The Surrendered Life

If I had to boil down the Christian life, and how to truly walk in the purposes of God, to just one thing, for me it would be surrender.

The longer I’ve walked with the Lord, the more I’ve come to see that true momentum in the Christian life comes through this unfolding and lifelong process of surrender.

Right from our initial salvation, we yield to the Lordship of Christ when we recognize that we need a Savior, and that we cannot save ourselves.

We learn to surrender when we walk through the valley, as we cling to Him when nothing seems to make sense, or when we’ve failed and all we have is Christ.

Or on the mountain when we are soaring in success or cushioned in comfort, and our pride tempts us to think it’s because of our efforts. Then we either choose to bow the knee in surrender to Him or crash back down to the valley as the Lord teaches us it’s His glory, not ours.

The Problem with Self

We were born with a sinful nature, bent inward on itself, always looking out for its own desires. My brother, Clayton, often says that self was born in the garden. The moment sin entered, we became self-obsessed. Instead of living open and free before God, we became absorbed with ourselves, covering shame. Hiding. Trying to present our best version. Looking out for me.

That hasn’t changed.

And our culture doesn’t help. It teaches us to be focused on me, myself, and I. How do I succeed? How do I look better? How do I live my truth, keep my peace, build my future, make my life the best it can be? It’s a constant me, me, me.

For example, we are told that we must demand respect, and if we are not given it, we are justified in withdrawing, rejecting, or cutting others off. So we search for agreement from others, and can become so concerned with being understood, with getting others to see our perspective, that we become self-consumed. But the Kingdom of God does not operate that way. It teaches us to lay it all down and become God-consumed. To stop fighting for our wants and needs and place them into the hands of Almighty God.

“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:31–33)

When we surrender to Jesus and become partakers in His great salvation, we are crucified with Him. The old man is put to death, and we are raised into new life in Christ. It’s portrayed so beautifully in water baptism, buried with Him, raised again.

But even after this miraculous death and new birth, we often don’t live from the new man. The old man, though crucified, continually tries to rise from the dead and dictate to us, pulling us back into self. What is best for me? My life. My family. Even, sometimes, my walk with God.

And yet Paul writes, “I die daily.” (1 Cor 15:31)

I have found that the greatest freedom I have ever experienced has come through this process. Surrendering my will. My pride. My desires, both good and bad. All my preconceived ideas.

As I humble myself before the King and throw my crowns at His feet, I die so that I may live.

The Cost of Surrender

And yes, it can be painful. It’s humbling to lay down our perspective when we feel so strongly about something. It is difficult to release our plans when we are convinced they are best. It can feel like dying, because everything in us resists it. We are wired to hold on, to protect ourselves, and to make our voice heard.

There is a cost to surrender, I won’t deny it. But as we walk in it, we begin to see that the cost is so far below the gain.

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18)

The abundant life Jesus offers us in John 10:10, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly,” is not found in holding on to ourselves. The path to life is through death.

Surrender is hard. It is the narrow road, and few choose to walk it. But it is also the sweetest way to live. It is the only way to deep, abiding peace. It is rest. We learn to trust in and experience His goodness in the place of surrender.

Jesus said that whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for His sake will find it. (Matthew 16:25)

So, can we release control and trust Him?

This is not proposing inactivity. Our series has been about walking into the purposes of God, and there is a participation on our part. But when we cease from striving to make our lives worthwhile, and focus instead on simply following Jesus, we step into peace, rest, and freedom.

We learn to move with Him, to respond to Him, to walk in step with what He is doing.

This is Christ living in us.

We will only ever walk into all the Lord has for us if we choose the surrendered life.

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Thank you for journeying with us through this Walking with Purpose series.

If this series has encouraged you, continue walking with us.

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