Something I Know For Sure: Surrender

I'm not a genius but I have learned a few things in my 50 years on this planet. Some things I know for sure. Like; Chocolate is good. Grandchildren are precious. The death of a pet causes emotional pain. Some things I am still trying to figure out. Like; Which way the toilet paper should hang on the holder, Why God created spiders and whether or not I should color my hair or keep it gray. I like that at 50 I have at least figured out some of the mysteries of this life.


On July 2, 2016 I posted this as my Facebook status:

"Something I know for sure: When your life is invaded by a difficulty that you will be
dealing with permanently or for a long period of time the key to survival is surrender.
You can fight against the waves of the storm but you will exhaust yourself spiritually and emotionally. Instead surrender and allow the waves to carry you to the new
destination."

.

When the severity of a chronic illness invaded my life 8 years ago, I had not learned that lesson yet. My inner world threw a fit like a toddler who could not get her way. I thought I was fighting the good fight. I thought I was not letting the illness win. I thought I was not giving in and mustering up my faith by not speaking bad things into my life. But regardless of all the healing prayer, faith mustering, persistent patienting my illness was here to stay and I was face-to-face with a choice: exhaustion or surrender.


But is surrender defeat? Is surrender scriptural?


James 4:7 Submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.


Surrender is submission.

The place surrender starts is submission to God. This means setting your will completely aside and accepting His will. I prayed for the illness to be lifted. When my prayer for healing was not being answered to my satisfaction I thought perhaps I did not have enough faith, or I had sin in my life, or I was speaking my disease into existence. (I received a lot of interesting advice from well- meaning friends.) One day it dawned on me that the faith of a MUSTARD seed did not have to be MUSTERED.