White Flag

I was whistling I Surrender All throughout most of the weekend, and it occurred to me that I don’t surrender everything to Jesus. If I truly surrenderedĀ all, I would not have the level of stress that I do. If I gaveĀ the entirety of my life over to Jesus, I would have more room in my life to let Him work in me. If I actually forsook everyĀ worldly pleasure, My eyes would turn to God for fulfillment and pleasure.

I tweeted this out yesterday as I was coming to the realization that my life has not reflected the lyrics of that song:

My life, and probably yours if you’re completely honest, has looked more like these lyrics:

Some to Jesus I surrender;
reluctantly to him I give;
I’m not sure if I can trust him,
on my own is how I live.

I surrender some, I surrender some,
some to thee, my distant Savior,
I surrender some.

Some to Jesus I surrender;
proudly in the off’ring plate,
worldly pleasures on my way home;
take me to a special place.

Some to Jesus I surrender;
make me wealthy, now’s the time;
fill me with your every blessing;
so I can claim it all as mine.

Some to Jesus I surrender;
Lord, I give nothing to thee;
fill me with your every blessing;
it truly is all about me.

Some to Jesus I surrender;
I feel like I’m the one to blame.
O the fear of condemnation!
I’ll give some more to save my name!

To say that I or you have acted like every one of those verses at once is not what I am saying. But I’m sure that as you read through that little parody, you heard hints of your life a time or two. So how do we change? How do we go from self-centered, arrogant consumers to Christ-filled, humble children of God?

Start With One

Think of one thing that you hold close. Maybe it’s something that is hard for you to imagine being without. It could be money, your house or car, golf clubs, or even a relationship. Give it to God and let go.

If it is money, give it to the church.

If it is your house, maybe you will bring someone in need in for a period of time.

If it is your car, try taking the bus and reading your Bible with the gift of time provided by public transportation.

Try going to church Sunday morning instead of hitting the greens with business partners.

If you’ve tried everything to repair a broken relationship, maybe you need to trust that God will fix it. Relinquish control and let Him fix the problems.

Don’t Stop

Once you’ve let Jesus take control of a part of your life, it can be easy to relax and act like you’ve got everything under control. If you let Satan trick you into believing that little part of your life is all that you had to let go of, it won’t be long before you are back where you started. Don’t stop until you have given every part of your life over to God.

Don’t expect it to happen over night. Continue on and experience everything God has for you by giving Him everything you are. The more you surrender to Him, the more space He has to do a great work in you.