How do we fully surrender ourselves to God?
Let’s begin by reading Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” The Lord wants us to present ourselves to Him as a living sacrifice. We cannot be conformed to this world and serve the Lord! We must be transformed through the renewing of our minds. We do this by being in God’s Word continuously. We allow His Word to do its work in our lives, changing us to be more like our savior. Indeed, the Word has transforming powers and if we are faithful students of His Word, we will fully surrender ourselves to the Lord.
Romans 6:11 says, “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” We must think of ourselves as dead to sin and alive unto God so that we might give ourselves over completely to the Lord so that He might guide us and bless us.
Romans 6:13 tells us, “Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.” We also read in Matthew 6:24, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” We cannot ‘partially’ surrender our lives to the Lord. That will only cause conflict in our lives and we will eventually surrender all our lives to the flesh, the world, and the devil.
James 4:7 tells us to, “Submit yourselves therefore to God…” That means to put yourself into the Lord’s hands, realizing that His way, His purpose, His strength, and His leading is perfect. Do you every think that you know more than the Lord, sometimes? Well, you do not. To submit yourself to Him is to realize that He is supreme and that His ways are ALWAYS right. This should give us the confidence to put ourselves totally in His care.
The Lord Jesus said in of His Father in John 8:29, “And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I DO ALWAYS THOSE THINGS THAT PLEASE HIM.” To totally surrender to the Lord is to adopt the attitude of the Lord Jesus. We should seek to ALWAYS please the Lord, doing those things that He has instructed us to do. The Lord Jesus said that we are to “deny ourselves” (Mark 8:34). That means that we lay aside all our desires and seek to please only the Lord with our lives. What blessing await those who surrender their lives to Him!
I’m reminded of the old hymn, I SURRENDER ALL.
All to Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.
Refrain:
I surrender all,
I surrender all;
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all. (253.10)