Learning to completely trust God is a daily challenge and a process of surrender. Jesus used these words “not my will but Thine” as He moved closer and closer to sacrificing His life to set us free. Anxiety and bondage prevail when we’re still trying to hang onto and control parts of our lives. Freedom comes when we hand God the keys to our control panels and say, “Lord, Your Spirit has free reign over my life. Live through me. Take over all of my life.”
Which part of your life is the hardest part to relinquish control? Your thought life? Your emotional life? Your past? Your present? Your future? Your pleasures and pastimes? Your time? Your work? Your family? Your finances? Your body? Your decision-making? Your technology? Your pride? Your addictions?
Being Spirit-driven means that God’s Spirit lives within us and is driving and compelling us to live intentionally for Jesus Christ doing the good things that He planned for us long ago. Our lives become completely unpredictable when we’re Spirit-blown. We have no idea what God’s Spirit will lead us to say or to do next. We don’t know how the Lord will use our history, our hang-ups, our passions, our gifts, our strengths, our weaknesses to make disciples of our people groups. But what an adventure awaits anyone who says, “Yes, Lord, have Your way in my life.”
It goes against our old nature to surrender control. We seem to fight it. We make excuses. We blame ourselves, others, or our circumstances for not surrendering control. We make following Jesus much harder than it’s supposed to be. Maybe we just don’t trust God’s love. Maybe we’re fighting against receiving and living from a place of being totally loved and dependent upon our heavenly Father. Most people have chosen to take control instead of relinquishing control. I wonder how many people have prayed the sinner’s prayer but have never signed up to follow Jesus.
It seems like only when we come to the end of ourselves that we begin to have any chance of really following Jesus. As long as we’re still trying to control part(s) of our own lives, being a Christian doesn’t really matter and doesn’t really work. Jesus clearly teaches us that the pathway to following Him begins with denying ourselves. Self-denial is a countercultural move away from what’s comfortable and popular to doing the exact opposite to follow the way of Jesus. The closer we follow the ways of our world, the further away we get from following Jesus. The closer we follow Jesus, the more we won’t fit in here.
Fitting in is kind of like hair. It’s over-rated. Fitting in is kind of like money. You can’t ever get enough of it. Fitting in is like work. It’s never done. Following Jesus wrecks everything. Surrendering the control of our lives to the Lord positions us for a never-ending adventure. It’s like signing up to do the opposite of everything that the world says that we have to do. You become a misfit on a mission to change the world for Christ. You’ll be misunderstood and sometimes condemned, but the peace that comes from knowing and following the One who gave everything for you will satisfy you like nothing in this world.
When you completely attach yourself to the Truth, you will become free. Free to live and to love people when they least deserve it. Free to give because you’re not attached to your stuff. Free to let go of trying to control because you know Who is in control. Today I’m inviting you to surrender the controls of your life to Jesus. He knows and loves you completely, and His love never changes. If you’re wondering what will happen next if you surrender to God what you’ve been hanging onto, I have some really exciting news. Adventures in following Jesus await you. Take the plunge. You won’t regret it. Life is incredibly boring and unpredictable until we let go and follow the Holy Spirit’s leading.