"All to Jesus I surrender, All to Him, I freely give. I will ever love and trust Him, in His presence daily live.
I surrender all, I surrender all. All to Jesus I surrender, I surrender all." -J.W Van De Venter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcncmA2rmIw
I have been thinking about that hymn and what it all means. To surrender everything to Jesus. I believe without a doubt that I am a follower of Jesus. I love Him and believe He died for hopeless sinners like me. In a general sense I know I have surrendered my life to Him.
Knowing that, I realized today that I have been holding on to some things that I wasn't willing to freely give to Jesus. Struggles, stresses, and fears that I had a grip on so tight you couldn't pry them out if you tried. Sleepless nights, anxiety and nervous habits had me to the point of tears as I tried to read my Bible this morning. The unknown and frankly the known, had my stomach in knots. As I sat down to write my prayers, I knew I had to give it all to Jesus. One by one, I told Him my fears, my concerns and that I coun't bear the weight of them anymore.
I learned recently that there is a widely misquoted passage in scripture. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says that "God will never tempt us beyond what we can bear." People often misquote that verse and say that God will never give us more than we can handle. In 2 Corinthians 1:8-11, a man named Paul, who was a great minster of gospel of Jesus, clearly says that the struggles and persecution he and his friends endured were more than they could bear. Their only deliverance was God. I take so much comfort in that. Sometime life is unbearable. Sometimes it feels like God has heaped more on us than we can take. But God doesn't want us to suffer in silence! God wants us turn to Him. Especially when it's too much. He says in His Word to cast our cares on Him because He cares for us.(1 Peter 5:7 ) He can handle our hurts and burdens much better than we can. His yolk is easy and His burden is light. (Matthew 11:30)
So knowing all this, have I truly surrendered those things? As I was praying, I told the Lord that I could only give Him an hour of surrender. Why? Because I know myself. I knew that in an hour or so, my own flesh and the enemy would creep in. So for right now, for the next hour, I surrender my frustrations, my anxieties, my fears and small victories to Jesus.
"I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord; No tender voice like Thine can peace afford. Refrain: I need Thee, oh, I need Thee; Every hour I need Thee; Oh, bless me now, my Savior, I come to Thee. I need Thee every hour, stay Thou nearby; Temptations lose their pow’r when Thou art nigh. I need Thee every hour, in joy or pain; Come quickly and abide, or life is vain. I need Thee every hour; teach me Thy will; And Thy rich promises in me fulfill. I need Thee every hour, most Holy One; Oh, make me Thine indeed, Thou blessed Son. |
I need Thee every hour, in joy or pain;
Come quickly and abide, or life is vain.
I need Thee every hour; teach me Thy will;
And Thy rich promises in me fulfill.
I need Thee every hour, most Holy One;
Oh, make me Thine indeed, Thou blessed Son."
- Annie Hawks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZIMDcgrF-Q
