I ended my post last week saying that we need to surrender our concerns to Jesus, but surrendering can be so scary, some people never do so. They are terrified of facing their pain and afraid that Jesus might judge them. Oh how sad these ideas are, since they keep us from the One who loves us perfectly!
Yes, we can trust Jesus to accept our concerns with compassion. All people need to do this, whether they are unbelievers who are just now turning to the Lord, or even older, mature Christians. Even when we dread telling Jesus how afraid or angry, or confused we are, we must do it anyway. We think we need to come to God with our praises and thanks and not our fears and confusion. But sometimes we cannot enter God’s courts with praise. There are many times when we cannot use the A.C.T.S. formal prayer (Adore God, Confess our sins, Thank God, Supplicate or ask for needs.) I wrote two posts about that formal prayer “Encouraging Hurt Believers through God’s Praise,” and also “Why We Confess Our Sins before Asking for Help.” Even in those posts I said there are times when we cannot pray that formally.
We might be more like Nehemiah who heard the king ask, “What is it you want?” (Neh.2:4). In that same verse, Nehemiah had to offer a quick and silent prayer to God before IMMEDIATELY answering the King. Nehemiah did not have time to discuss a long prayer with God. It was a quick, “Help,” kind of prayer to God. Our prayer might be just as fast. It might be raw, angry, sad or confused, though over time God will give us clarity. The main goal is to come to Jesus, without censoring ourselves and then to call out to him.
We can trust him to receive us tenderly. We really don’t have to be strong in front of him. Even if we aren’t sure why we are upset or why we suffer from anything chronic, whether it is anger, fear, anxiety, confusion, an addiction, or anything that chronically upsets us, we can come. We don’t need to name the exact reason why we are upset. We don’t need to fear coming to the Lord, after we admit we need him, even when we are vague and just tell him, “Help.” Often when we are vague or confused, we don’t need Jesus to explain every single thing we should do in the future. If we’ve been stressed for a long time, we may not fully understand everything, even after Jesus explains some things to us the first time we come to him. We may need to come to him many times. He is not ashamed of our neediness and vulnerability. He loves this neediness of ours. Jesus said, “Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am humble and lowly of spirit and you will find rest for your souls,” (Matt.11:28-29.) He humbled himself, so he can surely handle us coming to him in humility.
Would he cast us out? No, and he uses those very words in reassurance, “I will in no ways cast you out,” (John6:37.) Throughout the Bible Jesus and God the father are spoken of as kind, tender and merciful. For example, Luke 1:78 speaks of “the tender mercy of our God,” And when lepers were never touched, Jesus defies the social morays and, “Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him and said, ‘Be cleansed,” (Mark 1:41.) Jesus was not disgusted by the leper but loved him, touched him and healed him.
Jesus told the woman caught in adultery, “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more,” (John8:11) which shows that Jesus will not condemn anyone who comes to him in their need. Even his words,” go and sin no more,” were not a condemnation of her, but a reassurance that she was so loved, she now had the power to go and stop her sinning. Jesus’ love and lack of condemnation empowered to her to stop sinning.
The “sinful woman” with the alabaster jar (Luke7:37) wept because of her sorrow over her sin, but also because of her joy over Jesus’ love and his forgiveness of her. She is another “sinner” who felt Jesus’ love and then turned her life over to him. She found so much joy in her surrender. Jesus did not let her down too. He defended her when the religious leaders tried to condemn her.
Jesus adores you. When you admit you have a problem, you have the kindest person waiting to embrace you, to forgive you, not condemn you.
We must actively rebuke Satan’s accusations against us. Satan tells us to be ashamed of our sin and weaknesses. Or he lies and says our weaknesses are not that bad. Either way, Satan tries to keep us from surrendering our weaknesses to Jesus. We must say, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan,” (Zech.3:12) to any thought that condemns you or discourages you from telling Jesus every fear, every sorrow, every weakness and sin. Jesus will not condemn you, this time or anytime. He is always ready and waiting to embrace you and adore you.
Both in admitting we have a problem and in surrendering our problem to Jesus, we come to him, even if we do not fully understand what the problem is. We don’t have the answer, and often even after we surrender our problem, we don’t receive an instant explanation of all that we need to do or change. That is because we first need the relief of letting go of this burden we carried. We need the relief and comfort of knowing Jesus will help us. Initially, that relief and comfort is the answer. Over time God will guide us about what we should do and how we should do it. But at first we just need God’s comfort and relief.
We must not rush God’s process. As we feel peace and comfort in laying down our emotional burdens, we begin to hear God guiding us to make changes he wants us to make. He is faithful and he will guide us once we feel enough relief and comfort. Like a weary traveler who needed a break, we can resume our journey of healing and then listen to God’s guidance about how he wants us to heal and make changes. Each step of healing takes time.
But what if you still feel you cannot surrender your cares, or a chronic problem, to God? Then tell God you feel you CANNOT let go. Simply tell God the truth. Then let God know that right now you don’t want to surrender. Maybe a side of you wants to surrender, but another side does not want to do so. Tell God about your resistance, and if you truly feel you “should” surrender, ask God to change your heart.
Yes, it is that simple. You ask God to change your “wants” to align with his. God can change a heart that loves him, even when that heart has resistant parts. So please tell God this challenge too. Tell him you don’t want to do what is right, but if you truly love him, that you are willing to have God change your heart. Then wait, because if you prayed sincerely, God will soften your heart. Wait with a heart of faith. God will act.
As you wait to be “rescued,” I think of Boaz, the Kinsman redeemer of Ruth and Naomi. Ruth was widowed, and her husband had been Naomi’s son. Naomi reassured Ruth, “Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today,” (Ruth3:18.) Ruth asked Boaz to marry her and become a redeemer of her and Naomi. In this case, Boaz did agree to marry Ruth after Boaz got clearance (since there was another relative who had the first right to marry Ruth.) Many see Boaz like Jesus, our redeemer, who rescues us too. Jesus will rescue you, although you may need to wait for his timing, just like Ruth had to wait for Boaz to get clearance.
I wrote this long post about such a “small matter,” surrender. But surrender is one of the hardest battles in the Christian life. We may surrender many areas of our life but hold back in a very painful area. We might not even know we are holding back until chronic problems point to that area where we resisted. This is why surrender, though a “small” concept is actually of huge importance. Along with surrender comes acceptance, and I hope to close this series of posts next week when I talk about the acceptance we need to have, once we surrender our weaknesses to the Lord.
So please join me next week, when I hope to close this series. I also wanted to explain that sometimes I only plan to write one post, but I sense the Lord showing me that the concept I tried to simplify actually has many parts. Each part deserves some attention, and thus I end up writing more in the ensuing weeks. I listen to my own heart but also to my friends’ hearts, and then I write about the things we are facing. I never share details unless I have permission. My goal is to include my readers in my posts so they can join me as we work out our Christian faith, helping one another. We can love each other, lift each other up and show compassion. This is not just “my” blog (Debbie’s blog) but the blog of my daughters and my readers. So please also tell me if there is ever anything else you would like me to write about. This is a loving and inclusive blog! All those who want to grow in their lives, and those who want to learn more about Jesus are welcome here.
Thanks for joining me in this post, and I pray we have blessed you!