I am extremely blessed to have such an amazing church that I attend here in Pensacola. This week’s message was one of the best since I have been here and I wanted to share it with my Madison community. We talked about the concept of surrender, and what it means to fully surrender yourself to God. My wonderful pastor started off the message by describing the difference between sacrifice and surrender. Sacrifice is seen as a reasonable action by us Christians, and is something to be expected. Surrender is something much more. We are typically good at making sacrifices, but fully surrendering to the Lord takes action in our everyday life. It includes burning bridges to the old way of living (in sin) and not turning back.
This concept of surrender is frowned upon in today’s society. Everyone has their competitive side, and surrender is seen as defeat rather than a positive. Do not let the societal view of surrender sway you from the actual purpose that God has for your life. Instead, place all aspects of your life in His hands. Of course, that task is probably one of the most difficult, yet vital, ones in a Christian’s life. God does not expect us to be perfect at this concept, but life will be filled with so much more light if we continuously make an effort to work towards this goal.
You all know that I like to be completely honest in these columns, and today is no exception. Personally, I struggle with very bad anxiety and have had this issue throughout my entire life. That being said, I have worked extremely hard on handing over my worries to God and fully surrendering myself to Him. After the message this Sunday, I approached my church family and asked for prayers in my journey of surrender. They laid their hands on my shoulders and prayed for me to find His guidance and for the strength to continue to grow in Him. They prayed for my peace in knowing that He has everything under control and He has a plan for me. They prayed for me to find His voice in myself and to remember that I am loved. I bawled throughout this time but by the end of it, I was calm. A weight had been lifted off of my shoulders and I know it came from the working of the Lord.
Even though this work was done in my Sunday service, that does not mean it goes onto the back burner of my life. I have to remember this event everyday and continue to live my life through Him. I have to actively surrender to Him every single day. It may not be easy at times, but nothing worth having comes easy. I hope you all resonate with this message in your own lives and continue to work on your personal development and relationship with the Lord. I am blessed to be able to share this experience with you. Have a wonderful weekend.