Surrender

“O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me;

nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

from Matthew 26:39 (NKJV)

Have you ever been in a place in which you knew God's will, but didn't want to do it? Reading His Word, praying, or listening to a sermon can clarify God's voice, so that we can hear Him. But sometimes obedience is hard. We struggle with letting go of our selfish desires to really acquire the heart of the Father.

But isn't that what intimacy is about? Letting go of my wants and thinking about someone else? Intimacy with the Lord is my goal, but that means I can't focus on me. Surrender. It's a battle between "flesh" (what my body and emotions want) and the spirit (what I really want spiritually). It's like going on a diet, but not being able to control your appetite. You have a higher goal than your body does--but the body has not surrendered to the higher goal.

To think, Jesus struggled with this flesh vs. spirit battle too. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus went away to pray. During His prayer, we see this battle raging and the surrender that followed. “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” (Matthew 26:39) And the battle was so intense that He sweated blood.

I have never been in that intense of a battle, but I do struggle with building the muscle in my spirit so that it is stronger than my flesh. That is the place of surrender. Where the flesh no longer controls, but the power of Christ brings life!