Total Surrender

Recently I was greatly challenged by the devotional study "My Utmost For His Highest," by Oswald Chambers. In particular, the last devotion penetrated my deepest sense of service by calling into question the motives that we may secretly harbor in surrendering to God. As I mused over the subject I thought that a few words and a challenge to others by means of a blog may suffice to remove this smoldering thought from my soul, but as I began to write I came to the full realization that I am so challenged that I am at a loss for words. So, rather than delving into plagiarism, I thought I would simply share Mr. Chambers thoughts with you and pray that they might result in not just total surrender, but in true surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in your life, as I am praying that this would be the final result in my life. Enjoy! 

MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST, DAY 30

By: Oswald Chambers

Read: Mark 10:28

Our Lord replies to this statement of Peter by saying that this surrender is “for My sake and the gospel’s” (10:29). It was not for the purpose of what the disciples themselves would get out of it. Beware of surrender that is motivated by personal benefits that may result. For example, “I’m going to give myself to God because I want to be delivered from sin, because I want to be made holy.” Being delivered from sin and being made holy are the result of being right with God, but surrender resulting from this kind of thinking is certainly not the true nature of Christianity. Our motive for surrender should not be for any personal gain at all. We have become so self-centered that we go to God only for something from Him, and not for God Himself. It is like saying, “No, Lord, I don’t want you; I want myself. But I do want You to clean me and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I want to be on display in Your showcase so I can say, ‘This is what God has done for me.’” Gaining heaven, being delivered from sin, and being made useful to God are things that should never even be a consideration in real surrender. Genuine total surrender is a personal sovereign preference for Jesus Christ Himself.

Where does Jesus Christ figure in when we have a concern about our natural relationships? Most of us will desert Him with this excuse—“Yes, Lord, I heard you call me, but my family needs me and I have my own interests. I just can’t go any further” (see Luke 9:57–62). “Then,” Jesus says, “you ‘cannot be My disciple’” (see Luke 14:26–33).

True surrender will always go beyond natural devotion. If we will only give up, God will surrender Himself to embrace all those around us and will meet their needs, which were created by our surrender. Beware of stopping anywhere short of total surrender to God. Most of us have only a vision of what this really means, but have never truly experienced it.

O Lord, cause my intellect to glow with Your Holy Spirit’s teaching.