True surrender is not simply surrender of our external life but surrender of our will— and once that is done, surrender is complete. The greatest crisis we ever face is the surrender of our will. Yet God never forces a person’s will into surrender, and He never begs. He patiently waits until that person willingly yields to Him. And once that battle has been fought, it never needs to be fought again.

Surrender for Deliverance. “Come to Me . . . and I will give you rest” ( Matthew 11:28 ). It is only after we have begun to experience what salvation really means that we surrender our will to Jesus for rest. Whatever is causing us a sense of uncertainty is actually a call to our will— “Come to Me.” And it is a voluntary coming.

Surrender for Devotion. “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself . . . ” (Matthew 16:24). The surrender here is of my self to Jesus, with His rest at the heart of my being. He says, “If you want to be My disciple, you must give up your right to yourself to Me.” And once this is done, the remainder of your life will exhibit nothing but the evidence of this surrender, and you never need to be concerned again with what the future may hold for you. Whatever your circumstances may be, Jesus is totally sufficient (see 2 Corinthians 12:9 and (Philippians 4:19).

Surrender for Death. “. . . another will gird you . . .” (John 21:18 ; also see John21:19 ). Have you learned what it means to be girded for death? Beware of some surrender that you make to God in an ecstatic moment in your life, because you are apt to take it back again. True surrender is a matter of being “united together [with Jesus] in the likeness of His death” ( Romans 6:5 ) until nothing ever appeals to you that did not appeal to Him.

And after you surrender— then what? Your entire life should be characterized by an eagerness to maintain unbroken fellowship and oneness with God.

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September 13, 2010

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

How do I know if I have surrendered all when I still doubt and am afraid that God will not meet me at the point of my needs? I have asked God to take all of me, and change me from the inside out, but how can I really know that He has consumed me from the inside out when I still have doubts?

And God says…”You will always have doubts when you take your eyes off of Jesus. You are human and full of human frailty. You keep waiting on changes within you and it is not you that changes, it is you that diminishes. This does not mean that you are less likely to be your old self, it means that when you are focused on Jesus you cannot be you old self……but take your eyes off of Him and you are like Peter sinking.”

“Focus on Jesus, worship and give your day to Me, and tell Me then if you have any doubts. It is not possible. Knock and the door shall be opened, seek and you shall find. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desire of your heart.”