I believe one of the hardest task in life is "surrendering" to His purpose. It is not enough to say "I believe", "I have faith", "Jesus is Lord and Savior"-- it simply is not enough.
When we come to a pivotal point in our lives when we realize we are not in control and that our lives are not our own, then God says , " come to me."
Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
God cannot use us if we intend on doing what we want. Our lives are not our own. We were bought at a price.
We must surrender to His will, His purpose in order to be at peace and under His wonderful grace.To surrender means to yield to the power, control, and/or demand. It is a hard concept to grasp when we see things on tv that states "you have control of your destiny", "pick a good college in order to get a good job", "choose your husband wisely", "you can chose what gender baby you have", and the list goes on.... but this is a misconception. The world tells us we are in control. We have been conditioned to think that we are the "masters and captains of our ships" , but it is not so.
To know this truth is devastating to the flesh and our minds. The flesh feels that this means I cannot do what I want--and sadly, that is why so many of us flee from God because we do not want to stop doing what we want. The truth is , God is our heavenly father; he wants the best for us. He can see the future , "for his ways our higher than our ways and his knowledge and understanding surpasses ours." (Read 1 Isaiah 55: 8-9)
God will grant us the desires of our hearts as long as those desires are aligned with His will and purpose. In order for God to grant the desires of heart we must "check ourselves" and make sure that our heart is in line with God. "For whatever proceeds out of the mouth is where the heart is." (Read Matthew 15:18) The statements that we make , determines where our hearts really are. For example, if we state that we really want to be rich , then our heart is set on money. Wealth is not a bad thing. God in fact wants us to prosperous. Wealth only becomes a bad thing when we make it a priority over God and His purpose.
Question to ask yourself when surrendering: Am I ready to stop "doing me"? Am I ready to start doing what God wants me to do?
How to Surrender to God's Will
- Set goals through God
- Surrender your thoughts
- Our thoughts are often "demonic" in nature. (i.e. wanting revenge on someone who has wronged you, jealousy, lust, and etc)
- If your mental state is not right, then your spiritual state will not be right
- Pray to God and ask him for a "clear mind"
- Stop wasting time on foolishness
- You become what you watch, see, and speak
- Turn off the distractions
- Change your vision
- Every time you try to do things your way it will fail
- You must ask God what is His will and to use you as an instrument to accomplish His will
- Look to Jesus as an example on how to surrender
- Establish your contract with God
- You will be accountable for your agreement with God
- Your "walk" with God is your responsibility
I pray that this was helpful. I know one of biggest struggles for me was surrendering to God. I kept searching for answers on how to do it and when I heard this sermon message it helped me. Keep praying and asking and he will provide the answers to what you are seeking.
If you have any questions or concerns please contact me.
