Monday, June 21, 2010

Surrender

I really have a hard time giving up control.  In fact, recently, I’ve really been struggling with this.  To be sure, God has definitely been dealing with me in regards to this issue, and has been convicting me at each layer of my spiritual journey and development that I must release the tight grip I have on my life and trust my whole being to Him.  There are quite a few areas of my life that I have happily given to God:  my salvation, my family, my job, my finances, etc. 



Yet, in spite of these seemingly large areas of my life that I have surrendered, I find myself still wanting to manage the “moments” of everyday life.  There are ways where I still fight for the reigns of control.  But God has been convicting me that as long as I continue to cling on to the right to “deal with my life”, I can’t fully experience the joy of trusting Him to the present.



The decision to give up control is basically stating, “Lord, I give up the right to protect myself even if it means experiencing hurt.”  Not exactly the easiest thing to do!
But when Christ becomes a part of our lives by indwelling us and giving us His Spirit, He begins to form us into the person He intended us to be.  He never intended for us to be self-protectors, imprisoned by our fears.   He intended for us to be fully reliant on Him, trusting Him with all of our hearts.



I have learned that God does not call us to act before we are ready.  But it does seem at times that readiness comes whether we feel ready or not.  Because in reality, true readiness isn’t based on our “feelings”, but based on how God sees us.  And from God’s perspective, He is always with us, and walking along side of us.  Therefore, God’s sovereign ways are the ONLY thing we can trust--not our emotions. 



I’m also learning that our responsibility as a Christ-follower isn’t to have it all worked out in our heads.  God never commands us to have it figured out.  But God does ask us to trust Him and to act on faith.  His Word and promises are sure.  We can depend on that regardless of how much “sense” it makes.



I believe each of us has an area of our life where God is asking us to fully trust Him.  We don’t have to understand why or how it will happen, but we can know that when we surrender our lives to Him, He will reveal Himself to us in deep and profound ways.



Right now, God is asking me to step forward in faith and trust Him with the day to day moments in my life.  He is asking me to submit each moment, each worry, each relationship--everything--to Him.



Lord, I trust you.   I surrender my life to you.  I release tomorrow to You and praise you in the TODAY.  Thank you for all that you’ve done for me and are continuing to do in me.


Traditional Chinese (繁體中文):
降服

放棄掌控對我來說是非常困難的。事實上,最近我一直在為此而努力。肯定的,上帝一直在為我解決這個問題, 祂讓我確信在我的每一層心靈,精神發展過程中,我必須放棄自我,信任祂,而把我所有一切呈獻給祂! 在我的生活中,我已經把 我的永生,我的家庭,我的事業以及我的財務都心甘情願交給上帝。

然而,儘管我把大部份的生活交給了上帝,可是我仍然想盡辦法希望自己能夠掌握著 ”一分一秒” 的日常生活。就在我爭取統治控制權時,上帝令我瞭解只要我繼續依靠自己的能力去解決我生命中的困難,我就無法體驗信認主耶穌的喜悅。

決定放棄掌控基本上是說,“主啊,即使是遭遇困難或是受到傷害,我也心甘情願的放棄保護自己的權利”。 這是一件非常不容易做到的事情。但是當主耶穌留置在我們的心目中,給予我們祂的聖靈,祂不但開始變成了我們的生命一部份而且把我們轉化成祂的形象。當主耶穌創造我們時,祂從來沒有打算讓我們成為一個僅依靠自己,總是生活在恐懼中的人。祂要我們完全依賴祂,全心全意的信任祂。

我領悟到,在我們還沒有預備好自己之前,上帝是不會呼召我們的。但有時時機成熟並不在於我們覺得預備好了沒有。因 為在現實中,真正預備好不是基於 “感覺”,而是基於上帝如何看我們。從上帝的眼光來看,祂永遠與我們在一起,與我們倂肩同行。因此,上帝神聖的方法是我們唯 一可以信任的 - 而不是基於我們的情緒或是感覺。

基督徒的责任並不是把所有的事情都能夠在腦子裏籌備齊全。上帝從未命令我們想通所有該做的事。但是上帝要求我們相信祂並開始以信仰行事。祂的經文和承諾是肯定的。無論是否有足夠的理由我們可以完全依賴祂。

Simplified Chinese (简体中文):
降服

放弃掌控对我来说是非常困难的。事实上,最近我一直在为此而努力。肯定的,上帝一直在为我解决这个问题,祂让我确信在我的每一层心灵,精神发展过程中,我必须放弃自我,信任祂,而把我所有一切呈献给祂!在我的生活中,我已经把我的永生,我的家庭,我的事业以及我的财务都心甘情愿交给上帝。

然而,尽管我把大部份的生活交给了上帝,可是我仍然想尽办法希望自己能够掌握着“一分一秒”的日常生活。就在我争取统治控制权时,上帝令我了解只要我继续依靠自己的能力去解决我生命中的困难,我就无法体验信认主耶稣的喜悦。

决定放弃掌控基本上是说,“主啊,即使是遭遇困难或是受到伤害,我也心甘情愿的放弃保护自己的权利”。 这是一件非常不容易做到的事情。但是当主耶稣留置在我们的心目中,给予我们祂的圣灵,祂不但开始变成了我们的生命一部份而且把我们转化成祂的形象。当主耶稣创造我们时,祂从来没有打算让我们成为一个仅依靠自己,总是生活在恐惧中的人。祂要我们完全依赖祂,全心全意的信任祂。

我领悟到,在我们还没有预备好自己之前,上帝是不会呼召我们的。 但有时时机成熟并不在于我们觉得预备好了没有。因为在现实中,真正预备好不是基于“感觉”,而是基于上帝如何看我们。从上帝的眼光来看,祂永远与我们在一起,与我们倂肩同行。因此,上帝神圣的方法是我们唯一可以信任的 - 而不是基于我们的情绪或是感觉。

基督徒的责任并不是把所有的事情都能够在脑子里筹备齐全。 上帝从未命令我们想通所有该做的事。但是上帝要求我们相信祂并开始以信仰行事。祂的经文和承诺是肯定的。无论是否有足够的理由我们可以完全依赖祂。