No Thanks, I’ll Just Walk

Preoccupied and Prayerless Series order #14

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The words submit and surrender tend to be used interchangeably, even in the Christian arena. You can find them in a list of synonyms for one another in any thesaurus, but the difference between these two words is anything but insignificant when used in the context of our relationship with Jesus Christ.

I have found during my time in ministry that there are some who attend church regularly, believe in the core concepts of Christianity and try to love Jesus in return, yet still feel disconnected or distant from God. After sitting in church services for months and sometimes even years, a crisis will inevitably come or a major life event will rock their world and many of them will simply give up and leave the church feeling dejected and tired of doing all they've been told they need to do to be a "good Christian," but feeling no closer to Christ than when they first began.

Sure, it's possible that there could be unconfessed sin in their lives or they aren't in God's Word and growing in their relationship with the Lord — but there's also the possibility that they have been trying to submit their life to God’s commands instead of surrendering their heart to their Savior.

You see, when we submit to the authority of another or permit ourself to be subject to something or someone, we retain some measure of control in that equation. We can choose at any time not to submit and even what we will submit.

Surrender is complete. It entails making a volitional choice to give up all control and give ourself up into the power and authority of another. When we surrender our life to Jesus Christ, we don’t simply submit to His authority in our life, we give ourselves up into His authority over our life. We literally function in Him as a new creation in Christ.

This is exactly what Paul means when he introduces himself as a bond servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, and set apart to the gospel of God in Romans 1:1. A bond servant enters into the relationship with his/her master voluntarily with the understanding that it’s a lifetime commitment, with no provision for release. It's a volitional choice to give up full control - to give up one's independence and even former identity.

It is possible to place our faith in Jesus Christ, truly love Him, go to church every Sunday and even be the one ministering to others, yet not be living a life fully surrendered to Him. We can become content to limp along in our own power, submitting the areas of our life to Him that we're comfortable giving to Him. The sad thing about this scenario is that we will never be able to access all that God has stored up for us if we come to Him on our own terms, determined to retain some measure of control.

Hindered.

We not only hinder ourselves, we hinder what God desires to do in and through us.

Being a Christ follower and trying to live in your own human power is like knowing you're going on a really long journey, very far away — and no matter how much you hate to travel or dislike change, staying where you are simply isn't an option. You talk with your travel agent about your destination and you're given two options...

1) You can ride along with a tour bus full of sight seeing travelers. They've got money to do what they want to do and they all speak different languages. You will be stopping to sight see several times a day, perhaps a hundred miles or so off course. They can't tell you how long the trip will be, whether or not you'll be in danger at any point or when you will arrive at your destination, but you are free to change buses as many times as you’d like. This flexibility makes this the preferred choice by many.

OR

2) You can take a plane that will be full of people who are on their way to the same destination as you. Many of them are even trained navigators and their pilot is the pilot of all pilots. He has made it clear that the journey may be bumpy, but He has made provisions for every need you will have along the way. He has gotten people to their final destinations with 100% success, even in the midst of the fiercest storm. The only thing that's required is that you leave everything behind and give the pilot full control, trusting only Him for everything during the journey ahead — but He has promised (in writing) you will have everything you need and quite a bit more when you get to your destination. He has also promised that He will be with you every step of the way and you will never be alone.

You think about it, look at your travel agent and say, “You know what? I've got plenty of time and a decent pair of tennis shoes… I think I'll just grab a map and try walking there by myself.”

Seems ridiculous, but that's the choice many of us make every day.

Each one of us must decide whether to continue to walk alone, in our own power, trying to submit certain areas of our life when it seems easy - or surrender it ALL to Him and live in the authority and power of Jesus Christ.

It is only through our total surrender that we will finally find what our soul is longing for - life in Christ, unhindered.

Lord, I confess that I have been traveling alone and in my own power. I'm exhausted and tired of wandering, hoping I will figure out where I need to be. I know that I need you and I surrender my life to you right now. Forgive me for living for this world and help me to live each day fully surrendered to You. Thank you for your forgiveness and grace. Thank you for loving me enough to die for me and for taking all of my sin to the cross with you, so that I don't have to carry it any longer. I give you my past, present and future. I surrender it all to you. In Jesus name, Amen.

I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20