I Surrender
“Yes”
“My Heart Says Yes”
“Yes To Your Will”
“I Surrender”
“I Surrender All”
“I Give Myself Away”
“Withholding Nothing”
These are the titles to songs I’ve sung time and time again. But as is the case with many songs we sing, we enjoy the melody, but do we allow the TRUTH of the lyrics to resonate in our hearts?
Do we ‘live out’ the words we sing?
In my heart and mind I’ve truly purposed to surrender ALL to God, withholding nothing. In my heart and in my mind I delightfully obey God. Yet I find myself in situations from time to time where my surrender has been usurped by MY wishes, MY desires, and MY selfishness.
I invite you all into my VERY private space for a moment. Please don’t judge your girl, just pray for me as I illustrate how I can vacillate with this issue of surrender. I am currently the mother of 5 children ages 11 and under. When I got married I planned to have one or two children, my husband and my career. After the birth of my second child, the Lord gave me CLEAR revelation that my body is not my own and was bought at a price therefore I ought to glorify Him in my body and that included my womb. So surrender my womb to Him. That means that I do not have control over my fertility, reproduction, etc. He does. When people ask, “Are you planning to have more {children}?” my answer is, “I don’t know. His will be done”.
While I’ve surrendered my womb to Him, there are days when I literally tell the Lord, “Dude, 5 is good. You hear me? Five is good”. Those moments when I can’t even pee in peace without the two year old barging into the bathroom, while I hear the 4 year old climbing the shelves of the pantry and the 9 & 11 year olds are arguing all the while a pot is burning on the stove. All I want to do is pee in peace. Lord help me, 5 is good.
Yet I look affectionately at the cute pregnant lady walking past me in the grocery store and I feel the emptiness of my womb and wonder, “Will there be another?” My children declare almost daily their longing for a baby sister. They’ve already named her and have a bed ready for her. Each month that I get my cycle is fraught with emotions of relief mixed with a twinge of disappointment. Then if the cycle is a day or two late, I may get anxious with thoughts of how it could really work. How would I manage? Do we have enough money for another baby? I’d need a new car. What about this business I am trying to grow? And on and on.
So you see, even after placing my womb on the altar many years ago, I’m prone every now and again to want to try to run back to the altar and pick it up and run as fast and far as I can in the opposite direction. Even if I don’t pick it up, I may stare longingly, devising plans on how to retrieve it, or trying to negotiate with God on partial surrender (which by the way isn’t surrender). As I said, pray for your girl.
How then do we ‘train’ ourselves to obey? How do we surrender?
We hold fast to the TRUTH.
We meditate on the truth.
And what is the truth?
Jesus is the WAY, THE TRUTH and THE LIFE
His WORD is TRUTH
When the feelings of “5 is good” come up I tell myself the truth saying:
~If I keep my mind on You, You will keep me in perfect peace
~Every good and perfect gift comes from You
~Children are a blessing and the fruit of the womb is a reward
~I’ve never seen the righteous forsaken nor His seed begging bread
~You will supply ALL my needs according to your riches in glory
Then Jesus gently whispers,
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.” John 14:15
He also reminds me that when I do what He says, He will make my way prosperous and I will have good success. In this, He knows I may be weak, fearful and uncertain so He reassures me not to be afraid but to be strong and courageous.
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:8-9
So I cry out to Him in prayer:
You Lord are the Grand Weaver. You see all the strands and intricately weave them together to fashion my story. You pull the tapestry taut as you skillfully make me a new creation. You shed, pick and beat-up as you let off and take up so that I shine without spot or wrinkle. I am weak God. The current of life pulls me in and out. But you Oh God are my anchor. I surrender what I am, to become who you created me to be. I thank you for never leaving nor forsaking me. I thank you that you will be with me until the end of the age. Lord I’m feeling squeezed on every side but I turn my pressure into praise. I thank you for ministering grace and for moving your truth from my head to my heart. Now Lord grant me your peace as I walk out the path you’ve set before me.
To be who He created me to be requires a daily dying to myself. As a disciple, I take up my cross daily and follow Him. And in my everyday life that translates to delightfully obeying Him with a heart of surrender. I surrender. As in the above example, while the thought of a new baby is all at once thrilling and scary, I redirect my attention back to His word.
A few years ago, the Lord impressed upon my heart, “True disciples…OBEY”.
If you are a disciple, a close follower of Christ, do what He tells you to do. Though it may be difficult, He duly equips you. He doesn’t just say, “Follow Me” then runs off and leaves you. NO. He says “Follow Me” then He leads you in paths of righteousness, His rod and staff comfort you, He teaches you along the way, He orders your steps, He knows your uprising and your going down. When you purpose in your heart, Lord YOUR WILL be done, He sends ministering angels to strengthen you.
He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. Luke 22:41-43
For me it’s an undisclosed number of children. For you it may be your job, your marriage, your mind, your ministry, your health, your children.
In what area(s) is He calling you to surrender?
In what area(s) is He calling you to obey?
I want to join you in prayer so write your thing in the comment section below. Once you admit it, then surrender it, you can move forward in delightfully obeying Him.
As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!
Happy to be connecting with friends at:
Mama Moments Mondays Mom 2 Mom Purposeful Faith Front Porch Inspired Equipping Godly Women Dance With Jesus
Tyra,
I hear you sister! As you’re preaching to yourself, you are preaching to me!! Surrendering is HARD. We fight that urge to be our own God and call the shots rather than bow the knee to King Jesus and all He desires to do in and through us! Praise GOD He doesn’t do MY will!! What a complete mess that would be! Linking up with you today from Equipping Godly Women! 🙂
This is why we are reminded to take up our cross daily and follow Him. He knew we’d need that redirection daily. Praying the strength of your arms in taking up the heavy rugged cross.
Wow–five children. Good for you 🙂 Our third little one is on the way now.
But as is the case with many songs we sing, we enjoy the melody, but do we allow the TRUTH of the lyrics to resonate in our hearts?
WOW Tyra! So much truth in your words. May His words resonant in my heart and my life.
Thank you for joining the dance to day at #DanceWithJesus
I surrender all…what a great way to start EVERYDAY Tyra! SO good. This is so necessary for God to trust us with all that He has in store for us. Thank you for this share Friend! Much love for ya! And thanks for the Link tutorial! 🙂
Yolanda,
Yes my friend. Daily we surrender, taking up our cross to follow Him. And actually for me it’s a minute by minute surrender as I listen to the Holy Spirit for guidance and follow his promptings.
It certainly is a struggle to surrender, because it goes against what society trains us to do… Put on our big girl panties and make things happen. Don’t give up, don’t give in. Take charge, command your destiny. But God doesn’t work that way, we must surrender to His almighty control in our lives…tough stuff! I’ll be praying for you! So glad the Equipping Godly Women brought us to each other!
Yes yes! All those ism’s you stated. Now that would make a great post. And as women the world tells us “Lean In” do all be all to everyone. Well let’s make a pact to surrender all. Praying you find rest and freedom in surrendering to Him.
Tyra, you are awesome first off. Second, you instruct me and help me see real surrender. I commend your womb surrender. What a heart for the Lord (and children)! I get you on those bathroom moments. I never seem to get a free one either. I think playing music loud in the car is the best moment to get a break. ha! Cheering you on from the #RaRalinkup on Purposeful Faith. XOXO
Kelly,
Thank U for the love sister. The walk of surrender is indeed not an easy one but with the gentle guidance, instruction and Unfailing love of the Holy Spirit we can take up our cross daily and follow up.
The Grand Weaver… oh, I love that phrase! We don’t get to see the big picture, we just have to obey, lay our lives at His altar, and make Him the constant thread in it all.
What a fabulous post, thanks for being so exposed and gracious with the things He’s doing in your life Tyra. He’ll bless you for it, bigger than big!
I love that phrase too. It is a book title by Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias. When I did some research on weaving I saw how the title was so appropriate to how He skillfully links EVERY fiber of our existence. The thought of it is astonishing. I thank you for the words of encouragement and I pray your strength and courage as you obediently follow Him.
Wow! Thank you so much for sharing! As I’m participating in the Surrender Fast Cycle 9 with Dr. Celeste Owens, I was somewhat not sure what to surrender but after reading your blog so much came to mind. So I surrender obedience and control. I can name more but those are the two that stick out the most.
Knowing that God is always there for me should be sufficient for me to obey Him and let Him handle my cares or concerns. There are many times that I get frustrated as a mother and just a woman period. But today God has reminded me that “He Got This”!
Cassandra so proud of your resolve to surrender. As a recovering control freak, I know there is true liberty and freedom in trusting God and in delightfully obeying Him. And as a result He has charged me to call others to walk as true disciplines in obedience. On my website you can find many blog posts on obedience for additional encouragement. I am praying with you.
Oh, this was so good Tyra! I can relate to many of the things you mentioned. “All I want to do is pee in peace.” Haha, yes…my favorite.
My item of surrender is control. When I think about certain areas in my life, and can’t see the end result, I want to give God a “helping” hand, get involved and work it out in my own strength. This is an ongoing battle with self, but I have decided to give it to Him and trust in His plan, in which, I know is best for me.
Its scary and hard, but its indeed the absolute best option.
Yes sis it is scary but that’s why we’ve been reminded to be strong and courageous. Let us keep the truth before us and move forward surrendered, delightfully obeying. I join you in pray for relinquishing control. I can pray that one in a special way as a recovering control freak:)