have pretty good ideas, don’t I?

Fifteen years ago our family went through a significant trial. I remember being at Bible Study and the Holy Spirit spoke to me and told me my husband was going to lose his job, but that it was going to be okay. We knew it was a possibility he could lose his job since they were having layoffs, but up to that point we thought the probability was low. Sure enough, within a couple days he was informed that he would be losing his job in a couple months. He began looking for work, but since they laid off almost 500 people, it was hard for him to find work in his field.

We were holding onto the promise that it was going to be okay for many months as he ended up with just a little bit of contract work every month. We were okay. We were able to keep food on the table and pay all of our bills, but we didn’t know how much longer we could keep this up. We were surrendered and having to live every moment trusting the Lord.

Then a job opportunity came up. It was the perfect job, not too far away. He had all the credentials, so we prayed for God to give him this particular job. We were so sure this was the one he would get. However, the process was slow and we were running out of money. Another opportunity came up out of state and he had no choice but to take that job.

After looking for housing in the new state, the Lord did not give me peace about moving our family there, so we all stayed back in Michigan temporarily while my husband moved to New Jersey. While I was surrendered to the Lord in this, it was difficult. We made several trips back and forth that 12 hour drive, and kept this up for 8 months. Finally, we were seeking out direction from the Lord again. This was not working anymore. Reluctantly, we began looking for housing in New Jersey again. I remember spending much time in prayer crying out to the Lord to fix this for us. I was able to give Him some ideas as there were different job opportunities came along, and prayed for one of those to work out. However none of them did.

God in the miraculous ways He does things opened the door to that prayer I prayed almost a year prior, and my husband got a job offer from that company in Michigan he applied to. While He answered the prayer to get that particular job, it was not at all in my timing, but His.

It is only in surrender that you are free.

I learned so much about surrender and trusting God throughout that season in our lives. We were completely dependent on Him, and He provided. More than that, He taught us that being in that place where you need to surrender everything and trust in Him alone is freedom.

“Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil! Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life! Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best. Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over. But don’t, dear friend, resent God’s discipline; don’t sulk under his loving correction. It’s the child he loves that God corrects; a father’s delight is behind all this.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬-‭12‬ ‭MSG‬‬

I love this passage from Proverbs in the Message version. It tells me to not assume that I know it all, and urges me to trust God without trying to figure everything out. When my mind races with thoughts and ideas of trying to figure things out, that is my cue to surrender those voices to the Lord and take time to listen for God’s voice. His voice calms, brings peace into my world, and keeps me on track.

This past week I needed to be reminded of these truths as things in my world were very chaotic. I was trying to figure it out, do all the things, and yet be surrendered to the Lord. That was no easy task. Finally, as I surrendered things quieted down and the Holy Spirit brought peace back into my life.

The Lord delights in you and He will keep you on track when you surrender to Him. In the quiet as you listen to Him, He will show you areas of your life that need to be surrendered to the Father. Then, He will guide your ways to Him. Take some time today to enjoy the peace of His presence.