Surrender

Surrender
Words of Faith 4-1-24
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2024
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Mark 14
[35] Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. [36] "Abba, Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will."

It is interesting that in some circles, this prayer: "Yet not what I will, but what you will..." is viewed as a prayer that "lacks faith." Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, this prayer is the foundation of what it means to be in a right relationship with God.
Just think, if Eve had prayed this prayer in the garden, how different the world might have been. If Cain had prayed this prayer, he might have had a different life. If the people in the time of Noah had discovered this prayer, what a great tragedy might have been averted. You see, the fundamental decision of life is the choice to surrender to the Creator or surrender to self.
We see the right decision made by the grace of God from time to time in the lives of Bible people. In their own way and with the same heart as Jesus, many prayed essentially the same prayer that Jesus did. Surely, Abraham did not want to leave his home, but he walked out the prayer at the heart of faith: "Yet not what I will, but what you will..." He also could not have wanted to place Isaac on an altar for sacrifice. Still, he acted in the prayer of surrender. Joseph did not want to go to Egypt or sit in jail for the sake of integrity, but his life reflected the same prayer without blinking an eye. Moses did not want to return to Egypt but surrendered in prayer. Joshua did not want to face the great walls of Jericho, but he fell before the Commander of the Lord's army in prayer. At the end of his life, Joshua was still praying the prayer and calling others to do so: "But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15)." Not my will but thy will be done.
The fundamental spiritual discovery of life is quite simple: God is God, and I am not. In His humanity, even Jesus modeled this essential surrender to the will of the Father. Does this mean we should not tell the Lord our heart's desire? Jesus also modeled this prayer for us: "Abba, Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will." Jesus prayed honestly before the Father that if there were some other way, it would be done another way. But He surrendered nonetheless.
Don't let anyone tell you that demanding your way is a sign of "great faith ." Faith is trust. Do you trust God enough to surrender to Him as Lord God? He is actually pretty good at the job. You and I make very poor gods. We are simply not well equipped. We can give our opinions and complaints and pray for the desires of our hearts. Still, ultimately, genuine faith will surrender to the will of the Father.
How and why? Because He is Abba, Father. Daddy. He loves us far more than we can even love ourselves. He gives good gifts. He desires nothing but our welfare. We are safe in His hands, in His grip.
Have you surrendered to the Father? I mean, really surrendered? Or are you still trying to control everything? You cannot control your family, the people around you, your job, or your life. All you can do is surrender, then listen, and obey.

All to Jesus, I surrender. All to Him I freely give. I will ever love and trust Him. I surrender all! Not my will, but Thy will be done. Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2024
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2024 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.