Surrender to Soar

Have you seen this insurance commercial on television? [You might have to wade through one commercial to get the "the" commercial. And, it is not my intention to promote either services/products.]

Are troubles and worries not leaving your mind alone?

 

Has fear gripped your heart?

 

This past week I read wise words written by an Arab Christian woman—

 

"If, by faith I am God’s child, according to His promises in the Bible, He will continue to take care of me. So, having [fearful] thoughts, I began singing, “You are my hiding place, You always fill my heart with songs of deliverance, Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in you!” That was it, my fears were gone!"

 

Fearful thoughts, trouble, worry… Oh, we moms can often experience these with regard to our children.  And it's easy to allow them to overcome us.

 

But Oswald Chambers reminds us that "the one great crime on the part of a disciple, according to Jesus Christ, is worry. Whenever we begin to calculate without God, we commit sin." Ouch!

 

So, we need to make a daily decision. Will we surrender to fear? Or will we trust the Lord and surrender to Him?

 

Isn't it interesting how the Word of God connects trusting and surrendering with soaring? Isaiah 40:31 tells us that "those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint." HCSB

 

Seems that we can't soar unless we surrender.

 

A Scripture I learned as a child, Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." KJV

 

I love how the Amplified Bible puts it, "Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths."

 

My Thomas Nelson Study Bible (NKJV) notes, "The verb trust is complemented by the verb "lean." Trusting in God is a conscious dependence on God, much like leaning on a tree for support." This sounds a lot like surrender to me. Gesenius' Lexicon help identifies the word used for lean, "shaan," as meaning to "repose confidence in." That makes me think of one of those team building exercises, "Trust Falls," where a person falls backwards counting completely on his/her teammate for their physical support.

 

That is what trusting God is—leaning on Him completely with the confidence that He will be there to lift us up.

 

The commercial ends with, "When it comes to things you care about, leave nothing to chance." Since all power and steadfast love belong to our God, when we take our children to the Lord in prayer, we are not leaving them to "chance."  Through our prayers, we are hiding our children under the wings of the Most High and trusting Him completely that He will catch them when they fall. This is where we make the decision as did the Arab Christian woman to "repose confidence in" Him. That is surrender.

 

And that is how we soar.