A Year to Surrender

Happy New Year! I am excited to be posting my first of many blogs this year.

As most people do, I have a word that I am trying to abide by this year. I have heard this word a lot since the end of last year up to even this past week.

I noticed that this word kept coming up for me. I knew God was trying to get my attention but I thought that the word didn’t apply to me (Isaiah 55:11). I thought I was already abiding by it.

The word I am abiding by this year is the word “surrender” (Matthew 10:38-39).

For some of you, the word “surrender” might send you into a state of fear. For me, when I realized that that was the word God had in store for me, to a point, I was relieved. Let me explain:

As Christians, we are commanded daily to die to our old selves. We are to think of our old selves as crucified (Galatians 6:14).

Why?

When Jesus died on the cross for our sins and when we accept the gift of salvation, we are a new creation in His eyes! “…the new creation has come; The old has gone, the new is here (2 Corinthians 5:17)!”

Therefore, if we are new creations in Christ and have died to our whole selves, why wouldn’t we surrender everything to Him? Isn’t that why we became followers of Christ to begin with? Isn’t it because we realized we can’t do this life on our own and because our hearts long to do the will of God?

Now you know the reason but why am I sharing it with you? I am sharing it with you because I can’t begin to put into words what God has already shown me through truly surrendering everything to Him! I don’t have to worry anymore because He is in control (Matthew 6:25-34). I don’t have to fear man because I know what I am doing is what God has called me to do (Psalm 118:6). It is no longer about me.

And the peace…! I can only begin to tell you how free I have felt the past few days after truly surrendering all to Him (John 16:33).

You may be thinking, “Well, that is great for you. How do I surrender? How do I truly give my all to Him and walk in the peace and freedom?”

I am glad you asked! I will do my best to answer that question. I think I would give you this advice:

1. Go to God in prayer. This is where I believe it all begins. Tell Him why you want to surrender everything and confess why you have been wrong (Ephesians 6:18 and 1 John 1:9).
2. Say “No!” to fear. Surrender all your fears to God. This something else I hope to work through with God’s help this year. Whenever God leads me to do something or when I am afraid to speak up, I want to literally say these words, “No. We are going to say no to fear and yes to God’s love.” These words come from a Christian YouTube channel I watched one time called “Better Together.” I was touched deeply by these words when I heard them. It made me realize I have control over my actions and thoughts when I am afraid (Isaiah 41:10).

Before I end this blog I want to remind you of one important thing: remember that the God of the universe desires the best for you. He is on your side and will never leave you (Hebrews 13:5b). He knows how hard it is to give up control and even being willing to give up our comfort zones for Him (Hebrews 4:15-16). I will also remind you, He never said you had to walk in surrender alone. He is fighting hand in hand with you. He is our Mighty Lion and Warrior. He will never leave us and never forsake us. He is our comfort and strength; He is our everything (Joshua 1:9).

Alyssa Rasor