Complete surrender

It was dark and cold.

I pushed a wheelbarrow in front of me, trying to contain the emotion which threatened to bubble over into a froth of rage and anguish.

My heart was so hurt and my mind kept screaming at the Lord, “Why?! Why are You letting this happen? This isn’t what I want…!”

And I hope I never forget what happened next.

Why are you angry?

The words were a whisper in my heart, but they blew away the self-absorption I’d been focus on.

I stopped filling the wheelbarrow with fire wood

and cried.

Tears of surrender.

This was years ago, but the affect of seeing myself from God’s perspective has been a lasting one.

Because the truth of why I was outside in the dark and rain gathering firewood was me.

I hadn’t realized this, but it was because all I was seeing was my own needs, my own priorities, my own opinions on life.

But in that moment God showed me I was suffering due to my choices.

I had not surrendered anything before Him, instead I was trying to fix it, to manipulate or work harder to get what I thought was needed.

Instead, what was needed was for me to place it all in His hands and trust Him with the results.

How our lives have changed since that moment!

And I’m so glad.

Although, I’m still learning complete surrender, (I expect it’s a life long lesson in learning) I have found such peace.

No, I can’t say everything is always good, infact life had been hard and didn’t get easier, but I could live in the difficult with a completely different outlook.

And that is what complete surrender is about.

It’s living life unto Jesus Christ alone, without personal stipulations.

It’s a servant who lives for what their Master gives or tells each day, without concern as to the future or personal sacrifice.

When the master is Jesus, the service is a pleasure of daily learning and serving the greatest, gentlest, most caring Master of all time.

Every person serves a master of one sort or another.

It could be self, a job, a hobby, a status, an addiction, the list is long, but only one master is worthy of our service and He is such an incredible master.

Matthew 11:28+30 NKJV — “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Do you know why His yoke is light?

It’s because He carried it Himself, all the way to Calvary.

All we have to do is follow.

Complete surrender to Jesus is the best decision I’ve ever made and I plan on making everyday for the rest of my life.

I pray you have found freedom in this choice as well.

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You so much for salvation. Thank You for that moment in the woods which got ahold of my heart and taught me how I was struggling to do life on my terms. Thank You for setting me free from that and for showing me how much better it is to live in Your will. Thank You for speaking so clearly to me. Thank You for forgiving me for the years I tried to serve You “my way”. Lord, even now I realize it wouldn’t take much for me to slide backwards into doing things in my own strength. Please keep me from that. Please keep my feet firmly in Your will. Please keep pride far from me, that I might not sin against You. Lord Jesus, You alone are worthy of all praise, all honor, all glory, and I love You so much! Thank You for saving me. Thank You for first loving me. Amen.c

Because it takes diligence

Although, I had wanted to learn how to crochet lace for many years.

Nothing could have prepared me for the diligence it would take.

Like the moment I realized I’d put together three Celtic Flowers and I’d used the wrong number of stitches.

Which meant pulling it all out and starting completely over.

Now, that might sound like a little thing, but it feels very disheartening.

Crocheting lace takes tiny little stitches.

I’m always surprised at how much thread I wind back around the spool as I unravel stitches.

But it’s worth it.

The diligence in doing it over correctly means the end result will be something worth keeping.

Not necessarily the item, but definitely the lesson.

There is so much self discipline in diligence.

The lesson is so vital to those who follow Christ.

It takes a daily, sometimes moment-by-moment, choice to die to our own wants, desires, and ideas.

Following Christ means we don’t make our own agenda, we are servants of the Most High God.

A servant doesn’t plan their day, they wait upon their master.

Jesus is our example in all things and He laid down what serving God means.

John 5:30 NKJV — “I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.

John 15:10 KJV — If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

These are just a tiny slice of the depth of being a Christ follower.

For a servant to do the will of the Master they must know what He says.

Therefore, constant and continued prayer and Bible reading are the follower’s direction.

And the Master is so gracious and loving.

He understands each one better than that one knows themselves.

He even has sent the Holy Spirit to walk with His servants, to comfort them in their efforts.

He also supplies all the provision required.

I’ll be honest.

I’ve not always understood all this.

My efforts have often been warped by my own selfishness or my blindly trying to force circumstances into what I thought God was directing.

I’ve learned that when things go sideways, it’s time to seek God’s face.

Often, the error is in my understanding of the direction He gave.

Other moments it’s been a call to stop charging ahead of Him, but to do things as I’m lead, side-by-side with the Lord.

On some occasions, He allows things to catch my attention.

I’ve been known to “get things done” while missing the people God wanted me to minister to.

His heart is for the individual, not the project, and He has used circumstances to redirect my focus.

No matter the situation, it should be God who directs us, hones our character, and gives us the pattern to follow.

Then the Christ follower can diligently seek Him as they serve.

We can’t always see the beautiful and useful creation God is making.

But I’m certain that His crafting will produce a fair more valuable treasure than any crocheted lace.

May God bless you, dear Reader, as you diligently follow