The supreme example of self-surrender is Jesus. The night before his crucifixion, Jesus surrendered himself to God’s plan.
He prayed, “Father, everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not my own.” In an amazing act of complete and total humility, Jesus surrendered himself to the will of the Father.
Surrender is an act of humility. Our inclination is to try to stay in charge. Pride causes us to want to stay in control. Fear makes us afraid to surrender our lives to God.
Our tendency is to make our plans without even consulting God. Then we want to pray and ask God to bless our plans. Why ask God to bless the life you are living if you are unwilling to live the life God has already promised to bless?
In so many ways, that is the height of arrogance and the complete opposite of humility. Then we go so far as to get angry with God because our self-centered plans didn’t work out the way we wanted. That’s called pride, and God hates it.
James 4:6 tells us that “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Do you really want to be opposed by God? There’s no way you’re going to win that battle.
In Romans 6:13, we are challenged to offer ourselves to God and offer the parts of our body to him as instruments of righteousness. In so many ways, humility is about surrender.
Prideful people will want to stay in the driver’s seat. But surrender and humility mean giving up control. I choose God’s plan over my own.
Have you come to the point in your life when you can honestly say, “God, I want your plans more than my own. I want your will more than my own.” That is what surrender truly looks like. That is submission on the highest level. That’s humility.
There’s incredible wisdom and humility in surrendering your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Just to be able to say, “God, I want you to be in charge. You call the shots. From now on, I want you to be in the driver’s seat.”
The ultimate act of humility is giving up control of your life to the God who made you. To be able to say, “God, from now on, I want you to be in charge. I’m all in. I surrender myself to you. Nothing held back. It’s all yours.”
You may read Steve Greene’s blog at pastorgreene.wordpress.com or you can email him at steve@gotothe point.com.