Spiritual Surrender

I am continuing to learn about the paradox of surrender. To live, I must die to self. It seems contrary to my nature and what seems right but it is God's way. The best way. The only path to true life in Him. I am slowly letting go and trusting this truth. It is freeing for sure.

Dr. Hal Hadden of Christian Leadership Concepts states it well...

The ultimate destination of spiritual surrender is liberty. Rescue, emancipation, freedom. Surprising solutions for the journey of life. But along the way, surrender to God takes us temporarily through some territory that can make us cringe. This is because surrendering ourselves to God involves exposing the truth of the gospel to our stubborn, anxious, and sometimes delicate places. Surrender is the great separator. It is the doorway through which sleepy religious curiosity becomes wide-awake commitment.

I was reading this morning in Isaiah 55 and Matthew 26. Both describe the abundance we experience in our surrender. In Matthew 26, Jesus asked God to remove the cup He was about to drink through His suffering. But, He prayed, "...yet not as I will, but as You will." He also prayed, "My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done." He soon was arrested and told His disciples that He could call on God to send down twelve legions of angels to rescue Him, but this was not the Father's will. Jesus had a way out of His suffering, but He submitted to His Father's will - surrender = life for us all!

Isaiah 55 (NASB) is loaded with rich promises from the LORD. 

55 “Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; 
And you who have no ^[a]money come, buy and eat. 
Come, buy wine and milk 
Without money and without cost. 
² “Why do you ^[b]spend money for what is not bread, 
And your wages for what does not satisfy? 
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And delight yourself in abundance.

How too often we look for fulfillment in everything but the One who offers us "abundance." Isaiah 55 goes on to say more incredible promises of "abundant pardon" and so much more:

11So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;
It will not return to Me empty,
Without accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

¹² “For you will go out with joy
And be led forth with peace;
The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,
And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

Surrender. What a concept. It leads to liberty, freedom, abundance, fulfillment, life, and joy. Why do I keep holding back? Why do I hesitantly let God have His way in me? I don't know fully but I am thankful that God has been working on me and hasn't given up on me. His promise is clear in Isaiah 55:7:

Let the wicked forsake his way
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
And let him return to the Lord,
And He will have compassion on him,
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.

May we all surrender more and more each day to the One who knows best, gives the best, and wants best for us. I keep having to remind myself that He's the ultimate prize. Peaceful, delightful fellowship with Jesus is the greatest part of the journey - His blessings along the way are bonuses He throws in there - like cherries on top. Well, I prefer chocolate syrup and whip cream!