About Surrendering +

He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.
2nd Corinthians 5:15 NLT

Without exaggeration, I have sung this song at least several hundred times in my life; I Surrender All. I sang it passionately and with what I thought was my whole heart... but today, I know that is not true.

I believe God gave me a fighting spirit. My parents helped the idea along. My first name comes from the Greek language and means "strong, brave" - my middle name means "strong warrior" - and yet, I'm female. However, I feel as though the spirit of "Remember the Alamo!" emanates from my bones.

I could regale you with many tales of conflict, but I won't. Our purpose is to glorify God, not to be an embarrassment to Him by bragging on our before stories. 

Today, I cannot get away from the idea of surrendering. Today, I realized just exactly how foreign it is to my nature. And yet, that is what we are called to do - surrender to the Lordship of Christ and live our lives accordingly. 

Think about this for a moment - in a today sort of moment.  What does it mean to surrender? Well, the good people at Merriam-Webster define it as this:

a :  to yield to the power, control, or possession of another upon compulsion or demand <surrendered the fort>

b :  to give up completely or agree to forgo especially in favor of another

     a :  to give (oneself) up into the power of another especially as a prisoner

b :  to give (oneself) over to something (as an influence)

None of it sounds like something I want to do in and of myself, but God IS still God. The Truth is - He is the only God and He rules by HIS rules, not mine. He didn't ask me what I thought, He invited me to follow Him. Will I? Will you?

Prayer:

Father,
         According to Your Word, give me the knowledge to wrap my head and heart around surrendering and the wisdom to know how to walk with You in it. My heart is to surrender to You, O God, and walk in YOUR ways. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen