It is in these difficult times that we must totally surrender to God. It is also on these occasions that it is important to remember the verse in Jeremiah 29:11 which says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Like all of you, I have experienced
many such situations where I honestly didn't know the why, the how, or the
direction in which the Lord was sending me. I must admit that many times I
resisted and struggled with not knowing the why and the how.
Nevertheless, over the years, I've learned that struggling and resisting have only brought me
anguish, moments of discouragement, and even despair.
In the bible we have a good example of surrendering to God in Genesis 12:1, where the Lord tells Abraham: “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.” If you notice, God told Abraham to go, but He didn't give him a list of instructions. Abraham had to activate his faith and go before the Lord gave him further instructions.
Isaiah 55:8-9 we read: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” As God's children we can be assured that since the Lord promises to meet our needs, a temporary silence from heaven has a purpose. A temporary silence from heaven teaches us to completely trust our Heavenly Father.
When we encounter worries, anxieties, fears and sorrows, we should not complain… at least
not for long. In times such as these the Holy Spirit reminds us that these bible verses are to be a declaration of total surrender. Myself personally, I find that declaring those verses out loud gives me the confidence and the peace that no matter what I am facing, the Lord is taking care of me. Having this assurance makes is easier for me to totally surrender.
Complaining gets us nowhere. But a declaration, even without immediate changes the situation, brings peace to our souls. Declaring these verses also gives us the certainty that the Lord is taking care of us and that He is dealing with the dilemmna we are experiencing.
On many occasions, I have found myself in difficult
situations, situations where I didn't know what to do. These emotional and difficult circumstances would drain me of all physical strength. But over the years, I have learned that in these stressful times, when I declare these verses, peace returns, calm returns, and even if I
do not have all the answers, by faith I surrendered myself to the Lord, because I had learned that He is taking good care of me.
To this day, when I face a difficult predicament as soon as I surrender completely and begin to thank my Heavenly Father for the amazing way He will resolve my situation, I have complete peace to move forward without immediately knowing all the answers.
In
His infinite goodness and with my complete surrender, I can say that my Heavenly Father has taken care of me
in ways that only He knows and is able to take care of me.
In
Matthew 28:20b, Jesus tells us: “I am with you always, to the very end of the
age.” What a wonderful and reassuring promise.
Over the course of the last 45 years, I have found it easier to say, "Please allow this, Lord…" I declare in faith in my own words: "For HIS thoughts are not my thoughts, neither are HIS ways my ways." Every time I have let go and trusted the Lord completely, the problem or situation has been resolved in a much better way than I could have imagined. Even in circumstances that did not turn out the way I would have wanted, and there were several of those, He gave me the strength and the peace I needed to move forward under His guidance. He always kept His promise to be with me at every step of the way.
Conclusion: It is always better to surrender and say, “Lord, please allow this.” Then, we are always amazed how faithful the Lord is to each one of us and how peaceful we are knowing how well He takes care of you and of me in every situation and circumstance we all encounter during our daily lives.
Yes, it is always better to totally surrender and say, “Lord, please allow this.” Once we totally surrender we can then say: "All is well with my soul."
Take care,
Denise
Please note that there are many other bible verses that apply to the benefits of total surrender, the ones mentioned in this article are some of my favourites.
Bible verses taken from the New international Version
