As some of you may know (I’ve talked about it briefly on my Instagram), every month for the year of 2020 I pick a new theme or word to focus on for that month. I started doing this because I wanted 2020 to be the year I took my life back (months before COVID hit). Usually the words I pick are fruits of the Spirit because as a follower of Christ, I want to bear good fruit and much of it! (Galatians5:22-23; John 15:4-5)
Anyway, as August was ending and I began to pray over September, I initially felt drawn to the word “patience”. Patience in the waiting and the unknown was definitely something I could use right now. As Romans 8:25 says “But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”
But then at the beginning of September, an account I follow @alittlemoredaily posted that their monthly theme was: Surrender. Then it hit me, what my new word for September would be.
Surrender
It sounds so simple, but I think if we’re honest with ourselves, we overcomplicate it a ton. And surrender is one thing I definitely wanted to uncomplicate in my life. Because I knew doing so would bring me closer to the full life God has called me to and created me for.
Every single day so far in September, I have felt surrender in my bones. It’s crazy how much more I’m noticing when “surrender/surrendering” is mentioned in worship songs — and let me just tell you, it’s EVERYWHERE! Which brings me so much peace as I just know that it’s the Holy Spirit confirming the word in my soul.
The second week of September, my church started a new series and the sermon that day was all about living by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7) which is honestly a topic for another blog because I could go on and on about it. But essentially, this sermon stirred me to truly uncover and identify what “faith” meant to me and my life. I always had associated “faith” with trust, and I still do! But you know what word first — and immediately — came to mind this time?
Surrender.
There it was again and once again I knew surrender was what God was leading me towards this month. Because until I fully surrender, I cannot get my life back. My life begins when I give it to God (Mark 12:17). The only problem is … I found I’m not very good at surrendering. You see, I like to be in control. Like really like it because I am an enneagram 1 (the reformer/perfectionist) and type-A personality and every other thing that points to the fact that giving up control/my plan does not come easy.
But God in His mercy, brought people into my life that reminded me that those weren’t my identity; and that with having your identity in Christ, comes your strength and your ability to surrender. I needed to hear that. Maybe you do too.
In Christ, we can, as Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that He is God.”
Psalm 46:10 is such a well-known verse tossed around in faith. A reminder that in all life’s circumstances and situations, to surrender to God, and acknowledge Him as LORD of your life. Let go and let God. But I think that in today’s world, so many of us mistake the truth “Be Still” for the lie “Stay Still”.
Because there’s a difference. A BIG one.
You see God commands us to be still in order to protect us. This is His way of calling us to turn our troubles to God, let Him fight our battles for us {victoriously}, and surrender to His power. No matter what you’re struggling with–singleness, heartbreak, unemployment, lack of faith or joy, addictions, idolatry, sin, etc.–you can rest peacefully in the presence of God. You can surrender and be still and not have to worry or try to control your future. Because guess what? You’re not in control.
And you may not know what your future holds, but you know the God that holds your future. That is simply enough. Know that He is God, and that His Power is unmatchable (Romans 8:31). And that power lives in you through the Holy Spirit.
So no matter how difficult it is, surrendering is possible. I’m learning that every day! God is saying to me (and you!) today, “Be still and know that I am God.”
But God calling us to be still before the Lord, is not him calling us to stay still.
God calls us to be still to protect us, but staying still is hurting us. It’s keeping us from becoming who God has created and called us to be. You see, God is constantly transforming us and equipping us for where He’s leading us.
- Romans 12:2: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
- Philippians 1:6: “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ.”
- Ephesian 2:10: “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God has prepared in advance for us to do.”
God is transforming us into his image, to be more like Him. He is bringing us through trials that will strengthen our faith in Him. However, God is by no means calling us to stay still or to stay stuck where we are.
When we confuse being still with staying still, we choose to sit back and do nothing, expectantly waiting for God to just magically work and appear in our lives. And that’s not God’s nature. Our faith strengthens our relationship with God, allowing us to all-the-more be still and know Him. We can’t just sit back and think that God is going to work while we do nothing. No, it is through our working and living that God’s work appears in our lives. It is then that we can be still in His presence.
But if we mistake that for staying still, we lose out on all those opportunities. We lose out on the life to the full that God has for us (John 10:10). Staying still means staying stuck in loneliness, unhappiness, hopelessness, sin, addiction, pain/grief, anxiety, idolatry and so much more. God does not call us to stay still in our circumstances, He calls us to move forward, one next step at a time, in faith. To surrender everything we are, have and that’s going on, being still without trying to control our circumstances, so that God can guide us to move forward with Him.
You are called to be MORE in Christ, because you were created for more. Called to actively, in faith, follow down the path that God is leading you. But at the same time, understand that no matter what God leads you into, He will lead you through. All you have to do is know who God is, trust in Him, and be still in His presence. Don’t confuse being still with staying still. Instead, choose to pursue God, to build your faith in Him so that you can truly understand and live out the command:
To “be still and know that I am God.”
This is something I’m still learning every day, but man the more I surrender to God the more He shows up in amazing ways and the more courage and faith I have to continue to be still, surrender, and let God lead me into the abundant life He has for me. Today, no matter what’s going on, choose surrender. Because the minute you give your life to God is the moment you truly get your life back.
