Surrendering Everything to God

Last night, my hubby and I watched the movie "What If..."  It reminded me how important it is to surrender everything to God and to follow His will/lead for my life instead of doing what "I" want to do.  (See movie trailer below.)

"What If" movie trailer...

I'm also reminded of the verse:

Psalm 46:10

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

10 “[a]Cease striving and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the [b]nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 46:10 Or Let go, relax
2. Psalm 46:10 Or Gentiles

I looked up "Surrendering Everything to God" and found a short article written by Rick Warren.  (It seems like this is only scratching the surface, but there are some good reminders here.)

Surrendering your life means:

• Following God's lead without knowing where he's sending you;

• Waiting for God's timing without knowing when it will come;

• Expecting a miracle without knowing how God will provide;

• Trusting God's purpose without understanding the circumstances.

You know you're surrendered to God when you rely on God to work things out instead of trying to manipulate others, force your agenda, and control the situation. You let go and let God work. You don't have to always be in charge.Instead of trying harder, you trust more.

You also know you're surrendered when you don't react to criticism and rush to defend yourself.

Surrendered hearts show up best in relationships. You are not self-serving, you don't edge others out, and you don't demand your rights.

The most difficult thing for many people to surrender is their money. Many have thought, "I want to live for God but I also want to earn enough money to live comfortably and retire someday."

Retirement is not the goal of a surrender life, because it competes with God for the primary attention of our lives. Jesus said, "You cannot serve both God and money," (Matthew 6:24 NIV) and "Wherever your treasure is, your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:21 NIV).

The supreme example of self-surrender is Jesus. The night before his crucifixion Jesus surrendered himself to God's plan. He prayed, "Father, everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine" (Mark 14:36 NLT).

Jesus surrendered himself to God's will. He prayed, "God, if it is in your best interest to remove this suffering, please do so. But if it fulfills your purpose, that's what I want, too."

Genuine surrender says, "Father, if this problem, pain, sickness, or circumstance is needed to fulfill your purpose and glory in my life or in another's life, please don't take it away!" 

This level of maturity doesn't come easy. In Jesus' case, he agonized so much over God's plan that he sweated drops of blood. Surrender is hard work. In our case, it requires intense warfare against our self-centered nature.

Here's a music video for "Surrender" by Lincoln Brewster:

Have you "surrendered?"

I try to control things, I keep busy and stay distracted (most of the time, it seems), I do things "my way"...the list could go on and on.  I need to work on "being still" more often and really listening to God instead of blocking Him out or staying so busy that I miss His calling.  We're all here for a reason...I know that I've done a terrible job at surrendering everything (my agendas, schedule, life, etc.) to Him...it's time to change that.