I have always wondered why there seems to be a lot of dissatisfaction in the lives of believers who claim to know God. Darkness, confusion, indecision, fatigue, backsliding, depression and the likes seems to always take their turns plaguing. We cry to God for divine intervention looking for deep and genuine encounters with the Holy Spirit.
Part of the scenario may be that there is a time for everything and God might be preparing people for what He had called them into. However it suddenly became clear to me one morning while listening to the song by William McDowell “I give myself away” that it seems what we lack are surrendered believers.
Didn’t Jesus say ‘he that wants to save his life will lose it, but he that is willing to lose his life for the kingdom’s sake will gain it back …’ Matthew 16:25?
There seems to be a pattern to how Jesus recruited His disciples. The common instruction was usually ‘follow me’.
The question is are you a disciple of Jesus or you are just part of the crowd who cried ‘Hosanna’ one day and ‘crucify him’ the next? I know the disciples also ran away and deserted Him at some point, however once he restored and commissioned them, there was no looking back.
What is required is genuinely and deliberately giving up ourselves to God.
I mean totally surrendering control to God. Asking Him to take our lives, giving Him our hopes, plans, aspirations, careers, family and everything we had imagined to be.
Hmm.
That’s the tough part. It is not easy for us – even as professing Christians to give up control. It is tough to submit our fantasies over to the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to fully own us. It goes against the flesh, it flies in the face of a free secular society. We are afraid we will no longer fit into the society when we seem to have lost control over our lives.
How would it sound if you asked me where I want to be in the next five years and I told you ‘I don’t know’ or ‘I will be wherever God asked me to be’. You are already judging me thinking I have no direction or plans for my life. That’s one of the reasons why people find it challenging and difficult to surrender to God, because we do not want to look stupid before others. Meanwhile, such is the kind of openness and submission God is looking for.
How would Abraham have sounded when he responded ‘I do not know, God will show me’, in response to his friends and family asking him questions about where he was moving to when he told them he was relocating with his entire family? He sure would have looked foolish back then. But he was not clueless, he was looking out and keeping close ears to God’s voice and directions.
Allow me to be blunt. Stop making plans that lead to frustration. Instead ask God to show you His plans for your life.
Ask him to reveal the next step that you are meant to take to you. Before you ask, be prepared to obey Him. (That’s another problem, many ask but are neither willing nor are they obedient).
In an effort to look sleek, clean and well organized, we have lost our sensitivity and openness to the Holy Spirit. We plan and organize but lack spontaneity, we lack that dynamic malleability that we used to have, eager to hear the Holy Spirit lead us on a daily and hourly basis. We have been robbed of that power that comes from total trust and obedience to Him.
I love the account of the story of David fighting the battle against the Philistines in 2 Samuel 5:22-25 –
22 And the Philistines came up yet again and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim. 23 And when David inquired of the Lord, he said, “You shall not go up; go around to their rear, and come against them opposite the balsam trees. 24 And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then rouse yourself, for then the Lord has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.” 25 And David did as the Lord commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from Geba to Gezer.
David displayed his trust in God by first inquiring if he should go up or not. He did not assume or jump to conclusion that since the Philistines were already here, then he must fight and probably go about it the same way they fought when they beat the enemy in the preceding verses. Again, he waited on God for clear directions. I pray for such wisdom, patience, ability to hear God clearly and attention to details. It will always be the difference between outstanding success and defeat.
I am always fascinated by Joshua’s experience leading the children of Israel to capture Jericho (Joshua 6:2-5.
2 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 3 March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 5 When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.”
I am sure Army Generals and battle experts would argue marching around the city in the open glare of the enemy was a dumb war strategy. However, that was God’s instructions. We have to trust God enough to still carry out instructions that seemingly makes no sense to our human brain and experience.
We also have to be willing to change our plans when we find out that they are out of line with God’s intentions and plans. Paul had wanted to go preach the word in Asia but the Spirit of God prevented them from doing so at that time (Acts 16:6). We would definitely have better outcomes when we are sensitive to the voice and inclinations of the Spirit in our day to day activities.
The Word of God is full of accounts of God’s people yielding over control to God and the ensuing results. This is not to say we will not have challenges or difficulties even after genuinely following the leading and instructions of the Holy Spirit, but we have the comfort that we are right at the center of His will and we have His backing and support in facing whatever comes our way. It is time to yield control of our lives over to God.
Shalom
Olaolu Oyeyemi