surrender

Surrender: a verb meaning to yield (something) to the possession or power of another.

This is just one definition of surrender, but it's the one I want to focus on.  All summer, God has been asking me to surrender specific things to Him.  Two out of the last three blogs that I've written have had to do with trust and surrender.  God is working in my heart and my mind to train me to trust Him, instead of struggling and stressing to control situations.  It's been an opportunity for me to live some of my favorite Bible verses.  Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. (I Peter 5:7)  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  (Philippians 4:6-7)  And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.  (Romans 8:28)

Let me give you an example.  MY plan for the summer was to do miles of early morning running and train for a September half marathon.  The week after I returned from Ecuador and Galapagos, I was out the door at 4:30 in the morning for an hour of running each day.  By Friday, my heel hurt so badly that I hobbled the last mile of my "run".  I was hoping for a quick fix.  I iced and stayed off my foot as much as possible to no avail.  I knew it wasn't really my foot causing problems, and I remembered that I had severely bruised my calf in Galapagos.  That would do it...the gastrocnemius (calf muscle) is connected to the Achilles' tendon which is connected to the calcaneus bone (heel).  My friend, Mara, has been using Rossiter to help loosen up my calf and tendons and I thought that was going to be the quick fix I was looking for.  I'm still on the road to recovery a month later, but definitely seeing improvement each day.  I'm hoping to start running again soon, but there is no way that I'm going to be ready for 13.1 miles in September.

Somewhere in this past month, I had a choice to make.  1) I could fret and mope and complain that life isn't fair because I'm losing my summer of awesome running.  Or 2) I could surrender the whole thing to God and trust that He is working in this crazy situation for my good.  Door #1 would have lead to a miserable summer.  A bad attitude would have affected every part of my life.  But, Door #2 has given me so much to be grateful for.  I'm learning to trust God deeply and quickly surrender everything to Him.  I have time to talk with Mara while she is "torturing" me.  I'm already grateful for the time when I will once again walk and run without pain!  The summer has been restful and fun.  And the gratitude list continues.

This same choice has presented itself to me in a myriad of other situations this summer.  Unfortunately, there have been times when I have chosen worry and anxiety.  In those times, the Holy Spirit whispered, "trust" and "surrender" and "give it to Jesus".  I had the opportunity to choose again.  And the next time I chose wisely.  God can only give me His peace that passes understanding when I surrender to Him.  God can only work in all things for my good if I will surrender ALL THINGS to Him.  I can only live a life of gratitude and joy and peace when I surrender everything to God.  When I surrender to Him, He gives His best back to me!

  

truth, facts, and feelings

What is the truth?  I often ask myself this question.  My perception of facts and feelings is not always accurate, especially when it's about me.  As a scientist, I am trained to observe and record facts and data and to believe that they are true.  In reality, some "facts" aren't truth.  The numbers that display when I stand on the scale are facts, but they aren't the truth about me...they don't make me more or less valuable.  It's taken nearly 47 years, but I am finally starting to recognize when facts and feelings are are lying to me.

A friend said to me recently, "When I'm with people I don't know, I assume that they aren't going to like me."  Something clicked in my brain at that moment.  I feel the same way.  And suddenly I realized that this feeling is not truth for me any more than it is for my friend. Both of us are surrounded by family and friends who love us, but we fall for the lies that the devil whispers to us trying to shut us down.  If we shut down, we don't fulfill God's purpose and plan, and the enemy wins.

Last spring I wrote in my journal, "My feelings are NOT truth.  They are real, but they are heavily influenced by my perception of the world and the people around me.  The enemy uses deception to muddy my perception and influence my feelings about myself.  It has become a matter of life and death for me to fill myself with God's truth - the only truth!  Everything else is just details!"

My feelings often lie to me.  "You are an inconvenience.  You are more trouble than you are worth.  You are in the way."  I used to listen to the lies and even worse, believe them.  But, now I know the truth!  God's truth!  He says I am fearfully and wonderfully made!  (Psalm 139:14)  He says He loves me so much that He sent His Only Son to die on a cross so that He could have relationship with me!  (John 3:16)  He says I have a purpose and He has good plans for me!  (Jeremiah 29:11)  

The Bible is filled with God's truth about me.  The only way to keep facts and feelings in perspective is to fill my heart and my mind with THE TRUTH.  It's still a battle for me.  I still have to choose every day to fill myself up with God's truth and live in it.  I must choose to believe the truth and deny power to false facts and feelings.  Philippians 4:8 says, "Finally, brothers, whatever is TRUE, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things."  I must choose to let my brain think on things that are true...and not on the lies, no matter how real they seem.  

God's truth is the same for each of us.  He made us in His image!  He loves us!  He has good plans for us!  He gives us good gifts!  I choose God's truth and I pray that you will too!