The Beauty of Surrender
Being so focused on doing things the right way keeps you stuck on one aspect of faith: The rules. When you’re thinking about rules, you’re concerned whether you’re doing things well enough. But if you’re always concerned about whether you’re doing things well enough, how can you receive from God? Sometimes it takes a moment of saying, “I’ve been doing the best I can with my limited human capacity. Now, I’m going to lie down and let You take over.” In such a moment, you might consider actually lying down in a surrendered position.
The beauty of surrendering is that it’s a receptive stance. The universal gesture for surrender is dropping your weapon and raising your hands into the air. Having no weapon and your hands in the air is a vulnerable position. The person you’ve surrendered to can now do whatever they want to you. There’s this prevailing opinion that surrendering is always a negative thing. I don’t think so. I think it’s more about choosing to surrender to the correct person or being.
If you surrender to a person who doesn’t have your interest in mind, they’ll likely take advantage of you with no regard for your interests. You’ll be worse off after the fact. If you surrender to evil spiritual beings, they’ll lead you on a path of harming and corrupting yourself and others. But if you surrender to a person who possesses more wisdom than you, they can lead you to the next step on your spiritual journey.
If you surrender to a Divine Spiritual Being, namely God, that being will have your best interest in mind. It would be wise to surrender to a being Who wants to, and can, heal your broken heart and bind up your wounds. It would be unwise to not surrender to such a being.
Remaining in a place of always trying to do things the right way is like never putting your weapon down. God is saying, “Here, let me hold you,” and you say, “No, I’ve got this. I’m going to church, reading my Bible, and serving others. It’s all handled. But thanks for the offer.” God responds, “The purpose of doing all of those things is to lead you to an experience of Me. Here I am. But you’ll have to put down your weapons and armor so I can access your heart and touch your wounds.”
You’ve been fighting the good fight for a long time. Maybe for such a long time that you can barely continue standing on the battlefield. You can’t clutch your weapon and keep your armor on and have your wounds tended to at the same time.
Write down the specifics of what your weapons and armor are.
What are the things you rely on to have a sense of “being on the right path”?
Are you willing to surrender these areas to God, the One who wants to heal your heart and bind your wounds, just for a moment? If you are, ask God when and where so that your safety is assured. This way, you can be at peace knowing it’s just you and Him.
At the time and place you and God agree on, name each of your weapons and set them down one by one. Then, assume a posture, both attitudinally and physically, that’s indicative of surrendering to the One who wants to heal your heart and bind your wounds. From here, He will take over. Let him.