Surrendering to the LORD is the key that unlocks so much healing, peace and joy in our lives.
For the larger part of my short walk with the LORD, I was really relying upon my own strength and not His. And, I’m still working to surrender this more and more. Deliverance and surrender, and continual deliverance and continual surrender, is incredibly important for every single believer.
It’s one thing to come to the LORD and ask Him to heal you and save you from your sin, and to want Him to be your Savior. It’s another to humbly recognize that you have no idea what you are doing, and you desperately need to surrender your old ways fully to Him and to allow Him to be your LORD AND Savior. As I heard in a recent sermon, many want Him to be Savior but not LORD.
We must always remember Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”
I have learned that relying on your own strength can result in exhaustion, anxiety, burnout, overwhelm and just feeling spiritually empty. Many times when we rely on our own strength it comes from a place of pride, rebellion and control. But, when we rely on the LORD’s strength, we surrender our personal control and depend upon His power, grace and timing.
I realized that joy is tied directly to this. As it is written in Nehemiah 8:10b, “Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
The joy of the LORD is our strength. It is through this that we endure hardship and trials. It is how we stand firm and stay rooted in Christ versus relying on our own temporary energy or circumstances.
As it is written in Psalm 28:7, “The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him.”
I just currently finished re-reading Exodus through Deuteronomy for about the seventh time, and I saw with fresh eyes just how many crucial lessons are in those books during the 40 years that the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness.
One verse that really resonated me with was the first part of Deuteronomy 4:9, “Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life.”
When we continually bring to remembrance all that the LORD has done for us, all the darkness He delivered us from, all the blessings He has done in our lives and continues to do, we can stay rooted in praise and thanksgiving. And, I don’t know about you, but remembering everything He rescued me from and knowing how much He loved me, even when I couldn’t love myself, brings so much joy to my heart.
We need to stay in that joy, stay rooted in the peace that only He can give. When we forget, complaint is not far behind, and soon we wonder why we are struggling with anxiety, fear, stress, heaviness, etc. We weren’t staying rooted in the joy of the LORD and we weren’t allowing His peace to rule in our hearts, no matter the circumstances.
For the longest time, Philippians 4:6-7 was one of my go-to memory verses. But, I didn’t truly comprehend it to a fuller extent until recently when the LORD restored peace and joy into my life after my deliverance. As it is written, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (emphasis mine)
I now understand and see that Philippians 4:6 truly is one of the keys to peace in Him and the crux of our joy or lack thereof. Because, think about it this way: if you are feeling anxious or stressed, when was the last time you prayed?
When is the last time you laid all of your burdens at His feet and asked for His help versus relying on your own strength? When is the last time you praised Him with a thankful heart for His love, mercy, provisions, protection and all of His blessings in your life?
Going back to Deuteronomy 4:9, it is crucial to diligently keep ourselves in the LORD. To diligently read His Word, the Holy Bible, to truly soak up the Scriptures and meditate upon them. To diligently go into the prayer closet and praise Him for His goodness and faithfulness.
Until next time, Shalom to my sisters and brothers in Christ. ❤️ 🕊️
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