Total surrender to God means freedom and usefulness. Too many Christians fear completely surrendering their life over to God and trusting Him with it. They often think, “what if God wants me to [fill in the blank]. And so they are afraid to surrender their all. Yes, He may lead you down a difficult road, but don’t you realize it is for your best? He sees your beginning and end and is sovereign over all. So, why would you trust anyone or anything else?
So, why is it so important to totally surrender to live a life of freedom and to be useful to God? Why can’t you surrender all, except a couple of things you want to hold onto? That’s because there is no middle ground with the Lord. He spits the lukewarm out of His mouth. If you want to go in with God, you have to go all in. You can’t hold anything back. Don’t try and just sacrifice your left toe into the waters, but dive in head first. Offer your entire body to God as a living sacrifice for Him to do as He pleases with you.
When you seriously commit to surrender to the Lord, the Lord often takes you into the deep waters of affliction. There you are painfully stripped of your self reliance and crutches and you are forced to acknowledge you are helpless and you finally surrender. Then you will find yourself sitting in pitch darkness struggling for air with nothing but Jesus. It’s just you and Him. And this is where you must answer this question: is Jesus alone really enough for me? In the dark waters of hopelessness, that is where Jesus extends His hands to you. You grab a hold of His hands by choosing to trust in His promises as written in the Bible. And it is by your faith in His Word alone you are lifted up out of the waters and brought onto dry land.
Through this time of refinement, you have learned to deny yourself, carry your cross, and follow Him. You have learned to find freedom through surrender. And now you have been made usable by the Lord by being emptied of yourself, so that He may live His life in and through you.
You have one life to live. Use it well.
Living Hope Ministry 