Abandonment... The Next Step

continuing from last time...

Although I certainly feel confident in the surrender that I have made, I realize more clearly now that my surrender is not complete. Not full. Having previously declared to myself that "surely I've surrendered everything now," I continued to find areas of my life that were exempt from the surrender; areas that I'd excluded God's perfect will from controlling.

Searching out the next area for surrender was always a hit-and-miss proposition. I'd think real hard... until I would discover (or not) an area that I had intentionally excluded from the agreement, only to discover later that there were more. How easy it is to fool yourself when that is your fundamental goal. It is almost as if I was fighting for the survival of my self, and then I realized that that was exactly the case. My flesh was fighting to keep its identity. Not fully accepting that it was created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), my flesh reckoned that it was an entity unto itself — somehow important, because it was unique and was actively hiding these areas to extend its useful life. This unenlightened approach to searching out these areas seems so naïve now. Dallas Willard's Renovation of the Heart proved to be the source for the energy needed to overcome the inertia inherent in my unredeemed flesh.

When the individual is fully surrendered, there is no longer any part of himself or herself that holds back from God's will. Typically, at this point, surrender now covers all the circumstances of life, not just the truth about God and his explicit will (commandments) for human beings, given through the Bible.

While some things that happen to us may clearly not be what God would wish or has brought about, yet he does allow all — the tragic loss of a loved one, for example, or of health or opportunity, or a grievous wrong done to us by the sins of others. Otherwise such things would not happen. We therefore no longer fret over "the bad things that happen to good people," though we may undergo much hardship and suffering. While he does not cause these things to happen, we now accept them as within his plan for good to those who love him and are living in his purposes (Romans 8:28). Irredeemable harm does not befall those who willingly live in the hand of God. What an astonishing reality.

Given this new insight, I can formulate a new approach to rooting out every cache of "me-ness" that hasn't been surrendered. So what's the insight? It's hidden right there in a Bible verse that I've read hundreds of times. Paul writes to all of the people in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his own holy people. He tells them...

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

So those things in my life that I fret over, or regard as unfair, or unfitting for a person such as myself... point to areas that have not been surrendered. Full surrender becomes abandonment to God's will when we accept our situation, even though we may not like it. Job clearly did not like the situation he was in, and though he did not curse God, he most certainly thought it unfair that he should be treated as he had been, that is, until he faced the Creator of the Heavens and Earth. He quickly set aside all complaints and accepted his lot. He abandoned his own will for God's will and received a new identity in Christ.

That same new identity is available for me and you when we choose to abandon ourselves completely to Christ. In what could be perhaps the greatest irony to those who steadfastly hold onto self, we may not have the choice we think we have. In describing the gates of hell, Dante writes "All hope abandon ye who enter here." The ultimate question may not be whether we will eventually abandon all, but rather what we choose to abandon — hope or self. If we would enter into the kingdom of God, I believe that we must fully abandon our identity made of flesh and fully accept the new identity Christ has made available to us. In the end, Job replied to the LORD:

"I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. You asked, 'Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?' Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. "You said, 'Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.' My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes." (Job 42:1-6)

When Job accepted that new identity, he was blessed. We find that the LORD blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first. As soon as we abandon ourselves to God, and accept the new identity he has for us, we will be blessed and can rest in his embrace knowing that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

I Surrender All

Have you ever wondered whether you really surrendered your will to Christ? Has the "accuser of our brothers and sisters" been at work accusing you of faking it? From time to time, I find myself in this position and begin to doubt my intentions. When the lyrics to I Surrender All are flashed on the overhead during worship — a flash of doubt may accompany it. While reading Renovation of the Heart by Dallas Willard recently, I ran across his description of the steps involved in transforming the mind in Christ-likeness.

In the progression toward complete identification of our will with God's there are distinctions to be noted. First there is surrender. When we surrender our will to God we consent to his supremacy in all things. Perhaps we do so grudgingly. We recognize his supremacy intellectually, and we concede to it in practice — though we still may not like it, and parts of us may still resist it.

We may not be able to do his will, but we are willing to will it. In this condition there is still much grumbling and complaining about our life and about God. ... Still, this is an important move forward. The center of the self, the heart or spirit, is now willing for God to be God — even if with little hope or enthusiasm. Perhaps it is only willing to be made willing. But it is for lack of this minimal identification with God's will that multitudes of people are unable to understand the truth of Jesus (John 7:17). Such persons are not willing to do his will, and hence God does not open their understanding, and they cannot do so. They are left to struggle in the darkness, which they in fact desire. And they will certainly reproach God for not giving them more light, though they are unwilling to act on the light they have.

He continues with a discussion on the next steps — abandonment, contentment, and finally participation, but we will dwell on surrender for now. I have to admit that I had never quite viewed surrender in this way before, but the more I entertained it in my mind, the more it resonated until I realized that my doubts about surrender had more to do with a lack of understanding than a lack of surrender.

Consider the act of surrender from an armed combatants view. An honorable soldier forced to surrender may grudgingly concede the current advantage to the adversary, but is still looking for a way of escape. In fact, Article III of the Code of Conduct for members of the Armed Forces compels the service member to "continue to resist by all means available." Every part of our being screams out this same chorus with respect to our surrender to God. Our carnal members desire freedom, yet they are blind to the path of true freedom for His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:9).

Another view on surrender comes from the insurance field. When someone cancels a policy before the death of the insured person, they are said to have surrendered the policy and may be eligible to receive the surrender value of the policy. Without stretching the analogy too far, we can choose to cancel the whole life policy we received at birth (by repenting of our sins and believing in Jesus) and we are eligible for a new policy that offers so much more.

I absolutely delight in the way the Lord opens my eyes!

The best part of this new (for me) insight, is that future forays into abandonment, contentment, and full participation with God can begin in an unshakeable footing that the accuser cannot deny. Too often before, as I would begin a fresh decision to more fully give myself over to God, I found myself slipping backwards rather than going forwards. Now, rooted in confidence, I have already experienced fresh joy, peace, and contentment in the arms of a loving God and next time the lyrics of I Surrender All are flashed on the overhead I will have confidence in my position before the throne and I will worship Him in full surrender. Praise God!