Surrender. The definition of surrender is to yield to the power of another, to give up completely or agree to forgo in favor of another. Surrender can be seen most often in warfare when one country or enemy gives up and relinquishes control to the opponent. Typically surrender is viewed as a one-time act and is based on force. However, surrender in the Christian world is completely different. Surrender in biblical terms is still yielding to the power of another or giving up in favor of another, but it is doing it by personal choice. God is not forcing our surrender, but rather wants us to choose to surrender to Him. He wants us to choose to yield ourselves to His power and to forgo ourselves under His leadership.
The other main difference in Christian surrender is that it is not a one-time event. Surrender in the Christian realm involves daily and sometimes, decision-by-decision surrender. Our lives are compared in Scripture to a living sacrifice. The biggest issue with a living sacrifice is that it can get up off the altar whenever it chooses and so it must be a daily sacrifice. Many times in the Christian life, we find it easier to surrender to Christ on the big issues and big decisions. Yet, we often overlook the surrender of daily decisions. We overlook the simple surrender.
In Romans 12:1-2 Paul describes the essence of surrender. Eugene Peterson paraphrases it this way in the Message, “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life–your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life–and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”
Surrender has to be a daily decision. It has to be a decision made in all aspects of our lives. God is wanting to lead and direct us in every part of our lives and in every decision, not just the big ones. Will we choose surrender in our ordinary aspects of life? Will we be willing to surrender, not for just one time, but for the totality of our lives? When we choose daily surrender, then God will give us growth from the inside out. As we embark on another year, will we choose to surrender and allow God to develop maturity in us and bring out the best in us?
This devotional was written by Amy Carrico of Making the Moments Matter. Click HERE to follow her on Facebook!
Last Updated on January 6, 2025
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