A Call to Surrender

You belong to God and He's The Giver of all good things
When God asks you to surrender something, remember everything already belongs to Him, and you aren't your own either, you belong to Him, for He is your creator and redeemer (Psalm 24:1, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Isaiah 43:1). Also remember that He wouldn't withhold something that would be for your own eternal good. The bible says "For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly." Psalm 84:11.

God isn't a withholder, He's a giver, Calvary proves it. "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" Romans 8:32. "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." James 1:17

God's goal for you is character
Remember, "If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us" 1 John 5:14. When you wonder what's going on in your life, remember that "all things work together for good to those who love God" Romans 8:28. Even if bad things happen to us, as long as our focus is on Christ, then it will work for the good of our characters (2 Corinthians 3:18). Our characters will change for the better when our “comfort” or fortitude is found in God in spite of disagreeable circumstances.

Ask God, and He will give you wisdom to understand what He is working on in your life (James 1:5). What you need to know is not information, but the Person of God and Jesus Christ who He sent (John 17:3). God's Spirit testifies of Jesus and will guide you to all truth (John 15:26, John 16:13). God will give you His Spirit if you ask Him (Luke 11:13). As you behold the glory of the Lord, His Spirit will transform your character into the same image as His (2 Corinthians 3:18). Don't worry about what you don't know and do what God already revealed to you. (Deuteronomy 29:29).

We are God's workmanship, not our own, and He prepared these works in Christ for us to walk in them (Ephesians 2:10). It shouldn't surprise us that we are called to walk in Jesus footsteps in this world of suffering (1 Peter 2:21). God prepared the way for us and He promises His Spirit to help us. "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31.

Seeking God's standards, abiding in His love
We tend to suffer needlessly from worry because we're trying to live up to a standards or expectations from the world instead of seeking God's word for His standards or expectations. While God does give us "commandments" or boundaries to abide by, we must remember they are meant for our own well-being. To abide by God's boundaries is simply to abide in His love (John 15:10). This is the key to surrender. Jesus said, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing" John 15:5.

Crucify away the thought that you have to perform something of yourself in order for God to love you, abide in His love, you're His masterpiece in the making! God isn't seeking for mere outward performance, He wants your heart (Psalm 51:17). Let Him take your heart and He'll give you a new one, then you will be able to work out what He works in you (Ezekiel 11:19, Philippians 2:12-13). This isn't a time time thing, the inner man is to be renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16).

Remember that God's love for you never changes (Jeremiah 31:3). God says, "I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me."  Isaiah 49:15b-16. God sees the walls we've built, so in reality we are the ones who hold ourselves back. Yet, God doesn't give up and forget about us, even if we give up and forget about Him (Isaiah 49:15). When we stray like sheep, He goes looking for us and will rejoice when He finds us (Isaiah 53:6, Matthew 18:13, Zephaniah 3:17). Yes, there's joy in all of heaven when a sinner repents (Luke 15:7).

God calls us to surrender, not to conform to this world, and to be transformed in the renewing of our minds so that we can know His will (Romans 12:1-2). While God warns about what happens to minds who don't retain Him in their knowledge, remember He doesn't really want to give us up to such things (Romans 1:28). "For this is the will of God, your sanctification" 1 Thessalonians 4:3. It's through the knowledge of God that we're given "exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." 2 Peter 1:2-4. God wants to sanctify you completely and your "whole spirit, soul, and body" to be preserved "blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Thessalonians 5:23.

Being known and loved by God should inspire us to live for Him
God knows what you're thinking and He understands what you're going through (Psalm 139:2, Hebrews 4:15). Of course He would, He made you and even became flesh to redeem you with His very life so you would not perish, but have eternal life if you believe; You belong to Him and are very precious to Him (Isaiah 43:1, 4. John 3:16, 1 Peter 1:18-19).

God has always loved you, even when you didn't love Him and when you had fallen into sin (1 John 4:10, Romans 5:8). God is "longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9. God's love should inspire us to no longer live for ourselves, but for Him who died for us and rose again (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).

God's love gives us a sense of belonging and inspires us to love each other
Think about what God did for all of us. He sent us Jesus our Creator and Captain of our salvation, to taste death and bring many sons to glory, yes He isn't ashamed to call us His brothers and sisters! (Hebrews 2:9–11). We are part of His family, isn't that amazing? The bible also says that Christ suffered and died in the flesh so that He "might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." Hebrews 2:14-15.

God bought our freedom from the tyranny of sin. God's word says, "He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins." Colossians 1:13-14. The Lord is able to keep you from stumbling and it's with exceeding joy that He presents you faultless before the presence of His glory (Jude 1:24). Jesus will never cast anyone out who comes to Him (John 6:37).

The Lord will order your steps, and though you may fall, He will not utterly cast you down, but will uphold you with His hand (Psalm 37:23-24). Knowing this, why would we ever discourage another soul, as if hoping they fall and give up on life? God's word warns us against this, it's the context of the verse which says that a righteous man will fall seven times and rise again (Proverbs 24:15-18). Let us love one another as Jesus loved us (John 13:34).

God is not willing that any should perish
To those who reject His love, the Lord asks, “O My people, what have I done to you? And how have I wearied you? Testify against Me. For I brought you up from the land of Egypt (represents the world), I redeemed you from the house of bondage (represents sin); And I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam (represent God's messengers)." Micah 6:3-4. Just as Israel had evicted God out of His house (Ezekiel 8:6), many today are evicting Him from mind and body, which belong to Him (1 Corinthians 6:19). Jesus weeps over each of them, like how He wept over Jerusalem (Matthew 23:37). Jesus weeps, not because of what they were but because of what they could have been.

God is pleading with us today  ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’ Ezekiel 33:11. God isn't out to harm you, put away such thoughts. "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you," says the Lord, "thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11.

If we forget our dependence on God, blessings become a curse
The Lord wants you to be saved, He's excited about the idea. He says, "Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other." Isaiah 45:22. We need to remember that the Lord is our only Savior and be careful not to make an idol out of our blessings, lest we should forget to depend on Him from whom all blessing flow (Hosea 13:4-6, Ephesians 1:3). This is what can make "blessings" into a curse and God doesn't want that.

Jesus says, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” Luke 12:15. "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" Matthew 16:26. Is eternal life really worth being lost over things that will burn up anyway? (2 Peter 3:10).

Only God's righteousness can satisfy the void in your soul, stop trying to satisfy it with something else (Matthew 5:6). Remember that eternal life is about personally knowing the Lord and the result is a transformation of character, which is the only thing you'll take to heaven anyway (John 17:3, 2 Corinthians 3:18). Make it your priority to "seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face evermore! Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth" Psalm 105:4-5. When God shows you His goodness, He also asks you to reflect His goodness toward others (Exodus 33:18-19, Micah 6:3-8, John 15:12).