Surrender

"Quit quarreling with God! Agree with him and you will have peace at last! His favor will surround you if you will only admit that you were wrong." Job 22:21 (LB)

Surrender has been coming up the last week in my life at every turn...on the radio driving to carpool, Dr. Tony Evans is discussing surrender...daily devotions have been on surrender...the kids Bible homework has been on surrender...gee, Lord, are you talking to me? Sometimes hitting me on the head with a 2x4 might be easier. I hate that I am so stubborn! Read what Rick Warren says about surrender...

"The heart of worship is surrender. Surrender is an unpopular word, disliked almost as much as the word submission. It implies losing, and no one wants to be a loser.

Surrender evokes the unpleasant images of admitting defeat in battle, forfeiting a game, or yielding to a stronger opponent. The word is almost always used in a negative context. Captured criminals surrender to the authorities.

In our competitive world we're taught to never quit trying, never give up, and never give in - so we don't hear much about surrendering. If winning is everything, surrendering is unthinkable.

Yet, the Bible teaches us that rather than trying to win, succeed, overcome, and conquer, we should instead yield, submit, obey, and surrender.

And by surrendering to God, we enter into the heart of worship. This is true worship: bringing pleasure to God as we give ourselves completely to him.

Surrendering is best demonstrated in obedience, cooperating with your Creator. You say "Yes, Lord" to whatever he asks of you.

In fact, "No, Lord" is a contradiction. You can't claim Jesus as your Lord when you refuse to obey him. Peter modeled surrender when, after a night of failed fishing, Jesus told him to try again: "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets." Surrendered people obey God's word, even when it doesn't make sense." (This one is really tough, speaking from personal experience...)

"God is not a cruel slave driver or a bully who uses brute force to coerce us into submission. He doesn't try to break our will, but woos us to himself, so that we might offer it freely to him. God is a lover and a liberator, and surrendering brings freedom, not bondage. When we completely surrender ourselves to Jesus, we discover that he is not a tyrant but a savior; not a boss, but a brother; not a dictator, but a friend."

This last week has been filled with opportunities to surrender, Mike and I are exploring some non-traditional therapies/protocols for Parker and the weight of these decisions is very heavy. We are re-evaluating his current "schedule" of therapies and trying to assess the effectiveness of his current therapies and/or the providers. Sometimes just because we are "supposed" to do something doesn't mean we should do something. I realized that surrender is the answer, praying in petition, with thanksgiving, surrendering to what doors the Lord opens and CLOSES.

Parker continues to thrive, bringing joy to every moment. We press on, keeping our eye on the eternal prize, reminding ourselves that we are just visitors here on earth.

Blessings!

Lara