Letters From the Heart
I went to my quiet time recently and God was there! Ohhh, I was so overwhelmed with awe, peace, and love that I could not keep from tearing up and praising God. Each day when I go before the Lord I ask Him to reveal to me what he wants me to get from our time together and this particular day, I seemed to hear him say, “surrender”. Now, I argued with Him and said, but I have surrendered my “all” to you. But then I thought, then why Anne is he telling you to surrender!
I feel like I surrender my thoughts and actions to him each and every day, but you know what? After self-evaluation, I found I had not really surrendered everything to him. I tend to keep my mouth running or my prayer request running constantly and I think I do more talking than listening. I come from a family where the women are very “take charge”, and I tend to want to take care of things myself and tell God how I want it done. At any rate, my message this day was “surrender”, and this is harder than you might think. Surrender means everything, did you hear me? Every important and every piddling thing.
Now this means, just what it says, every single thing that inhabits your thoughts and is of concern to you. This includes your finances, health, your prodigal child, grumpy bosses, cars that don't run right, and even the old washing machine that you know is about ready to quit! I know from past experiences that when I get a message like this one, just as soon as I think I have “arrived”, I will be taken through the test, of surrender, to see if I truly understand it's meaning, then, if I don't pass the test, I will get to go around that same mountain one more time Ugh!!!
I am reminded of the scripture Philippians 4:6 New International Version (NIV)
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Have you tried not too anxious about anything? Now be honest with yourself, those piddly little things that tend to worry you over and over during your day, those thoughts are being anxious. Just try it and let me know just how you fair. Those bills that need paying next week when you are short on cash, that is being anxious, those thoughts that occupy your mind most of the day, that is being anxious too.
O.K. Anne, what should I do? Surrender. Sometimes I have to surrender and surrender over and over again many times a day. I just say, Lord, you tell me not to be anxious about this so I give it all over to you. As someone said to me recently, just say, “Jesus, take the wheel”.
OK, now look at the verse, “in every situation, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving”! There you have it. Bombard heaven with those worries big and little piddly ones too, and don't forget to include thanksgiving then “present your request to God”. Just try it today and tomorrow and even though it seems impossible today, if you are walking with the Lord, just continue to petition God with your worries by prayer and thanksgiving and I promise you God, who is true to his word, will take your trials and worries and help you through each one of them. He may not deliver you from the trials, but he will indeed help you through to the other side of them if it is your heart's desire.
He cares so much about every little thing that goes on in our life. He repeats His love for your surrender in:
OK, now the next verse, Philippians 4:7 says: 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
If you have ever been one to worry, worry, worry, you will understand the importance of this peace. I don't know about you, but I do not like strife and confrontation in my life, and I do love peace!
What a wonderful Savior we have. One who loves us so that he wants us to completely rely on him to take care of everything, every big and even those little piddly things. But first, we have to “surrender” it all.
Oh, how I love to tell the story!
Anne with an 'e'
