Surrender

"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ." (Phil. 3:7)

When we surrender to something or someone, there is a sense that we have lost our dignity and we often view ourselves as weak and inferior. However, it takes courage to surrender--courage to step out in faith, believing that God grants His greatest blessing to those who are fully surrendered to Him.

A surrendered Christian is one who has given up the fight to own his own life, for he understands Christ's promise, "He who loses His own life for my sake shall find it." (Matt. 10:39). A surrendered Christian is one who has learned to be content in all things because he has discovered the Lord as his helper. (Phil. 4:11) A surrendered Christian can say " I will not be afraid, for God is with me." (Heb. 13:5-6) A surrendered Christian, though he may be weak in the flesh, is strong because he has allowed God's power to be demonstrated through weakness. (2 Cor. 12:9)

Frances Havergal, the writer of the hymn, "Take My Life and Let it Be", once said, "There must be full surrender before there can be full blessedness." She learned the secret of letting go of all of the trappings of this world, in order to gain the richest treasures that heaven could afford. The more she gave to the Lord, the more He gave her in return. She eventually gave God all that she had; her material possessions, her mind, her will, her voice, her feet, her life. And God gave her Himself. All she desired was more of Him; and so the cycle of surrender continued in her life. She could say along with the apostle Paul, "I count all things as loss for the sake of knowing Christ." (Phil. 3:8)

Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord to Thee
Take my moments and my days
Let them flow in ceaseless praise
Let them flow in ceaseless praise