23. SURRENDERING TO GOD.

Why, What, How, When Surrendering to nature is an understanding we all have. When it’s cold we cover-up, when it’s hot we peel off, this is automatic. At a very early age we learn through our own or someone else’s experience to surrender to the law of gravity. We have to surrender and cooperate with the law of economics if we want to succeed in business. If we truly want to succeed in our relationship with God, we have to surrender to Him. This too has to be learned, and it will take longer for some of us than others. I believe this is a direct result of our self reliance, we don’t think we need God’s help, but we do; One of the first things a new Christian has to learn is His/Her reliance on God, because that is the anchor of Faith. Jesus said--”Without Me you can do nothing.” Contrary to some thinking, surrendering to God is wisdom, rather than weakness. Only a fool would resist God, because it’s a fight we can’t possibly hope to win. Understand this, it’s in surrendering to Him that we are empowered to succeed in what He has called us to do. Therefore surrender is empowered by demonstrated obedience. It is saying “Yes Lord” to whatever He asks. To say “No Lord is a contradiction. In Luke 6.46. Jesus speaking says “How can you call me Lord and refuse to obey me?” Peter demonstrated true surrender when Jesus told him to try again, he didn’t say “I know what I’m doing, I’ve been a Fisherman since boyhood, I know these waters there’s no fish running today.” What he did say was “We have toiled all night and caught nothing, nevertheless at your word I will let down the nets.” We have to have that “Nevertheless at You word” attitude. So, whether Fisherman or Airline Pilots, Single Mums or Doctors when He says try again, take Him at His word. When Peter did that, “They caught a great number of fish.” There is a great deal to be said for taking Jesus at His word. After all it is the Word of God!, He is usually concise and to the point, that is why when writing I, like many other writers quote straight from Scripture, I believe Scripture says what it means and means what it says so, there can be no mistake. Surrendered people obey God, even when it doesn’t make sense. Abraham followed God without knowing where he would be taken...Hannah waited on God without knowing when....Mary expected a miracle without knowing how... Her husband Joseph trusted God’s plan without knowing why circumstances happened as they did. Each of these people and many other ordinary people just like ourselves learned to be fully surrendered to God and they came out on top. Surrendering means giving up the driver’s seat and moving over. (And not being a back seat driver.) How will we know when we are fully surrendered to God? This will only happen when we rely on God to work things out for us, instead of trying to Manipulate circumstances or other people, Forcing our own agenda, or attempting to Control situations. We don’t have to be in charge, we simply let go and let God have His way. It goes something like this, “Dear God I’d really like that lady for my wife, or that Job, House Car etc..----and leave the matter with Him (Surrender it) this has a double effect, 1. it will stop coveting and 2. the problem will belong to God, because you have surrendered it to Him first. If you do that with everything you have you will own nothing and God will own everything in your life. (Sounds silly?, it is, but it works!!) Jesus said “Cast ALL your cares on me because I care for You.” Take Him at His Word. I did and that’s how I know. When we start doing things God’s way instead of our own way, we experience great benefits. First we have peace. Job Ch 22 v21 says “Submit to God and you will have peace and things will go well with you.” Second we will have freedom...Psalm 119. v45. “I will live in freedom because I follow your orders.” Thirdly..We will have Power.. James 4. v7. “Submit to God resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Stubborn temptations and overwhelming problems are defeated by Christ the moment we surrender each area of our lives over to Him. It’s impossible to surrender everything at once, but one or two things at a time, and one day you realise, You and all you own belongs to The Lord. The freedom, peace and power that comes with that realisation is an out of this world experience. As Joshua, the General of the Israelite army approached the walls of Jericho he encountered God, he fell down and worshipped, surrendered his plans and said to Him “What does my Lord say to His servant.” Joshua Ch5.v14. Joshua’s surrender led to a spectacular victory. Here’s a paradox, victory comes through surrender. Surrender doesn’t weaken us it actually strengthens us. When we surrender to God we don’t have to fear surrendering to anyone or anything else. William Booth founder of the Salvation Army said, “The greatness of a man’s power is in the measure of his surrender. Eventually everybody surrenders to something, if not to God it will be to the opinions and expectations of others, to money, to resentment, to fear, to our own lusts or ego. We are free to choose whatever we surrender to, but we are not free from the consequences of that choice. Stanley Jones said “If you don’t surrender to Christ, you surrender to chaos.” The supreme example is Jesus Christ himself, the night before His crucifixion, surrendering to God’s plan for the Salvation of the human race saying “Your will and not mine be done.” and He is our example. Have you ever noticed how much energy it takes to keep a tight grip on something, Come on! We all know what we are holding on to, are you in turmoil because you can’t control the people or circumstances in your life. My advice is release your grip. Go ahead, surrender it to God, you’ll be amazed at how much more energy you’ll have and how much easier life will be. Once you’ve made the choice to surrender to God; your hardest days will become your easiest days. A.W. Towzer wrote “Father...my coward heart fears to give up its toys, I cannot part with them without inward bleeding and I do not try to hide from you my terror of the parting, I come trembling but I do come, please root from my heart those things which I have cherished so long and have become a very part of my living self, so that you may come and enter there without a rival.” When I first started writing this article some time ago, I had one question, Surrender what? God gave me a list, so I’ll give You what I was given, 1. YOUR POSITION As John’s wife I found my security, my identity and my commitment was all in Him. This seems very commendable, and virtuous but, This is not what God wants, He wont tolerate a rival, He has to have first place or no place. (that took a bit of working through) but now I truly understand what surrender really means. 2. YOUR PLANS We have to plan wisely but be ready for God to rearrange things and also be prepared for Him to take us along paths that may become uncomfortable. Nothing this side of heaven is permanent including relationships. Enjoy the time we have with our loved ones, in the knowledge that they first belong to God, and one day we will be separated for a little while before being reunited. Understand this and avoid the temptation to cling. 3. .OUR ANXIETIES If our emotions are wrapped around some issue, involving a possession a job a particular expectation or a relationship, we are not fully relying on God. NO we are still clinging to lesser things. STOP we have to let it go, although this is not easy or comfortable and in fact sometimes down right hard, but I can’t tell you the freedom it brings, knowing that God Almighty has everything about you and your life under His personal control, is truly worth every sacrifice you may make because now, He can trust you with all the blessings and surprises He has waiting for You. Think of Abraham, only when he was prepared to lay his most treasured possession on the line did God, not only give him back his son, but so much more and called Abraham his friend. The more we give to God, the more He will give us, why? Because He will not be outdone in generosity. Slowly I started handing my possessions over to God, then my habits and entertainments hobbies etc. He didn’t take everything off me at once, but somehow stuff didn’t hold the same attraction for me any more, and some He hasn’t removed. However, there was a certain satisfaction in knowing those things didn’t have the addictive hold over me any longer, some things were quite easy, others more difficult. And I had to remind myself that God was doing a work in me. However, when it came to my children, my friends and relationships, He showed me how much more He could do for them and me than I could do for us, and the bonds among us have grown even stronger. I now understand not only what God wants from us, but why He wants it, He wants the surrender of our hearts, our minds, our wills and eventually our whole beings, because only then can we be tools in the masters hand. When you relinquish your will to God, you live in a peaceful atmosphere, your dependence is on Him, and He takes care of everything. Yes, you will still go through the highs and lows of life but, He will be there with you and will see you through your darkest as well as your brightest times. He said “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you.” This comes through a strongly committed prayer life, the more we are committed to regular communication with God, (that’s what prayer is) the closer we are to Him and His Kingdom. Therefore, that too has to be cultivated. Prayer can’t be rushed, it is not a ritual nor can it be an add- on to our daily routine, that’s not putting Him first, No, praying is acknowledging God first, sitting in a quiet place with Him, listening and waiting in silence for Him to speak to you,.You will learn the sound of His voice, feel the closeness of His presence and experience the depth of His love. You will understand how communication with God becomes second nature to you, prayer like that, will then be something you can’t get enough of. Putting God first and spending quality time with Him each day in my opinion, is the only way we can develop a good, strong Faith relationship with Him Thank you for reading my thoughts on Surrendering our lives to God, There may be many restrictions on what we can and can’t do and where we can and can’t go these days, but, nobody can control our greatest weapon, (Prayer) so load up and fire at the installations that are aimed at us and we will see God’s hand at work as His army grows.. May God bless us all Phaline.

22 DEALING WITH YOUR GOLIATH. 1 SAM. 17.

Before reading this I suggest you read the above Scripture, keeping it handy, as we go through the story. I believe it will help. We all have had or will have a Goliath at sometime or other in our lives, some of us more than once or twice. We really don’t know how to handle these Giants , all we want is for them to go away. Your Goliaths can take the form of people, perhaps an Alcoholic or Abusive parent, partner, Teacher or Coach, A place in which we might have found ourselves where we were very frightened, or in a situation from which we were, unable escape. The story of David and Goliath has a number of lessons in it which you will find worth taking on board and bringing to mind on such occasions. The first thing to remember is;-- If you have given your life to the Lord, He will not allow you to be in a situation you can’t handle, or extricate yourself from. He says so in His Word. He will always be there to help you, equipping you with the necessary tools and His Grace. “Fear not for I am with you.” appears several times in Scripture, in both the Old and New Testament. Every time you call on Him it shows Him you believe in Him and trust Him to get you out of the mess you have found yourself in. That’s Faith. Cultivate it, it works. In this Scripture the Philistines had come to make war against the Israelites and take their land. Both armies set up camp on the hills facing each other, with a valley between them. The Philistines Champion named Goliath a Giant from Gath who was nine and a half feet tall, (about the height of your ceiling) dressed in a bronze helmet which made him look even taller, wearing bronze shining clanking scale armour, a Javelin slung on his back, and a spear in his hand with a shaft the size of a weavers rod hanging from his shoulder making him very wide, very fierce and very scary, This Giant from Gath came out of the Philistine ranks shouting his usual defiance, he had been doing this everyday for forty days and intimidating the Israelites. (Forty is a number that comes up several times in Scripture, When God destroyed the earth with the great flood, it rained for forty days and nights,Moses and the Israelites were forty years in the desert, Jesus fasted for forty days in the wilderness, there are forty days between the Resurrection and the Ascension of Jesus in to Heaven. And there are several other occasions. Where the number forty comes up. Nobody seems to have come up with a satisfactory explanation for this, but I thought I’d mention it for your future reference if and when things happen.) However, on this particular morning young David arrived with his brother’s lunch and heard all the noise and confusion. On enquiring and hearing Goliath’s threats against the people of God, he couldn’t believe such disgrace was falling on Israel and their God, I’m sure when he heard that King Saul had promised Great wealth, Tax exemption for his family and to give his daughter in marriage to the man who would rid him of this giant, (v25) that would have been an added incentive for David, who said “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the Living God.” His brothers heard him and told him to go home and back to tending his father’s sheep. So no support there,!!! David however, wasn’t going to be put off and went to King Saul himself, who also didn’t think he was up to the task and told him he was far too young, but David defended himself to the king saying “I’ve killed lions and bears with my bare hands when they came after my father’s sheep, I’d like a chance to have a go at this Blasphemer.”(v36-37) When The Lord is calling you to do a job for Him, you can be sure you will get opposition especially from your family and the Religious authorities. But when God sends you on a mission, He will guide, protect and be with you all the way. With reluctance King Saul agreed and ordered David to be dressed in the King’s own armour, but because David was only about seventeen or eighteen, the king’s armour was too big and heavy for him and he found he wasn’t able to walk in it. When you have a Goliath to fight, go to the Lord for your weapons not people, “Put on the whole armour of God” (Eph 6.10-17) This is very important, I believe every Christian should include those verses from Eph.6 each day in their morning prayers, especially these days in these troublesome times that’s what will win the battles of today. David removed the armour, picked up five stones and pulled out his Shanghai, ( Soft quiet speech will win people over much better than laying down the 10 Commandments.) This really upset Goliath, not only were the Israelites sending out a kid to fight him, but he wasn’t even dressed for the occasion nor did he have any of the regular weaponry. In fact The Giant was so insulted that he started with “the language’. Then David replied “You come against me with sward, spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of The Lord God Almighty, The God of the armies of Israel whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistines army to the birds and the wild animals and the whole world will know, there is a God in Israel, all these gathered here will know that it is not by sward or spear that The Lord saves; for the Battle is The Lord’s and He will give all of you into our hands.” A word here about battling against Satan, I believe if we want and indeed need God’s help and intervention we have to call out to Him loud and clear by name (The Lord God Almighty) We are calling on His name, His power and His activity to descend on us as David did, Not because he has a hearing deficiency, but that everyone around us will know The Battle is the Lord’s and HE will fight for us and give us the victory, and HE will get the credit not us. Also we need to be specific, You see, we not only want God to be with us but we need His strength and ability to get the whole job completed. This requires Faith and confidence in God and His mighty Power. If we pray and ask God, He will give us this power and the victory. We can practise it with smaller things, as David did (Bears and Lions) God demonstrated His power with those animals in preparation for the Giant that was to come, also I believe David spent a great deal of time with God while tending his father’s sheep day after day. It was that developed relationship with God that gave David the confidence and strength he needed at that time. I believe there is no power without prayer and no prayer without power. A Casual prayer life will produce a casual powerless, weak relationship with God, whereas regular, sincere, heartfelt, prayer produces a sincere loving powerful relationship with Him.. If you have read the story from 1.Samuel 17 you will know that things happened just as David said they would. When you are on God’s side things happen, You will notice I said “When you are on God’s side, rather than when God is on your side.” Why? Because we are flawed, inhibited and have preferences. Whereas He is perfect and doesn’t have any of those characteristics. When you are on the side of God, The Spirit will lead you with Truth, Honesty and Integrity, these are God’s characteristics. But, this will only happen if you, (like Joshua) humble yourself and submit your plans to God, Then the walls will fall down and you will be triumphant but He will get the Victory not you or me. It will be a case of “see what our GOD can do. Not see what I can do.” It’s interesting to note in v 54 that David took the Giants head to Jerusalem, I would say to put it in his trophy cabinet, (Look what can be achieved when God is in control). And he put the Giant’s weapons in his own tent. Why? So he would always remember how useless they were in the presence of His God. Which reminds me of a story I heard about Muhammad Ali who once was flying interstate in America, and there was some turbulence, the captain asked all passengers to fasten their seat- belts, Ali didn’t cooperate with the request and when the hostess told him to do so he replied “Superman don’t need no seatbelt.” She instantly replied “Superman don’t need no aeroplane either.” Laughing he complied.---So we always need to keep the (Seatbelt) God’s armour fastened tightly around us, we never know when all we have left are those “Everlasting Arms.” Thank you for reading my thoughts on how to defeat the Giants that come into our lives, God will come to the aid of all who ask Him, especially those who cultivate a deep personal relationship with Him., God Bless, protect and preserve us all as w, with God’s help deal with the Goliaths that come into so many of our lives today. Remember,There’s no prayer without power and no power without prayer. There’s nothing Almighty God can not do for His children if they humbly sit at His feet and ask His help . Phaline. ------------------------