MONDAY MORNING MOTIVATOR ON TUESDAY

Spiritual surrender is the high art of soul-making.

Yet the very thought of spiritual surrender is grounds for war, a spiritual war. The exact second you use your will to choose a spiritual surrender; it is an act of war. Surrender is that powerful. It aligns your will with God’s will. This alignment unleashes mighty forces to go to work in the spiritual realm. Having surrendered, God now steps forth to fight your battles for you. Satan fears it much.

Don’t be surprised should spiritual surrender feel too much like a personal defeat. That negative feeling is the language of your prideful ego. In the spiritual realm, surrender is the shortest path to victory.

How much do you know about the art of spiritual surrender?

Spiritual surrender is to give control over to the Lord Jesus. There are two types of issues that need surrendering. One is called a burden. The other is called a baby.

A burden is a matter that isn’t welcomed in your life. A baby is something that you do want, but you realize that God is asking you to sacrifice it to Him. Have you never read the story of Abraham and Isaac?

A burden can be mental, like fear or bitterness. A burden can be physical, like an illness, unemployment or a rebellious son or daughter. A baby likewise can be mental and it can be physical. The chief difference between a burden and a baby is that with one, you are more than happy to give it away. But with the other, there is no natural desire within to let go.

This week, your spiritual exercise goal is to talk with Jesus either about one of your burdens or a personal “baby” that you’re struggling with. Your private prayer sanctuary with Jesus should be seen as a first step. With prayer you surrender your heart to God for inspection. “Lord, tell me what You think. How well am I perfecting the practice of the art of spiritual surrender?’

The first chapter of John’s first epistle reads “God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all.” The kind of darkness and light John speaks of in chapter one are descriptions of the heart. In this context, the heart John describes is God’s. To touch the heart of God is to find the source from which springs forth the purest essence of love and wisdom.

The believer seeks not the heart of God in order to be saved. In the Gospel of John the words are read, “You did not choose me. I choose you.” The Apostle Paul also reminded his church that “God sought us when we sought Him not.” The heart of God is easily found in the person of Jesus Christ. The Son of God is the heart of God clothed in flesh. And the Bible clearly shows that Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He is the heart of God that seeks and finds the sheep that are wandering and lost.

To be found by Christ is to be touched by the heart of God. It is a moment in time that will forever change you. It is unforgettable. It is indescribable. To touch the heart of God makes you a prisoner of a single life encompassing desire. The day you were touched is the day you began your journey to return, again and again to re-experience that touch.

Burdens and “baby’s” provide you with a compelling reason to make the journey.

The journey back depicts the life of Christian sanctification. The sanctification is progressive and continual.

The journey is required. You may refuse the call for many years but finally the emptiness inside that you feel will force you to rethink what you have done. If you are a Christian, then you are a prisoner of grace. In the Biblical, humankind is viewed as either prisoners of grace or prisoners of sin. Once touched by the heart of God, the memory of God’s love and grace will solicit you to accept the Biblical meanings to your heart’s deepest longings.

The prisoner of grace is sanctified in the journey but not saved. The prisoner of God’s heart is already saved.

John’s epistle goes on with these words, “if we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth, but if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.”

John’s words describe the progress of your journey. He uses the term “walk.” It is a metaphor that describes your fellowship with God. From John’s word you discover that fellowship is found only in the light and while standing in the light, your soul is continually sanctified by the light.

Sanctification is a heart-word. It is a Biblical Word that depicts the union and reunion of your heart with God’s.

When you surrender your burden to God, you are standing in the light. When you sacrifice your baby to God, you experience the fellowship of God. The experience of surrender is a teacher of wisdom. It teaches you different ways to identify with the heart of God. Didn’t God sacrifice His one of a kind son? Wasn’t God’s sacrifice His way of sending His love out into a fallen world?

The art of soul-making is the ancient path to Christ-likeness. The art of soul-making shifts your attention away from “how you look” and sets your focus on your heart, your soul, your spirit, or whichever word you choose to use that describes the inner you that is only seen by you and God.

The more you give yourself away to God, the more your life will begin to make sense to you. The less there is of you, the less of you there is to get in God’s way.

How much of your life have you surrendered to God? How self-willed are you yet?

The art of spiritual surrender does not come naturally. Human pride is so inflated with an air of self-importance that the idea of surrender is viewed with disgust. Surrender is seen by pride as a type of defeat. Pride is too embarrassed by the idea because the concept of surrender is clear evidence that contradicts the vaunted boastings of the ego pride.

This week may hold a huge new breakthrough for you. Speaking with Jesus about your struggle to make a spiritual surrender may bring a huge spiritual insight.

Spiritual surrender is a high art of soul-making.

Surrender is powerful. It aligns your will with God’s will. This alignment unleashes mighty forces to go to work in the spiritual realm. Having surrendered, God now steps forth to fight your battles for you.