Your laws are wonderful. No wonder I obey them! The teaching of your word gives light, so even the simple can understand. I pant with expectation, longing for your commands. Come and show me your mercy, as you do for all who love your name. Guide my steps by your word, so I will not be overcome by evil. Psalm 119:129-133
Admittedly, Mr. Churchill was rightly
advising the graduates to persevere through difficulties, such as the
temptation to give in to something dishonorable, or the threat of an unconscionable
monster like Adolph Hitler. The kind of surrender
to which our Psalm writer advocates is our human will and it’s allegiance to
God’s will. The Psalmist (probably King
David) had learned the importance of living the surrendered life by faith, and
also by the unfortunate experience of not standing by his faith. David had given in to temptation, sinned
greatly against God, and, because he surrendered to God’s sovereignty, had been
forgiven and restored by God’s grace.
About this whole business of our
stubborn will, and how the surrender of it to God avails us of the solution to
eternity’s biggest fear and penalty, is one of the most perplexing of human
mysteries. This conundrum of human bent
to self-destruction is, at once, a universal flaw in our souls, and a startling
field of self-discovery; when we realize how lost we are without God, the light
bulb switches on, and we then have the choice of doors to walk through to our
solution. Some choose the door of surrender,
the rest choose death.
In some (small) way I understand my
own heart as to why we participate in the foolishness of resisting God’s
grace. As a young teen I sensed God’s
sovereignty, and how I was accountable for my actions. I ran from that sense of culpability, just as
Adam and Eve attempted to hide their sins behind fig leaves.
What is absurd so about that is
how, having heard many sermons, and personally read the Scriptures that show
God to be merciful and forgiving, I still wanted independence; my will was MY will, and even a benevolent,
forgiving, gracious God wasn’t going to have that. I was the proverbial two year old, holding my
toy, tight-fisted, independent, self-centered.
Aren’t we all[1]?
In my case, the teenage rebellion
ran its course before I turned 30, and that independence lost a good bit of
luster under the load of emptiness I’d amassed in my soul. It finally became clear that surrender to God’s
offer of forgiveness was the only hope left for one of God’s creatures who had
gotten himself horribly out of the place where God’s image had once been. It was an empty place Russell had tried to
fill with a career, family, experiences and stuff. None of that could take the place of a God
that can fill your heart with love, joy, peace, gentleness, kindness, and every
other kind of good, fulfilling life-giving hope!
So, I surrendered. And God was good to His promise. He still is.
Let’s
Pray Together:
Father, many of us have had that same experience, trying to hold you at arm’s length, just because our pride makes us stubborn. For those who have joined you in total surrender, they know Your kindness, and the joy of a heart filled with light and purpose. For those who still resist, may the emptiness drive them to the only home they were created for…Your arms!
For You Today
You
chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today.
Have a blessed day!
[1]
Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have
gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath
laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Romans 3:23 For
everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
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