The Power of Surrender

Here is an excerpt from a daily devotional on the commands of Christ:

Over the years, I have asked many young people if they love the Lord, and they assure me that they do. Then I ask them if they have fully surrendered their lives to Him, and they tell me, “No.” They are holding on to treasures, plans, goals, desires, or passions and are afraid to yield them to God.

Their love for the Lord was only in word, because when we truly love others, we will be eager to give them all we have, even to the extent of laying down our lives for them.

The evidence of imperfect love is fear, because “perfect love casts
out fear” (I John 4:18).

What is it then that we really fear? In many cases we fear losing control!

Have you ever wondered why the nation of Israel conquered a heathen nation by God’s power and then turned right around and worshiped those heathen gods? Why would they serve gods who were unable to deliver the people who trusted in them?

The answer is significant: We like to worship gods whom we can control. A conquered god meets this qualification. We tend to create gods who will allow us to do what we want to do. However, the things that our old nature desires bring disillusionment, boredom, and destruction.

As soon as we surrender our lives to God, He will begin working on specific areas and deal with them one by one. This is the point at which commitments would be in order. God wants us to
commit our friends, money, music, schedule, ambitions, reputation, marriage, and possessions to Him. Paul confidently stated, “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day” (II Timothy 1:12).

God asked me to give Him each of these areas of my life, and it was a struggle to let them go. Yet, as I did, I grew in faith. In time, He gave back to me what I had committed to Him, but in a way that I never expected. For example, I gave my money to Him, and He began to provide for needs in exact amounts in answer to prayer. When I gave my friends to Him they left, but then He taught me how to make disciples. However, what I failed to give to God I lost anyway, but with much sorrow. My appeal to you is to surrender each area of your life to God as an expression of perfect love.

Bill Gothard's www.dailysuccess.org