Embracing Surrender: The Path to True Transformation

Devotional

Day 1: The Battle of Surrender

True surrender to God is a profound and challenging journey, requiring more courage and persistence than any self-centered pursuit. It is not a passive act but a battle that demands the relinquishing of control and the trust in God's plan. This path of surrender is often more difficult than pursuing our own desires, as it involves letting go of our own agendas and embracing the unknown. The courage to surrender comes from the understanding that God's ways are higher than our ways, and His plans are for our ultimate good. [00:48]

Isaiah 55:8-9 (ESV): "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you are struggling to let go of control? How can you begin to trust God's plan in this area today?

Day 2: Approaching God on His Terms

Often, we approach God with our own agendas, seeking His assistance for our personal success. However, true discipleship requires us to give up our lives and desires, recognizing that our idea of success is often the very obstacle in our spiritual journey. Approaching God on His terms means acknowledging that His definition of success may differ from ours and that His plans are ultimately for our good. This requires humility and the willingness to let go of our preconceived notions of what our lives should look like. [01:27]

Proverbs 16:9 (ESV): "The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps."

Reflection: In what ways have you been approaching God with your own agenda? How can you begin to align your desires with His will today?

Day 3: Wrestling with God

Jacob's struggle with God at the river Jabbok is a powerful metaphor for our own battles to surrender. Jacob, known for his deceit and manipulation, finds himself wrestling with God, seeking a blessing that cannot be earned through strength or cunning but is a gift received through surrender and need. This encounter teaches us that true blessings come not from our efforts but from our willingness to let go and trust in God's provision. [08:12]

Genesis 32:24-26 (ESV): "And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, 'Let me go, for the day has broken.' But Jacob said, 'I will not let you go unless you bless me.'"

Reflection: What is a struggle you are currently facing that you need to surrender to God? How can you seek His blessing in this situation?

Day 4: The Magnificent Defeat

Our greatest victory comes through the defeat of our own will at the hands of God. This "magnificent defeat" transforms us, as seen in Jacob's limp and Jesus' resurrection, marking the path to true life. The concept of the magnificent defeat illustrates that true strength is found in our weakness and dependence on God. It is through surrendering our will that we experience the transformative power of God's love and grace. [10:17]

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (ESV): "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

Reflection: How can you embrace your weaknesses and allow God's strength to work through you today?

Day 5: Transformation through Surrender

Just as Jacob was transformed into Israel, we too are called to be transformed through our struggles and surrender. This transformation leads to the true blessings of peace, love, and joy that only God can provide. The journey of transformation is not easy, but it is the path to true life and victory. By surrendering our will and desires, we open ourselves to the transformative power of God's love, which brings about a profound change in our hearts and lives. [09:15]

Romans 12:1-2 (ESV): "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

Reflection: In what ways do you need to be transformed through surrender? How can you begin this process of transformation today?

Sermon Summary

In today's reflection, we explore the profound concept of surrendering our lives to God, a journey that is far from passive or easy. True surrender is the most challenging battle we will ever face, requiring more courage, persistence, and diligence than any self-centered path. Dallas Willard reminds us that approaching God on our terms, seeking a life of our own design with a little divine assistance, is not the way of a true disciple. Instead, discipleship demands the complete giving up of our lives, acknowledging that our idea of a successful life is often the very obstacle in our spiritual journey.

We delve into the story of Jacob from Genesis, a man not known for his honesty or integrity. Jacob's life is marked by deceit and manipulation, yet he finds himself wrestling with God by the river Jabbok. This encounter is not about Jacob's cunning or strength but about his need for a blessing that can only be received as a gift. The struggle with God is a metaphor for our own battles, where we must relinquish our will and desires to receive the true blessings of peace, love, and joy that only God can provide.

Frederick Buechner's concept of "The Magnificent Defeat" illustrates that our greatest victory comes through surrender. Jacob's limp, a symbol of his encounter with God, reminds us that true strength is found in our weakness and dependence on God. Just as Jacob was transformed into Israel, we too are called to be transformed through our struggles and surrender. The path of following Jesus is not easy, but it is the way to true life and victory. As we reflect on Jacob's story and Jesus' journey from the tomb, we are invited to embrace the magnificent defeat of our own souls at the hands of God.

Key Takeaways

1. centered pursuit, as it involves giving up control and trusting God's plan. [00:48]
2. Approaching God on His Terms: We often want to approach God with our own agendas, seeking His help for our personal success. However, true discipleship requires us to give up our lives and desires, recognizing that our idea of success is often the problem.

3. Jacob's Struggle with God: Jacob's wrestling with God symbolizes our own struggles to surrender. The blessing he seeks cannot be earned through strength or cunning but is a gift received through surrender and need.

4. The Magnificent Defeat: Our greatest victory comes through the defeat of our own will at the hands of God. This "magnificent defeat" transforms us, as seen in Jacob's limp and Jesus' resurrection, marking the path to true life.

5. Transformation through Surrender: Just as Jacob was transformed into Israel, we too are called to be transformed through our struggles and surrender. This transformation leads to the true blessings of peace, love, and joy that only God can provide.

** [00:48]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:35] - The Challenge of Surrender
[01:16] - Approaching God on Our Terms
[02:09] - The Hard Path of Discipleship
[02:42] - Jacob's Story Begins
[03:10] - Wrestling with God
[03:38] - Jacob's Transformation
[04:13] - The Unexpected Story
[05:28] - Jacob's Deception
[06:32] - The River Jabbok
[07:08] - The Struggle in the Night
[08:12] - The Face of Love
[09:01] - The Gift of Blessing
[09:43] - The Cost of Following Jesus
[10:17] - The Magnificent Defeat

Sermon Clips

"Many times people think that surrender sounds like a softer easier more passive way, and that it's in contrast with the need for resilience and persistence and the willingness to grind it out but actually that's dead wrong the kind of surrender that we're called to, that I want to be called to and invite you to today is actually the most difficult battle you will ever fight and it will take more of your resources it will take more courage more persistence more diligence than any self-centered self-aggrandizing path you could go down." [00:36:71]

"Dallas Willard talks about how we all have this tendency to want to approach God on our terms God I'd like to have the kind of life that I want the kind of success that I want the kind of story the kind of health kind of family kind of money that I want I just want a little help from you, but God cannot be approached on these terms." [01:16:00]

"Being a disciple or an apprentice of Jesus cannot be negotiated on the basis of trying to get whatever it is that you want, rather becoming a disciple is a matter of giving up your life, if you have understood it to that point without that giving up you cannot be his disciple because you will still think you are in charge and just need a little help from Jesus for your project for a successful life but our idea of our successful life is precisely our problem." [01:38:00]

"Surrender to give up your little life your little project is not the easy way it's not the soft way it's not the passive way it's the hard way it is the way of what Frederick Buechner in one of the great sermons of the 20th century called the magnificent defeat." [02:16:32]

"Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak, when the man saw that he could not overpower him he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man then the man said let me go for it is daybreak, but Jacob replied I will not let you go unless you bless me." [03:08:87]

"Then the man said your name will no longer be Jacob but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome, Jacob said please tell me your name, but he replied why do you ask my name then he blessed him there, so Jacob called the place Peniel, saying it is because I saw God face to face and yet my life was spared." [03:35:99]

"Jacob is not a particularly admirable character throughout, as you may know if you know his story, he duped his brother Esau into exchanging his birthright for basically a bowl of lentil soup and nobody feels terribly sorry for Esau in the story because Esau seems to have been a bit of a fool, and Jacob also deceives his father Isaac by then is an old man in a tent in the dark because he can no longer see well." [04:31:28]

"Out of the deep of the night a stranger leaves, he hurls himself at Jacob they fall to the ground their bodies lashing through the darkness, it is terrible enough not to see the attacker's face, and his strength is more terrible still the strength of more than a man all the night they struggle in silence until just before morning when it looks as though a miracle might happen Jacob is winning the stranger cries out to be set free before the sun then suddenly all is reversed." [07:03:59]

"Jacob will not release his grip, only now it is a grip not a violence but of need, like the grip of a dying man of a drowning man, the darkness has faded just enough so that for the first time he can dimly see his opponent's face, and what he sees is something more terrible than the face of death, it is the face of love, it is vast and strong, half ruined with suffering and fierce with joy." [08:07:59]

"Power success happiness as the world knows them are his who will fight for them hard enough, but peace love joy are only from God, and God is the enemy who Jacob fought there by the river of course, and whom in one way or another we all of us fight, God the beloved enemy, our enemy because before giving us everything he demands of us everything, before giving us life he demands our lives ourselves our wills our treasures." [09:06:40]

"Remember Jesus of Nazareth staggering unbroken feet out of the tomb toward the resurrection, bearing on his body the proud insignia of the defeat which is victory, the magnificent defeat of the human soul at the hands of God, give it up, let it go, it is the magnificent defeat." [10:12:56]

"Jacob's limp, a symbol of his encounter with God, reminds us that true strength is found in our weakness and dependence on God. Just as Jacob was transformed into Israel, we too are called to be transformed through our struggles and surrender. The path of following Jesus is not easy, but it is the way to true life and victory." [09:15:00]

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