Surrender and satisfaction

July 20, 2006

By Greg Ebie

My daughter Chrysta was reflecting on some of her struggles to do the right thing.

“Flesh versus Spirit,” she concluded. “It never really ends, does it?”

Smart girl to have figured that out so young. She offered up a prayer quoting the words to the old hymn “I Surrender All.” Her meditation ended, she offered a final thought: “But you don’t have to do it alone.”

Judson Van de Venter, the man who wrote “I Surrender All” in 1896, struggled for five years over whether he should pursue his dream of becoming an accomplished artist or enter the ministry as an evangelist. Would he continue to struggle to make his own way, or would he yield to God and do the right thing?

He wrote, “At last the pivotal hour of my life came, and I surrendered all. A new day was ushered into my life. I became an evangelist and discovered down deep in my soul a talent hitherto unknown to me. God had hidden a song in my heart, and touching a tender chord, He caused me to sing.”

The psalmist David also learned the lesson of surrender and trusting God.

“God met me more than halfway, he freed me from my anxious fears. … Worship God if you want the best; worship opens doors to all his goodness. Young lions on the prowl get hungry, but God-seekers are full of God” (Psalm 34:4,9,10, The Message).

Chrysta is right; we don’t have to do it alone. In our day-to-day struggle, God will not just meet us halfway. God will come to our side to set us free from our fears; God will give us peace. But there’s more!

God puts a song in our hearts to sing, a song of praise. Even the run-of-the-mill stuff of life becomes our personal Life-Song of worship to God. That’s what Paul had in mind when he told us to offer our lives to God as “living sacrifices” (see Romans 12:1).

When we live a lifestyle of worship, God meets our every need. The Lord opens heaven to pour out His goodness in our lives. So if you find yourself going hungry and wanting more, maybe you need to stop and surrender all. God will fill you up!

D. Greg Ebie is senior pastor of Praise Assembly of God in Garrettsville, Ohio, and an author of Daily Bread devotionals.