Surrender To Survive

Scripture of the Day: "The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord." - Jonah 1:13


In many cases, the word surrender is connected with the idea of losing something. Of course, when you surrender to the police, there’s a great possibility that you’ll lose your freedom. When you have to surrender your driver’s license, you lose the opportunity to drive. For some people, in marriage when they surrender they are losing their ability to be independent. And for even more people, to surrender to God is to sacrifice your freedom to live, have fun, or even pursue your future aspirations.

But on the contrary, to surrender to Christ is the most positive opportunity that all of us as human beings have. Surrendering to Christ means willingly giving up your priorities and desires and agenda so that God’s becomes the priority. His agenda, will, desire, and focus becomes the most significant thing. Clearly, surrendering to the Will of God is directly connected to our survival, ability to thrive, and overall satisfaction with life.

The Old Testament Prophet Jonah’s decision to not submit and surrender to God’s Will serves as a great example of the kind of frustration, discontent, and disillusionment that arises when we refuse to surrender to God’s direction.

1 One day long ago, God's Word came to Jonah, Amittai's son: 2 "Up on your feet and on your way to the big city of Nineveh! Preach to them. They're in a bad way and I can't ignore it any longer." 3 But Jonah got up and went the other direction to Tarshish, running away from God. He went down to the port of Joppa and found a ship headed for Tarshish. He paid the fare and went on board, joining those going to Tarshish - as far away from God as he could get. (The Message)

I find it fascinating that many have the thought of seemingly ‘getting away from God’. It is similar to the notion that Adam & Eve ‘hid’ from God in hopes of Him not seeing them. It is clear that we cannot hide from God. But beyond that most basic notion, why would we want to hide or run away from someone who wants to offer us so much?

His Word clearly identifies the benefits of being surrendered to God. He (God) “rewards those who sincerely seek him.” (Heb. 11: 6, NLT). He grants unmeasured joy for living (Ps. 40:8). He provides amazing answers to our prayers (Ps. 34:4). He gives sweet rest and lighter life loads (Matthew 11: 28). These, along with many other promises, have become the clear picture of what God provides to those who are surrendered to His plan.

When Jonah surrendered, look at what happened to his life and even the life of others. The voice of God is clearly heard and experienced, people trust God, the spiritual maturity of everyone is raised, the things that divide us get eliminated, and more importantly, we live in the will of God.

5) The people of Nineveh listened, and trusted God. They proclaimed a citywide fast and dressed in burlap to show their repentance (turning from evil, wickedness and unbelief to God). Everyone did it - rich and poor, famous and obscure, leaders and followers. (The Message)

It is amazing what we can accomplish when we surrender to God versus living on our own. God has created the universe to surrender to Him and every element of the universe cooperates with us when we surrender to God’s design. Romans 8 says, “5 Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God's action in them find that God's Spirit is in them - living and breathing God! 6) Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life.” (The Message)

Surrender today to survive! (Overseer Christopher J. Harris)
  Be Blesssed   Dawn