What does it mean to surrender?

Over the past four weeks we've been going through a series at Cross Point called "When Pigs Fly". It's a series on dreams and it has kicked.my.butt! I swear, I want to just make an announcement to the congregation that they can all leave - because I'm certain Pete is speaking directly to me every Sunday! :)

This morning was the final message of the series and it was on the 4th phase of a dream - Learning Surrender. It was a good but hard message to hear and as I drove home I found myself in a long conversation with the Lord...just wanting to understand what surrender really looks like. Does it mean I give up on certain dreams? It feels like it's one thing to want it and another thing to do it, but what does it mean to really surrender something? What does that look like?

So, I needed to read more about it. I needed to wrap my mind around this because I don't want to miss anything when it comes to walking with the Lord. So, I got home, spent some time reading and journaling and here's what I found...

Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life says this...

Surrendering your life means:

• Following God's lead without knowing where he's sending you;

• Waiting for God's timing without knowing when it will come;

• Expecting a miracle without knowing how God will provide;

• Trusting God's purpose without understanding the circumstances.

You know you're surrendered to God when you rely on God to work things out instead of trying to manipulate others, force your agenda, and control the situation. You let go and let God work. You don't have to always be in charge. Instead of trying harder, you trust more.

The irony to me is that when I look through that list, it's not a "sit back and do nothing list". Look at the first word of each line - follow, wait, expect and trust. We live in a world where we are taught that surrendering is a sign of defeat. But, in God’s kingdom, it’s quite the opposite. In God's kingdom surrendering is an action, a movement forward, an expectant hope and a willingness to let go and trust God who by his power working in us is able to do far beyond anything we can ask or imagine, (Ephesians 3:20)

Surrendering is letting go of your plans and trusting his. Surrendering is living in today and not worrying about tomorrow. Surrendering is trusting with confidence that God's plans are better than ours.

In Matthew 16:25 it says, 

If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.

In Proverbs 3:5-6 it says, 

Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track.

Those are just my thoughts. I know that barely scratches the surface of all that it truly means to surrender, but I've still got a lot to learn and I'm just sharing as I go. :)

I highly, highly recommend you check out each message of the series by clicking here.