Fully Surrendered

Surrender is generally seen as a bad thing, giving up or quitting even more so. We are taught to stick with it, see it through, tough it out, or else. It is seen as weakness. Even the idea of surrendering to God is taboo. We need to be our own person, controlled by no one, dependent on no one. How do we reconcile that with being called to submit and even surrender to God?

All to Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.

The song “I Surrender All” by Judson Van De Venter covers this topic beautifully, but not in the way we would expect. Surrender is something to be embraced, even sought. We shouldn’t have to think twice. We should willingly surrender everything to Jesus because of our love and trust for Him. He gave first so that we could give all.

Proverbs 3:5-6 New International Version (NIV) (emphasis added)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.

We are commanded to submit to God, not to be oppressed, but so that we will have a good life free of the pain that comes with a life of sin and selfishness.

All to Jesus I surrender,
Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
Let me feel Thy Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine.

In order to be a follower of Christ, in order to be a child of God, we have to be wholly His, which means surrendering everything to Him. We have to be all in. Half way doesn’t work. There is no fence to sit on. We have to be in or out.

Hebrews 12:8-10 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.

We need to submit to God as His children, for good or discipline, wholly surrendered to Him, trusting that His way and will are best. That is what a child does with his Father.

All to Jesus I surrender,
Lord, I give myself to Thee;
Fill me with Thy love and power,
Let Thy blessing fall on me.

In order to have God’s power, to bear the fruit of His Spirit, we have to have Him in us, to surrender ourselves to Him. We must die to self so that we can live in Him. We need to give up ourselves, given to Him, so that He can make us like Him. That is where blessings come from, surrender and obedience, being filled by Him.

James 4:7 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Like I said, there are only two sides, no middle ground. We either submit to God or the devil. We have to choose which side we will take.

I surrender all, I surrender all;
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.

We need to give everything to God. He saved us from death and the destruction of sin. He gave everything for us. What other response is there but to give everything to Him?

Luke 14:33 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.

The Greek word for possessions literally means to have or to be. It is generally translated as possessions, but it can also mean existence. We should willingly give up our possessions, even our very existence, for the sake of following Christ.

What are you willing to give up for Jesus? Is there anything you’re not willing to give up? Are your desires, your goals, your pleasures more important than your salvation?

Song quoted from hymnary.org. Greek translations from blueletterbible.org