I believe that what God want’s us to surrender to Him is our selfish, sinful will. Sin creates a distance between God and us. God has a plan for our life, which is much better than our own. The Bible tells us, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jer 29:11). God desires the best for us, so when we turn away from sin and surrender to His will, we allow Him to bless us. Jesus Christ is the perfect model of surrender that we are to follow. Davis notes, “A spiritually mature person has a developed sense of total reliance on Christ, having learned to rely on Christ alone for all provision.”[1] Giving up control is a challenge for many.

Pride makes it difficult to surrender to God, or to anyone for that matter. Our society tells us we need to be in control; otherwise, we are weak and inferior. Humility toward God requires relinquishing control. Mahaney notes that “Humility gets God’s attention.”[2] When we humble ourselves before the Lord, we draw his gaze to our lives. Isaiah tells us, “But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word” (Is 66:2). If we desire for God to bless our lives, we must put off ourselves and follow the teaching of Jesus.

Up to this point, we have been discussing common questions among Christians. When we take time to get to know and interact with our fellow believers, they open up about more personal questions. Sometimes helpful answers are found in God’s Word, as we have seen. Other times the answers come through brothers and sisters in Christ and their experiences, either in conversation or published works. Recently I have had the opportunity to discuss these things with some people connected to my journey. Next week will begin to look at some of their personal questions and the answers where they found comfort and guidance.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Pastor Michael

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[1] Andrew M. Davis, An Infinite Journey: Growing toward Christlikeness (Greenville, SC: Ambassador International, 2014), 176.

[2] C. J. Mahaney, Humility: True Greatness (Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 2005), 19.