THE HEART OF WORSHIP - IS IN SURRENDER

Romans 6:13

Give yourselves to God….Surrender your whole being to him to be used for righteous purposes! Romans 6:13

Wow what a powerful verse but however the word surrender from a popularity standpoint is right up there with the word submission even among many devoted Christians. We are often very quick to skim over verses like this or say things like that were for a different time, they are not relevant anymore!

We do this because the word surrender in our lives is often associated with giving up; retreating, losing, yielding and so many other references that are contrary to a message of never surrender never give up! And counter cultural in a world of self first mentality.

But in the context of our Heavenly Father surrendering to God is at the heart of worship and is something we do willingly without fear, pressure, or force but out of Love. That’s right, when we surrender we voluntarily give ourselves to the father and to Jesus Christ just as a husband and wife do when they become one as unto the Lord.

Followed by eleven chapters in the book of Romans where Paul explains God’s immense grace towards us he urges us to surrender in Romans 12:1 “1 So then, my friends, because of God's great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer.”

But surrendering to God requires trust and you won’t surrender to him unless you trust him and are convinced of his great LOVE for you. So how do you know God loves you? Well let’s start with his creation of you and your capacity to enjoy so many things, and the beauty of the earth moon and skies and knowing he created them for his pleasure by creating a place of beauty for us, his own creation.

And remember the scripture that “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8. Just spend some time in the word and you will see just how many times God professes his love and proves his love for his people, his sons and daughters. For God So Loved the World He Gave….

We also find it hard to surrender even to an omnipotent God because of our pride and the lie that started in the Garden of Eden that if we eat of the fruit we can be just like God. In our own respects we often live our lives like we are God when at the heart and at these times we are more like Satan.

And often when we face our own frustrations, limitations, and inability to control things we react, irritably expressing anger, resentment. We want what others have and we don’t understand why they might have things we desire and they make no effort to serve God let alone surrender everything to him.

And while some of this may be true to some extent, God never promised us material rewards for serving him but rather heavenly rewards and we know the lies of the enemy are just that from one who seeks to kill and destroy and keep us from our inheritance and surrendering to God as he rebelled and refused to.

Now that is not to say that surrendering to God is a mindless and passive action of complacency or laziness. In fact it may mean a total reverse of what some would associate the word surrender with. Surrendering to God could result in him calling you to greater things, challenging you more then you imagined, or giving you greater responsibility than you thought possible.

Or perhaps it may mean learning to endure, or going without or learning patience or humbling yourself in so many different ways by being tasked to put others before yourself or just sit and wait patiently until he tells you to move. “Surrender yourself to the Lord, and wait patiently for him” - Psalm 37:7

Genuine surrender let’s God know that you have got his back because you know he has yours. It means you are ready to take on problems, pain, sickness, trials, or journeys to name a few at a moment's notice because you trust him and you are totally sold out to Christ.

As you reflect on this day's devotion, what area or areas of your life have you not yet surrendered to God! There are so many benefits then you can imagine and as always I would encourage you to pick up a copy of the book and read it first hand as I am only able to touch on the highlights in our short time together.

Grace and Peace