23 Jan

Courageous Surrender

posted by Lisa Huddleston

“This is what the Lord, the God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘If indeed you surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then you will live …’” Jeremiah 38:17

What? Surrender to Babylon? Never! There was no way that could be God’s plan; yet, there was Jeremiah, God’s prophet, saying that was exactly what God had in mind for King Zedekiah and the city of Jerusalem. Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place. If he obeyed God and followed Jeremiah’s advice, Zedekiah feared what the Babylonians and the Jews who had already gone over to the enemy’s side would do to him. After all, he had done some pretty awful things to them in the past. Why would they let him live? However, if he did what seemed safest in his own eyes and kept hiding, he might be able to escape altogether. Yes, that seemed the safest route to take—and it led to the destruction of Jerusalem and to a horribly painful capture for the king.

Many of us are facing similarly difficult choices right now. “How could God want me to stay in this job? Doesn’t He want me to be happy?” “Surely God couldn’t mean for me to forgive the drunk driver who killed my best friend ? He was only 17.” “Wouldn’t it be better for my sister to abort her Downs’ syndrome baby? What kind of life will he have?”

Such difficult decisions! Such excruciating anguish as we struggle to do what is best. We listen to our friends. We take our cue from the crowd We seek out opinions on-line and ask those who we trust for advice. But we often fail to ask the One who made us and has a perfect plan for our lives. After all, the Bible was written so long ago that it doesn’t seem to have the answers we are seeking. It seems so black and white, and we are living in gray days. Well, as it says in Ecclesiastes, “There is nothing new under the sun.” There have been difficult choices as long as there have been human beings. “Should I trust God and sacrifice Isaac on the altar?” “Should I go against my fathers and tear down the high places?” “Should I carry this child in my womb even though everyone will think I have sinned? No one will know it is God’s son.” Tough stuff. Yet through surrendering their wills to the will of God, great blessings were granted to both the individuals who obeyed as well as to those around them—we are still reaping the benefits of their obedience today.

Yes, surrender is frightening. It takes a lot of trust and a lot of faith to give up control. And yes, God will ask us to walk through some pretty dark and terrifying times. But there is no situation beyond the reach of His redemption. If we will let Him, He can take our nearly unbearable pain and use it to bring about unimaginable blessings.

If we follow Zedekiah’s example and let fear control our decisions, we will miss out on the deepest experience of God we may ever have on earth. As we walk by faith and obedience through the dark gray seasons of suffering and pain, God’s glory and the sufficiency of His grace will carry us through. No matter what the outcome may be, “If indeed you surrender… then you will live!”

Augustine said, “In my deepest wound, I saw your glory and it dazzled me.” Let it be so in the painful obedience that you call me to suffer for your glory. Help me to be more like Jesus as I seek your will and surrender in faith to your direction. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Filed in: Discipleship, Responding to God, Trust