Surrender. To Me.

I want it all.  I want to be in control. He says otherwise.

Luke 9:23-24 “Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.  If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.” (NLT)

There I was, in total control of my life.

I was doing just fine – family, work, church, me…

Everything was great!

More importantly, I had learnt how to handle most of life’s hiccups,

Without so much as a desperate prayer!

The words “Surrender, to me,” therefore,

Bore no weight…

But they stuck in my mind, anyway.

Disaster struck.

I had a situation that I could not handle.

Everything was out of control – my control.

I glanced to the left, and there was no way out.

I glanced to the right, and the way out was blocked.

I looked down and watched the ground start to crumble.

Then the tiny whisper came…

Surrender. To Me.

 

What on earth is surrender, anyway?

He has everything. Why would He want anything from me?

Why do I have to give back what He has given me?

I didn’t understand this at all.

All I wanted was a quick solution.

So I took the easiest option,

And sorted things out.

Time to relax and take it easy, I thought.

Then the whisper came, a little louder this time,

Surrender. To Me.

 

Once again I asked, what on earth is surrender?

If I give You my life, will I ever get it back?

What’s in it for me?

Why can’t You just take the part of me that You want,

And I keep the rest?

Why do You want all of me?

Rant and rave was all I did,

Because I could not and did not want to surrender everything.

This time, it was a voice. Barely audible, but clear.

Surrender. To Me.

 

Luke 22:42 “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” (NLT)

 

Jesus surrendered. He gave up His life.

He didn’t have to. But He did.

A great example of surrender He set for us,

Way back on that Cross on Calvary.

How could I ignore such an example?

I did, though, because I thought my body was mine,

My life was mine, and my soul was mine.

The Lord, however, did not agree.

Surrender. To Me.

 

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” (NLT)

 

The push and pull continued for a while,

He wanted me, and I wanted me.

I could only belong to one person

It was either me, or Him

 Then it dawned on me,

The sacrifice at the Cross turned the tables.

He gave Himself for me,

So that I could be His.

The price was high,

Steeper than I could afford, or even imagine.

Without that sacrifice,

I would have been condemned.

Forever.

So I relented and softened my heart.

I surrendered to Him.

And the voice went back to a whisper.

Surrender. To Me.

Romans 12:1 “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.” (NLT)

 

 

HI, everyone! Surrender is a thorny topic in many circles, especially in this day and age! What do you think about surrendering to the Lord? Let me know in the comments section below. Also, please share this poem with your family, friends, and anyone else you think will enjoy it and be challenged by it. Have a blessed week ahead!