I imagine surrender as…
The free fall moment when you are suspended between the high dive and the waiting water below
The arms of your young sons stretched wide as they race toward you on chubby legs to receive your embrace
The unconditional love of your parents – hearts always wide open – as they listen, teach and walk you through life even as an adult
The slow motion of one tiny rose bud as it unfolds layer upon layer to reveal its beauty
The sun as it takes its final bow each night and slips below the horizon
And the ultimate surrender…
Jesus as He took His final breath, nailed to a cross, as God’s ultimate sacrifice of love to save us from ourselves and our sins
[Tweet “In the act of surrendering, our inward focus turns out toward God.”]
How do we live a surrendered life when the world thinks it knows best and we are pulled in many directions? How do we unfold the hidden secrets and dark places to receive the grace and love that is freely given by God? How do we say “yes” to living a life that follows hard after Jesus and mirrors a love for others?
We are advised in Proverbs 23:26…
O my son, give me your heart.
May your eyes take delight in following my ways.
Surrender is a shift from looking inward to focusing out toward God. It is taking our eyes off ourselves and our agendas and letting God’s ways become our own. Rick Warren says it well…
And so I question how a life of surrender might look and more questions surface.
What if instead of bowing low, we lift our eyes upward?
What if instead of clasping our hands tightly, we open them palms up in a stance of receiving?
What if instead of sitting in silence we make our voice known to the Heavens above?
In the unclasping of hands, we open our hearts wide to the amazing grace of God. Standing in a posture of receiving, opens our eyes to God’s glory and our ability to make a difference right where we are.
[Tweet “Our open hearts invite others to follow the same path to the cross of Jesus.”]
As we follow the path to the cross in these next ten days or so, may we be a people of surrender – take a chance on opening wide our hearts for God to create a resurrection in our faith and actions toward others.
May our open hearts become an invitation for others to follow the same path to the cross during the Easter season and throughout the rest of the year.
Blessings,
Mary
Blessed to be linking with:
#DanceWithJesus @ susanbmead.com
Loved the photo and the Word. A real blessing to see!!
Thank you for being here Joanne! May God bless you with a heart that surrenders all to Him. Have a beautiful week!
Mary, I love your thoughts on surrender, and I love how you end it with: “As we follow the path to the cross in these next ten days or so, may we be a people of surrender – take a chance on opening wide our hearts for God to create a resurrection in our faith and actions toward others.” May God do this work in all of our hearts enabling us to fully surrender to Him. I’m visiting from #GiveMeGrace.
Thank you Gayl. Your words are encouraging and your plea at the end for God to work in our hearts to fully surrender is a beautiful prayer. I also pray for sweet surrender for all during this Holy Week and all year long. Blessings!
The ultimate surrender–thinking about Easter next weekend. It’s a beautiful image. There are still so many ways left for me to experiences surrender…. Thanks for this gentle prodding, Mary.
Surrendering is a process that for me is never ending. I always have some of the same things to surrender to because I’m not very good at it or new things come along. With Easter a little over a week away, I want to walk the path to the cross with a heart that is Jesus-focused and willing to change as He calls. Blessed by your encouragement. Happy weekend!
I always believe that it’s not what we teach others through words but actions that bring them to Christ. 🙂
How we live our lives is very telling in showing others where our heart and focus resides. Always glad to see you here Lux! Blessings!
Surrendering with you, Mary!
Amen to that! There is strength when you walk the road to Jesus with others. Blessed end of Lent and beginning of Easter to you.
It’s a beautiful post, and lovely imagery, but, as you may have guessed, I don’t do surrender.
The past week or so in my life has underlined how vicious a fight I’m in, and rather than letting go and falling into Jesus’ embrace (as has been directly suggested by those close to me), I’m just going to fight harder, with more fury, with more aggressiveness.
It’s not a Pyrrhic thing, not a Last Stand to leave some sort of legacy. I intend to win, and I’m not particularly impressed by the damage I may leave in so doing. Survival is ugly; so be it. Never would have made the cover of GQ anyway.
But life, and the work that God has called me to do, is worth it. A surrender would be the abandonment of my post, and that simply isn’t on.
Weapons in hand, and a song in my heart, I fight on. No surrender, and I’ll make the enemy wish he’d never been created.
Ake Ake Kia Kaha!
Yes I know you don’t do surrender. I hear the fight in your words and know that if I heard your voice, I would hear the same. I continue to pray for you as you wage this battle toward victory. Blessings Andrew!
Surrender. A timely message, friend. Thank you. xoxo
Thank you for being here! I could read a message about surrender everyday and it still would be very difficult. Love seeing your beautiful face!
I think if we can just get that “surrendering part” right, Mary, our lives and relationships would be like night and day. It might not change our circumstances, but our hearts would rejoice in the ways of our Lord. I love the way you’ve described surrender here for us today, my friend. It’s like a warm hug on a cold, windy day! 🙂
Well I’m sorry if you are having a cold day-we actually had a warm spring day with temps expected drop again tomorrow.
I do agree that working on surrendering would be such a beautiful answer to how we approach life and relationships. I am praying that God shows each of us our path to full surrender and we listen and follow His lead. Blessed as always that you are here and for being such a beautiful part of my community here. Love and hugs!
Wonderful word on the importance of surrender, Mary!
Thank you Kristine! May we all find our own surrender and in the process learn who are as a child of God. Blessings!
Love this post, especially this quote, “Standing in a posture of receiving, opens our eyes to God’s glory and our ability to make a difference right where we are.” so true ❤️
I’m so glad you are here and your sweet words fill my heart with “happy”! Thank you for the encouragement and may we all make a difference together. Blessings!
Beautiful words. So encouraging for me today. Thanks for sharing.
So glad you stopped by Cathy! The beauty in the words is all because of Him. We are blessed by a God who loves to show up just when we need Him and even when we do not need Him. Blessed you were here today!
Oh yes! I am learning the art of surrender. There is the ache of it, but there is beauty in it. Thank you for stirring my heart towards Him this morning.
Oh yes-the ache of the surrender. It’s one of the reasons we don’t let go. However the beauty of full release is so much more worth it. So blessed you stopped by Barbie! You bless me by being here! Love you!
Beautiful, Mary! If I lived my life truly surrendered many of my problems would be solved, and my stresses diminished!
Yes if I could fully surrender I am sure that God would be doing a happy dance!! 🙂 It is such a challenge but I pray everyday that God will help me release hold of some of those things I need to surrender the most. Thank you for being here! Happy end of the week!
Ultimate surrender. Oh, that will be the day when not one single thing even begins to hinder our complete adoration and worship! He is so worthy.
Come quickly, Lord Jesus.
Amen! That day will be beautiful and amazing. May we all follow the path to the cross, die to ourselves and embrace Jesus as our all in all. Blessings friend!
Great message on surrender rifht when I needed it.
Amen! So glad to see you here Karen! Hope your travels are restoring and renewing. Miss you!
Mary, I love the awesomeness that is this post! Wise words, insights and powerful truth. Thank you for calling us to lay it ALL down and for showing us what this looks like! Cheering you on from the #RaRalinkup on Purposeful Faith. Love ya!
I love the power of God in my life and His strength to share His words through me. I am awed that I am able to receive His amazing love and share it with others. Thank you for being such an encouraging voice for me! Have a blessed week!
What beautiful images of surrender. May we all find that surrender in Jesus as we walk through Holy Week and experience this week that changed everything.
I love this season and this time of following Jesus to the cross. Each year it touches me in new and amazing ways and I am looking forward to this Easter even more. Thank you as always for being here Kathryn! Blessings!