Surrender and Win!

Winning comes in surrender. Isn’t that an irony? We are taught the contrary. We are instilled with the idea that to conquer and win, we need to be on top always. Surrendering does not make us on top. It obliterates that one elegant piece of expensive template holding our name in bold letters that says we are the boss! If we are not the boss, how can we be in the lead and win? The Christian life totally runs in a different principle than what the world views. We surrender first and then we can win.

Surrendering means entrusting all to God. In military, to surrender means to relinquish all control over territory, combatants, fortification, ships, and armament to the one who is of greater military power or to the one who won the war. It is an aweful picture because it means loss. In the ancient times, it may even mean imprisonment, slavery, and worst, death! Yet, surrendering to God is quite the opposite. It brings us freedom, victory, and abundant life! However, the process of surrendering entails the same things. We need to relinquish what we hold and value and everything in between to the One who can truly control and manage it all wisely and lovingly. “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.” -Psalm 37:5. To commit our way is not a simple prayer of “Bless me Lord and the work of my hands” and that is all there is. It is not just a part of a daily prayer or request to God. Another term for commit is to “pledge” or “bind”. That spells out what committing our way to the Lord truly means. We have to bind ourselves and our ways to the Lord. If we call Him Lord, God surely must be our Master. For Lord means that He is the Master. If the Lord is our Master, He becomes the boss of every concern of our life. So when God becomes the Boss, we need to relinquish our ownership of every plan, decision, and the very life we live. As our Lord, when we commit our ways to Him and entrust our life to Him, He will act for us. His act is greater and wiser than when we do it on our own or by our own strength and knowledge. Our knoweldge is limited, but His understanding is unsearchable (Isaiah 40:28). The wisest decision we can make is to entrust our life to the One who is truly wise. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” -Proverbs 3:5-6.