Our entire lives we have sung this hymn:
I surrender all
I surrender all
All to Thee my blessed Savior
I surrender all
It probably closed out 3/4s of the sermons you've ever heard. If you've been to many revival meetings, it was sung at least one night. Maybe more. Many of you have probably accepted Jesus on the very day this hymn was sung.
All my life, I just sang it. Yes, I gave my heart and life to Jesus a long time ago. But did I surrender all? Did I really, honestly mean it when I said, "I surrender?"
"Surrender" can be defined many ways. Most of them have to do with one military force giving up to a victorious army. However, when you look up the synonyms of this word, some of them are pretty convicting:
capitulate, give in, give (oneself) up, yield, concede, submit, climb down, give way, defer, acquiesce, back down, cave in, relent, succumb, quit, crumble, be overcome, be overwhelmed, lay down one's arms, raise/show the white flag, throw in the towel/sponge
Not many of those are happy, pretty words. They are hard words. There is so much there I could unpack when it comes to spiritual matters, but there is one synonym that really gets me:
Climb Down.
You know what that says to me? "Climb down off the throne, Rebecca, because YOU ARE NOT GOD." For far too long, even though I sang the words, "I Surrender All," I have not meant them. I totally meant it when I gave my heart to Jesus. But I did not give Him all. Why? Because that means I would have to give up control. In all of my pride and haughtiness, I thought I could do a better job at running my life than the Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth could. What a ridiculous thought. What an exhausting way to live.
This year, the Lord gave me the words "Obedience and Surrender" as my words of the year. I had no idea why. I still have no idea what the "obedience" means. But I'm starting to get the "surrender." A few weeks ago, I saw my best friend Diana. She passed off a gift to me that had been given to her several years ago. It was this bracelet that says "Surrender." I have worn it every day since.
Then on my birthday, Adrienne gave me this:
Do you sense a theme there? I certainly do.
In the past few weeks, I've had to learn to submit myself to God alone and let Him just do His thing. I have no idea what is coming or what He has planned. Therefore, He needs to control everything. Not me. My narrow view cannot see the road ahead. No matter how many lists I make, no matter how many scenarios I have run in my head, His plan is the better plan. His end game is for my good and for His glory. I have to continually yield myself to Him and His will.
Have I been perfect in this? No. Just last weekend we had to give up some plans we had made to take care of Evan. I was angry. I'm not going to lie. But then I saw that band on my arm, and it reminded me to let Jesus figure all of this out. Worrying about it won't add a single hour to my life. (Matthew 6:27) It's His will over my own.
I'm climbing down off the throne of my life finally after all these years. It's a slow, daily process. Jesus doesn't want just part of me. He wants all. The totality of who I am. Every single part of my heart that I keep hidden from Him. Every worry. Every little need. Every moment of my day. I'm throwing in the towel and letting Jesus do whatever He wishes with that towel. For the first time in my life, I surrender all.
All to Jesus I surrender
All to Him I freely give
I will ever love and trust Him
In His presence daily live
All to Him I freely give
I will ever love and trust Him
In His presence daily live
I surrender all
I surrender all
All to Thee my blessed Savior
I surrender all
It probably closed out 3/4s of the sermons you've ever heard. If you've been to many revival meetings, it was sung at least one night. Maybe more. Many of you have probably accepted Jesus on the very day this hymn was sung.
All my life, I just sang it. Yes, I gave my heart and life to Jesus a long time ago. But did I surrender all? Did I really, honestly mean it when I said, "I surrender?"
"Surrender" can be defined many ways. Most of them have to do with one military force giving up to a victorious army. However, when you look up the synonyms of this word, some of them are pretty convicting:
capitulate, give in, give (oneself) up, yield, concede, submit, climb down, give way, defer, acquiesce, back down, cave in, relent, succumb, quit, crumble, be overcome, be overwhelmed, lay down one's arms, raise/show the white flag, throw in the towel/sponge
Not many of those are happy, pretty words. They are hard words. There is so much there I could unpack when it comes to spiritual matters, but there is one synonym that really gets me:
Climb Down.
You know what that says to me? "Climb down off the throne, Rebecca, because YOU ARE NOT GOD." For far too long, even though I sang the words, "I Surrender All," I have not meant them. I totally meant it when I gave my heart to Jesus. But I did not give Him all. Why? Because that means I would have to give up control. In all of my pride and haughtiness, I thought I could do a better job at running my life than the Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth could. What a ridiculous thought. What an exhausting way to live.
This year, the Lord gave me the words "Obedience and Surrender" as my words of the year. I had no idea why. I still have no idea what the "obedience" means. But I'm starting to get the "surrender." A few weeks ago, I saw my best friend Diana. She passed off a gift to me that had been given to her several years ago. It was this bracelet that says "Surrender." I have worn it every day since.
Then on my birthday, Adrienne gave me this:
Do you sense a theme there? I certainly do.
In the past few weeks, I've had to learn to submit myself to God alone and let Him just do His thing. I have no idea what is coming or what He has planned. Therefore, He needs to control everything. Not me. My narrow view cannot see the road ahead. No matter how many lists I make, no matter how many scenarios I have run in my head, His plan is the better plan. His end game is for my good and for His glory. I have to continually yield myself to Him and His will.
Have I been perfect in this? No. Just last weekend we had to give up some plans we had made to take care of Evan. I was angry. I'm not going to lie. But then I saw that band on my arm, and it reminded me to let Jesus figure all of this out. Worrying about it won't add a single hour to my life. (Matthew 6:27) It's His will over my own.
I'm climbing down off the throne of my life finally after all these years. It's a slow, daily process. Jesus doesn't want just part of me. He wants all. The totality of who I am. Every single part of my heart that I keep hidden from Him. Every worry. Every little need. Every moment of my day. I'm throwing in the towel and letting Jesus do whatever He wishes with that towel. For the first time in my life, I surrender all.
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