I'm a doer. When I hear the word "surrender," I immediately ask, "How? What should I DO to surrender?" But DOING is contrary to surrender. While some works are ACTS of faith, surrender is a completely different dimension of faith, a place of BEING. A few minutes in the sunshine illustrated the concept of surrender to me. Struggling against doing and attempting to simply BE, I grabbed an old sheet and went to my back yard. Picnic style, I sat for a few minutes, then stretched out like a fully clothed sunbather. I felt the sunlight warming every part of me. And in my attempt to think nothing, the lesson began.
When I surrender to God I let the brightness of His light shine upon all of me. There are no places hidden from His view, no place where I hold on to control. His light is so bright I must close my eyes to what I see and simply trust Him, just as in the natural I couldn't open my eyes as I lay beneath the full sun.
Oh, but there is something about wanting to see, and that works against surrender.
Anytime I wanted to open my eyes, I'd have to do one of two things: shield my eyes with my hand or turn over. Spiritually speaking, If I insist on seeing--on being in control, on having full understanding--then I put flesh between me and the Source of Light. In doing so, I cast myself in shadows. The darkness my flesh creates is a place of comfort for my control, but it is also where the enemy can involve himself, bringing confusion where there was once clarity. The shadowy place is where the Light is absent, and full surrender is an open invitation to God; it keeps nothing shaded from His touch.
That day in the sun, I stopped trying to look around. I quit flopping from side to side in an attempt to avoid the glare. I lay back, face embracing the sun, and let my muscles grow slack. I imagined the light of God's love warming me much like the sun, at first a gentle caress against my chilled skin, then warmer, penetrating beyond the epidermis where sunlight must end. I felt myself relax as my spirit unfurled from its tightly clenched, self-imposed need to control. I basked in full surrender and in the warmth found rest, no longer doing but simply being in the presence of God.
Hebrews 4:10:"For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his."
Mathew 11: 28-29 "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Tip/Tidbit: Find a place to sit and just BE. Let God's presence fully embrace every part of you.
When I surrender to God I let the brightness of His light shine upon all of me. There are no places hidden from His view, no place where I hold on to control. His light is so bright I must close my eyes to what I see and simply trust Him, just as in the natural I couldn't open my eyes as I lay beneath the full sun.
Oh, but there is something about wanting to see, and that works against surrender.
Anytime I wanted to open my eyes, I'd have to do one of two things: shield my eyes with my hand or turn over. Spiritually speaking, If I insist on seeing--on being in control, on having full understanding--then I put flesh between me and the Source of Light. In doing so, I cast myself in shadows. The darkness my flesh creates is a place of comfort for my control, but it is also where the enemy can involve himself, bringing confusion where there was once clarity. The shadowy place is where the Light is absent, and full surrender is an open invitation to God; it keeps nothing shaded from His touch.
That day in the sun, I stopped trying to look around. I quit flopping from side to side in an attempt to avoid the glare. I lay back, face embracing the sun, and let my muscles grow slack. I imagined the light of God's love warming me much like the sun, at first a gentle caress against my chilled skin, then warmer, penetrating beyond the epidermis where sunlight must end. I felt myself relax as my spirit unfurled from its tightly clenched, self-imposed need to control. I basked in full surrender and in the warmth found rest, no longer doing but simply being in the presence of God.
Hebrews 4:10:"For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his."
Mathew 11: 28-29 "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Tip/Tidbit: Find a place to sit and just BE. Let God's presence fully embrace every part of you.
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