The Importance of Surrender
Recently I was assisting in facilitating a Steward Investors Masterclass for an incredible group of Faith-Driven investors and was reminded of the importance of surrender.
Surrender is among the most constant themes in the life of a Christian. We never graduate from it or outgrow it nor is it beneath us. Jesus models the perfect surrendered life saying in John 5:19 “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does”.
Perhaps the greatest example of Jesus’ surrendered life was His final prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane where He says, “My Father, if it is possible, take this cup of suffering from me! Yet not my will, but Your will be done”.
Our good Father has called you and I into a life of daily surrender. He cares and governs over all aspects of our lives from our families to our personal fulfillment as well as our finances.
I’ve learned that God often requires us to give up good so that He can give us great. Good tends to be easy, comfortable, convenient and logical. The world and its systems strive to get us to a “good” place through conventional thinking and the wisdom of man that says take all you can, save all you can and invest all you can for yourself, by yourself so that you can live comfortably.
The good of this world does not consider the upside-down kingdom of God and its greatness. The “great” of God says give freely, place your trust in Me, trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will make your path straight, seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you.
A Christian faith influenced by a worldly mindset asks God how much He wants us to give but a Christian faith aligned with a renewed mind in Christ asks God how much He wants us to keep.
I believe that the fulfillment of all that God has placed in our hearts to be and on is on the other side of surrender to Him - His good, perfect and acceptable will.
We’ve all heard that our God delights to give good gifts to you and I, His children. I have learned that I cannot receive what I do not have room for. The act of surrender is the act of intentionally creating space for the blessing of God to dwell in our lives. Much like the women with the small vile of oil who gathered many empty vessels that were filled as she poured out the last of what she had. The oil only stopped flowing when there was no more space for it to flow to.
This reveals that addition occurs when resource moves from the hands of man into the will of man but multiplication is reserved for when resource moves from the hands of man into the will of God. For this reason I rejoice when I see empty space. I know that it is yet another opportunity for God to take my “not enough” and make it “more than enough” through the act of surrender.
