Can’t you just hear the song? Can’t you hear the heart and passion? “All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give, I will ever love and trust Him, in His is presence daily live. I surrender all.” Listening to several versions as I write and my heart cries out that I really do want to surrender all!
Why am I so stubborn and weak? God took me to Matthew 16 this morning and I have felt His call and know what I must do. I must surrender all. ALL. Yes, even those things I know I have been holding onto. Matthew 16 makes it clear as to why I probably haven’t surrendered all. Do you have a thing, or several things that you just know you haven’t surrendered? If you do you will relate to how God works on our hearts.
Is it a lack of trust? Jesus challenged the disciples in Matthew 16:9 by asking them:“Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? (NKJ) Do I not remember what He has already done? Do I not believe He will provide in all things.
Jesus asks us all a great question in Matthew 16:15: “But who do you say that I am?” Who do we say that He is? Do my actions match my verbal reply? I know Peter’s reply was “”You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” I believe that, don’t you? I can say that out loud now: Jesus, I believe You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Can you say that out loud? Can we walk the talk?
Don’t I remember what He has done? The great news is in 16:17 reminds us that God himself will reveal who Jesus is to us. Then he get’s to the core of surrender in Matthew 16:24: Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. (NKJ) To surrender all we must really desire it , really want it and deny ourselves. Wow, surrender seems like a word I would like to do. Deny on the other hand conveys the truth in surrender. Denying ourselves and full surrender are not easy. That is in our own strength. But don’t we remember how God has made us strong in other areas as well? We all have our own crosses to bear.
Jesus made this very personal for each of us. This is not “the cross” or “a cross” this is each person’s cross. Mine may be different than yours but we all have things we have to carry on our way to total surrender. He does not say just surrender it and poof you are good. No, Jesus says deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me. So I am taking these things with me LORD and I will rely on you to help me carry these things. In my own strength I will falter but In Your strength I will continue to follow you, deny and surrender myself.
Just as the disciples would one day crave bread again, we too will crave those things we much deny. May we remember what He has done for us and just keep denying and keep carrying that cross and following Him.Yes, total surrender is an ongoing walk that we must desire, we must want with every fiber within us. In this process we are promised that we will find life. I know I have already experienced a life so much better than I had before denying myself of other things. I will hold onto His promise in 16: 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. (NKJ) LORD, I surrender all and look forward to living the life You intended and I will look back to remember what you have already done to maintain my faith. I thank you and praise you for the life You have already blessed me with. I know in You is the perfect life and the way. I am ready to surrender all, are you?
Tom Raines
Christian Affirmations 4 Life
You had to go and ruin my day with this one! Thanks a bunch “friend.” 🙂 On a more serious side: this is one of, if not the hardest thing to do. Have a great day Tom!
My pleasure, ha! Obviously He is working on me and I just need to give up the fight and seek His strength. God help me to deny myself!! You have a great day as well!
Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Sometimes I don’t know whether to say, “Thank You God” or “Dang, really?” There is nothing I needed to hear more today than this word. And since it was directly from God through you – I can’t blame the source for their viewpoint. I can’t justify. I can’t explain away. I just have to WONDER at the goodness of God – that He will reach out to me in a way that I can’t ignore. Once Again. It is his kindness – his overwhelming mercy that doesn’t quit just because of my foolishness. And it is in the same area – exact same area that He has used this blog for before. He’s been asking me….”How did that work for you before, Debi?” It didn’t. But I so want to hang onto the forbidden fruit…. (did God say? is that really the Holy Spirit making me feel this unease?) so want to justify “not halting” until I know whether the lack of peace is from God or from another issue. That is what I have needed to do. HALT – until I know for sure – not continue down this path. What difference would it have made if Eve has said to Satan, “Wait a minute…let me think about this for a while and get some good counsel.” Fearing that it may not be God I have tried to religiously justify the disobedience like Saul justified the sacrifices he made in disobedience to God. I justify it as I am helpng the person – but I am not helping them if I am not supposed to be in relationship with them – no matter what lies the enemy tells me. Stubborn and Weak. Good words. Perfect words. Foolish and Self-Centered would work for me too. Today I choose to Surrender. I am mindful of the verse…”Today, if you hear Him – do not harden your hearts like the Israelites.” Pray for me. Pray I won’t harden my heart in order to get my own self-destructive way. Pray I will fully surrender ALL.
Debi, thank you for sharing your heart! Your heartfelt honesty has touched me and helped me as well! I most certainly will pray for you and ask that you pray for me in return. We do battle ourselves as well as the evil one with these temptations. God we need You to help us. I praise You Lord and thank You for my sister Debi and thank you for her loving heart. Hear our cries O LORD.
In reality, we try to control everything – we control nothing. All to thee my precious Saviour, I surrender all 🙂
Amen, sis!!
Mark 9:24–
Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief.”
Trusting God…surrendering all..giving it all to Him…I believe LORD, and I want to be that kind of son. Now help my disbelief, indeed. This is our reality right now. But it doesn’t have to be.
Good stuff, Tom.
Thank you Donald. Help us Lord. Please accept our sacrifice as we present all of ourselves to you. We need you now and place our faith in Your power and Your might. Abba, thank you for taking all of us and helping us!