I've been a Christian most of my life, but the concept of complete surrender has always scared me...but when I did, I wish I would've done it earlier!! I think that one of the most profound things we tend to believe as Christians is how we expect God to act on our behalf just because He loves us. It is easy to misunderstand what God gives us compared with what we think God should do.
1. Before we can continue, we have to go back to the basic principle of love. First of all, what does God owe us? Nothing! Our sins and transgressions against Him and others as a debt that needs to paid, which ultimately leads to death as the payment for what we do on Earth. God sent us Jesus to die on the cross for our sins unconditionally, in order for us to experience the love that he has for us. That, by itself, is beyond anything he owes us. We should not be asking God for anything else as eternal life is worth more than being say...the richest person in the world. Anything else that we want is out of selfishness...correct? You want your dream job and you don't get it...who do you blame? God? For what...not giving you what YOU want? Sounds selfish doesn't it? Does that reflect the love that God gave for you?
Understanding this concept that salvation from sin and having eternal life as a gift is more than enough from God as we do not deserve it. If God did nothing else for us...we should still be thankful beyond any means...even to the point of sacrificing our own lives for this gift.
2. Another concept that we misunderstand is that God should keep us from harm and provide for us our every need as long as we have faith in him. Really? I think that we misunderstand what needs God actually will provide. Paul in 2nd Corinthians 11:24-29 explains to us all the hardships he's gone through. The most shocking is the first line, "Five times I received from the Jews forty lashes minus one" Wow! And Jesus received that only once! Could God have protected Paul if he so chose? Of course because He's God...but why not? What about the disciples...those who saw Jesus...all except for John were brutally murdered for their faith...and God did not save them either?
So what does God do? I think that if you read the Bible, you'll start to understand that God's plan is far more important than anything else on this Earth. This does not mean that he does not care about you, but he can see the big picture...you can't!
He knows our needs, but he also uses sin to remind us of why his love is so important in this world. Sin has consequences...and we, even though we aren't the instigators, still feel its sting. But this is how we build character as a Christian. As sin brings us down, we understand that we're actually powerless and lost without Him. It is at this stage that he uses us, when we are at our weakest he's at his strongest to do his work in and through us. This is what God does, because it is His work that will be done, and not our own.
If you seek His will and to serve Him, He will guide you and open the doors that needs to be there for you to reach that goal. If your decisions are focused on the kingdom rather than selfish ambition you will eventually notice that life might not get "easier" but be more complete. You will find that His blessings bring joy and happiness that outweigh any hardships of life.
3. God gave us two things that we tend to forget besides love and eternal life. Peace and Joy. Peace in that we are saved and free from sin. We are in God's hands and we have nothing to worry about...we have salvation and this is what keeps us from the clutches of sin. We have peace that this life is just temporary and if we were to die at this very next hour, we know that we are in a better place.
We also experience joy in the fruits of our labor and the freedom that we have as Christians. One sermon, not too long ago, the pastor gave the definition of what rejoice stemmed from. It actually meant, re-enjoy. When Paul and the apostles rejoiced in their hardships, they were actually re-enjoying. What did they re-enjoy in the middle of persecution? Maybe the greatest thing that we should all be joyful over..that is Jesus dying for our sins and conquering it through His resurrection so that we can be saved.
Those who aren't saved should be drawn to you because of the peace and joy that you have in your life. They also want to try and take it away because they don't want you to have it...if they think that they can't. It is your call...do you want to show them that it cannot be taken away...or will you doubt your salvation and let them see that you are not really any different than they are?
James 1:2-3 --Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.--
4. What about prayer? Does it work? I do believe it works and I've seen it work...but I think that it also depends on what prayer we ask for. Is it prayer for our own selfish needs? Our purpose is to further the kingdom of God, not to further our own agenda. Our agenda tends to not be God's...and that's most of the reason why "our" prayers do not get answered the way we want them to. The other part is that sometimes God can say no or maybe later.
It is hard for us to see God's will through our own eyes...and we try and think that we know what God wants us to do. This is a major reason why we deceive ourselves. We get disheartened when we don't see a clear road or a sign when we follow God. Sometimes it's not clear...but God also let's us choose the path that we think will glorify Him more. I think that there's more than one path you can take to glorify God, as he opens up different doors for us to go down. Other times it might not be clear because the path that God wanted you to take you didn't want to go down due to your own will rather than Gods. For example, if he called you for ministry after college and you instead wanted to get a job...you'll not find his will or plan because well...you already decided not to do it! Don't be like Jonah, look at what happened to him!
If we truly sought after God and asked for his wisdom...He will be faithful and guide us where He wants us to go. James says in chapter one, verse five and six, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind."
Following God is a lifelong decision. And it is filled with hardships and trials of many kinds. We are here to glorify our God, not ourselves. In the end...we will understand that our life has more meaning and joy following him rather than ourselves. Part of following God is complete surrender, not partial. We have to put God first and dive in to the water...not just going in up to our knees. You will find that when you put others before yourself...you are surrounded by the love that they give back and they will see something more in you than just yourself. We never know how many lives we touch for God until we get to heaven. That is why we have to continuously live a life as a slave to righteousness...because by doing so...we will truly be blessed.
-Stefan
