A Year of Surrender

Surrender is the word that God gave me for 2023. With all that is happening in the world and the strong forces of evil that are coming against the work of the Lord, it would seem the proper word would be fight, or intercede or stand firm. But no! It was surrender.

Of course, my surrender is always unto the Lord, and to Him alone. But is God asking the yielding of power? Not at all!

This is what I have learned in these beginning days of 2023:

Surrender is not what I had imagined. It is a childlike yielding to trust in the one that loves perfectly.

Surrender is dwelling in the safety of God's love (Psalm 91:1-2). It is trusting Him in every moment of the day.

Surrender is walking by faith and not yielding to what is natural. It is living in the wonder of being crucified with Christ and believing that it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me (Galatians 2:20).

Surrender is being connected to the Lord so closely that the road I travel is peaceful and light, even when I pull a heavy load (Matthew 11:28-29).

Surrender is confident direction that comes not from my own understanding but from the knowledge of the Lord who will set my feet on the right path (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Surrender is authority - power that is not my own, but of God Himself. It is an authority that enables me to love and to be self-disciplined (2 Timothy 1:7) - a spiritual authority that moves in ways that the natural man cannot understand - healing the sick, casting out demons (Luke 9:1), and by submission to the Lord Jesus Christ, causing the enemy to flee (James 4:7).

Anything done for the Lord that is accomplished outside of surrender to Christ is done in the flesh and though it may bring results for the kingdom of God it will lack in the authority that was meant for the believer.

I cannot begin to know what this year will bring, but I choose to surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ, and I pray that He will show me every day how to do this.