Finding Strength in Surrender
A few years ago I faced a huge battle.
Maybe you know the kind. Some parts were painfully public and obvious. Others were battles of the mind: internal and personal.
It was an exhausting, daily struggle to keep my head above water.
There are many things about that year I’d wish to forget and leave behind. Lots of memories needed erasing (and prayer counselling) along with feelings I wanted to disassociate myself from.
But even through all the mess I learnt so much about myself, about others and about what I believe true strength looks like.
Choosing to Surrender
True strength looks like surrender. It is holding your hands up and saying, “I can’t do this by myself”. It is trusting that no matter how broken the situation, God’s almighty love is big enough to fix it.
Choosing to give it all to God is the greatest strength you could find.
I have found a strength that is beyond me, and yet within me at the same time.
In my surrender of letting things go I became stronger. I have found a strength that is beyond me, and yet within me at the same time. Trading my hurts, pains and disappointments for God’s presence and comfort is where I grew. He is my strength, the source of all my hope.
Sometimes it felt I was surviving by the skin of my teeth, gripping tightly by the tips of my fingers. Trying to catch a breath while it felt like all around me was imploding.
At times, it felt like I’d been taken out from the knees. I was crushed and I stumbled.
It felt like my most common posture was lying face down in the dirt.
But not for a moment did my God leave my side. When I felt like I could go on no longer, He sustained me.
My strength was found at my weakest, acknowledging my need for someone bigger and stronger than myself.
I found strength in my surrender.
Doing it His Way
Strength is found in the choice to listen to the still small voice of the Spirit saying ‘hold on’ and ‘have another go’. It’s found in the dignity of silence rather than shouting loudly from the rooftops. It’s found in the daily choice to remain, to be present.
I will not insist on trying to strive or muster up unhelpful solutions by chasing my own ‘fix-it’ plan.
Instead I will lean into my Father’s presence and trust in His goodness as He breathes life into what the enemy sought to turn into a wasteland.
The thing is - we already know the ending. We know that, although he’ll have a good go at deceiving us otherwise, spinning lies and attacking the very core of who we are, the enemy has been defeated. Jesus has won.
The sigh of relief from the whole of creation as He uttered those final words ‘it is finished’ can be our relief too.
Whatever our current realities we can hold onto that eternal promise when we face daily battles, whether physical or emotional. That pain? It is finished. That hopelessness? It is finished. That broken heart? It is finished. Those tears? They are finished.
Because when Jesus fully surrendered He won.
He trusted the Father. Working together they claimed victory over the enemy and defeated evil. And when I fully surrender I win too.
When I trust the Father then I know victory is coming. My circumstances may look no different, the pain may still need processing and the hope will have to blossom again, but blossom it will. Because the truth of His word never changes. He fights for us, He stands with us. He will never leave you. He will never forsake you.
Claiming Victory
It is our choice how we respond to trials and difficult times. Sometimes our response to a situation is the only thing within our control.
Will we give into the battle or ‘give in’ to Him? It’s the most important decision you will make.
In surrender to Him is where our strength is found.
Will you keep trying to fight your battles in your own power? Will you draw on His strength?
It’s the only way to claim the victory that is already our inheritance. Leaning in and fully surrendered.
He knows the fight you're facing and He champions you.
And one final encouragement is that, although others may not know the intricacies of the battle, God does.
He sees it all.
He knows the fight you’re facing and He champions you. He declares over you the promise that ‘it is finished’. And He cheers you on, smiling as your strength begins to rise.
Claiming victory and strength from a place of surrender can be yours too. Choose His strength, not your own!
Exodus 14:14
