Surrendering to Win
Rev. Joseph R. Reid
Learning to surrender to God is a hard lesson. As Americans, we don’t know the meaning of ‘surrender.’ We are taught from the cradle to the grave to never give up. Our culture and society is built around winning. In sports, education, home and family life we are competitive by nature. The famous coach Vince Lombardi, once remarked,“Winning isn’t everything but wanting to win is.” We Americans take this statement to heart! We love a winner and will not tolerate a loser! In times of war this attitude has kept this nation free.
But when it come to spiritual matters, the opposite is true. To follow Christ we have to surrender to win. I have heard the story of a man who had been drinking heavily. He bumped into a stop sign. Dazed and disoriented, he stepped back and advanced in the same direction. Once more he hit the sign. He retreated a few steps, waited awhile, and then marched forward, colliding with the post again, he embraced it in defeat and said ’It is no use. I am fenced in. I am stopped in every direction.’ That is the feeling we have sometimes trying to obey God’s will, unless we surrender to win.
There are two ways to surrender to win. First, by giving our whole life to God in Jesus Christ and second, by trusting Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and loving our neighbor as ourselves. In the Bible Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will see the Kingdom.” He is making a distinction between those who have surrendered and those who have not. He is implying even though we call on His name every day, on Sunday, or in prayer, that does not mean we “Will enter the kingdom of heaven.” Just because we are members of a church or have repented of our sins and claim to be born again or baptized does not mean we have given our life totally to God. Jesus lays out a clear criteria for entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. He says, “But only the one,” it could be me or you, “Who does the will of my Father in heaven.”
Now the big question. How do we do the will of God? I say we cannot and will not do the will of God unless we have surrendered our life, totally and completely to God. The problem is we expect and want to do the will of God without surrendering totally to Him.
Again, how do we know we have surrendered, we might ask?
Let me share two ways. First, we must give our whole life to God in Jesus Christ. Again Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven…” Just by praising me, Jesus says, you will not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Flattery won’t help. And we go on flattering God in hope that flattery will work without surrender. Only spiritual work, only conscious devout effort, hard sacred effort will help – nothing else can help. And unless we have given our whole life to God in Jesus Christ we will not do the work necessary to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Worship is good. Singing is good. Praise is good. Prayer and meditation is good. Doing these things prepares the way, but along with talking the talk, we must walk the walk of faith! This is how we win in God!
The second way of surrendering to win is by trusting God with all our heart, soul, mind and loving our neighbor as ourselves. Trust is surrender! Trust is giving ourselves away to the Lord. How? The same way we are willing to give our life for our country and family. The same way we are willing to work 24/7 to provide for ourselves, family and our way of life. Surrendering to God is a demonstration not with just our head and body, but requires us to trust God with “all of our heart, soul, mind, strength and love our neighbor as ourselves.”
