Luke 22:42
42“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”
Surrender. It’s an interesting word. It’s most commonly used in a military setting, meaning you give up the fight, to declare to an opponent that they have won, or to relinquish control because of force. It could also mean to abandon or give up an idea or intention, or to lay down your rights. When I think about the word surrender, I picture a bloody field complete with soldiers muddy and exhausted. I picture faces completely resigned to the fact that they can’t go on, that any further attempt to fight would be futile. They throw down their weapons and their hands shoot up in the air to show their commitment to the loss. Depending on which side you’re on is the difference in victory or defeat, joy or fear, life or death.
However, when we surrender our lives to Christ we don’t die, we live, we’re not defeated and instead WE are victorious. The battle field with which you’ve wrestled with God my be bloodied by your stubbornness or arrogance, but when you come to the realization that it’s futile to fight with the One who loves you most, you too will resign all efforts to oppose His will for your life. You’ll throw down every weapon or excuse and your hands will shoot up in the sky to show your commitment to Christ and His leadership in your life. Jesus perfectly models surrender for us in this passage from Luke 22 and I think to remain committed to a life of surrender, it’s something we do every single day.
Father, accept my bowed head, and broken and contrite heart. My eyes closed and hands raised in surrender to You and Your will. Forgive me for ever fighting or wrestling with You over my plans versus Yours for me. I know You want the best for me and I lay my life down for You to do with what You want. I relinquish my rights, and declare You Lord of my life and I pray as You did Lord Jesus, ‘not my will, but yours be done’.
For Further Study:
Matthew 10:39:
39Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
* The Picture above is one I took of a woman worshipping at the Temple ruins at Capernaum (Peter’s hometown) near the sea of Galilee. Click on the image for the full image.