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10 Ways Surrender
Leads to Success.
there’s ultimately
nothing we can do to promote ourselves: “For exaltation comes neither from the
east nor from the west nor from the south. But God is the Judge: He puts down
one, and exalts another”
Cindi McMenamin
Crosswalk.com Contributing
Writer
Admit
it. Surrender is not on your weekly to-do list, included in your monthly goals,
or even on your bucket list of what you’d like to accomplish in your lifetime.
You’d
much rather strive for success. And if you’re like most people – believers and
nonbelievers – you define success as a fulfilling and prosperous career,
satisfying relationships, and a happy and productive life.
Yet,
God defines success a lot differently than we do.
He
isn’t concerned with the amount of money you make, the position you hold in
your company (or church), or how many accomplishments you’ve racked up during
your lifetime.
He
doesn’t even care about the number of people who attend your church (that’s for
the pastors reading this) or your “charitable work” or how good and kind of a
person you are.
God
cares about who is in the driver’s seat of your life — and that is determined
by your level of surrender.
In
Psalm 1, we are told that the person who delights in the Law of God and
meditates on it day and night will prosper in whatever he does.
In 2 Chronicles 16:9, we read that “the eyes of the
Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those
whose heart is completely His….”
To
have a heart that is completely His is to surrender and do things His way, right
down to what we strive for and how we live day-to-day.
1. Humble
yourself and God will lift you up.
No
one sets out to fail in life. It isn’t our goal to be last in line, unnoticed
or forgotten.
Instead,
we are taught we must market ourselves, go for the gold, develop our platform,
increase our following.
Yet, God’s Word instructs: “Humble yourselves in
the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.” (James 4:10)
If
Scripture actually contained the verse “God helps those who help
themselves,” then every Christian could rightfully be in a race with one
another to secure God’s help with their success.
Yet, Psalm 75:6-7 tells us there’s ultimately nothing
we can do to promote ourselves: “For exaltation comes neither from the east
nor from the west nor from the south. But God is the Judge: He puts down one,
and exalts another.”
Want
to get that job promotion, that coveted award, that position of honor?
Humble
yourself by acknowledging you are in God’s hands and He is the One who promotes
and exalts.
2. Quit
fighting and win.
The world – and your own flesh – will tell you to work
harder and strive more in order to win, but Scripture tells us: “Be still
and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).
In the King James Version, the phrase “Be still”
is translated “Cease striving.”
While
our human nature will tell us to insist upon our own way or fight for our
rights, especially when we feel we’re being harassed, God’s way is always
different.
It
always involves trust, rest, and surrender.
When you find yourself in a battle or you feel like
you’re facing a sea of uncertainty, not sure where to go next, remember Moses’
words to the Israelites as they were trapped between the Egyptian army and the
Red Sea: “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still” (Exodus 14:14).
When
you give up the fight, that’s often when you realize through Christ you have
already won. True success is found in peace, not striving.
3. Go
last and become first.
You’ve probably heard the saying, “The one with the
most toys wins” – not in God’s kingdom.
Jesus said: “But many who are first will be last,
and many who are last will be first” (Matthew
19:30).
When
we surrender the need to accumulate, to have the best of everything and the
most of anything, and we no longer have to be first in line, we begin to
understand God’s way of doing things. Volunteer to be last and discover the
unexpected joy of God giving you a “front-of-the-line” pass.
4. Give
it away and you’ll have more.
I
grew up learning a tithing principle that sounds like this: God can do more
with 10 percent of your money than you can do with 100 percent of it.
I
believe a more accurate saying is God can do more with all of your money when
you recognize it’s all His, anyway.
In Second Corinthians 9, we are told “Whoever sows
sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap
generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to
give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And
God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having
all that you need, you will abound in every good work….You will be enriched in
every way so that you can be generous on every occasion….” (verses 6-8, 11)
Giving
to God, financially, is a matter of trust.
And
whether or not you succeed, financially, depends on your trust as well as your
goals: Is it your goal to own it all or acknowledge that God owns it all and be
a part of the work that He is doing in your local church, your community, and
around the world?
Is
your goal to give or to receive? The more you give, the more you’ll have to
give. That is God’s math. And that is financial success in God’s eyes.
5. Give
it up and get it back, only better.
God
tested Abraham’s level of surrender by asking him to give up his only heir and
long-awaited son, Isaac, after promising him years earlier that through Isaac,
his descendants would outnumber the sand on the seashore.
Abraham
was obedient to God’s request and God not only spared the life of Abraham’s
son, but reiterated His promise to give Abraham so much more. (Genesis 22:1-18)
Often, when he asks for something, it’s so He can give
you something far better in return. Jesus said: “And everyone who has left
houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands,
for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.”
(Matthew 19:29)
6. Give
up your “Plan A” for God’s “Plan B.”
We
all struggle with this one. We have our idea of what’s best for us.
But
God, as our perfect Heavenly Father, knows so much more what is best for His
children.
In Matthew 7:11, Jesus said, “If you, then, though
you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will
your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
Yet,
we focus on what God doesn’t give or what He appears to be taking away.
Psalm 84:11 tells us, “For the Lord God is a sun
and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.”
Some
of God’s best gifts to us are the very things He decides to withhold –
sometimes as a gift in themselves.
Surrender
to His best by realizing that what He withholds is often for your protection.
And
when God says, “No,” it might be that He has something far better to
give you instead.
Trust
that when you surrender to “Plan B,” it might actually be God’s “Plan A,” and
if so, it amounts to success every time.
7. Rest
and you’ll be more productive.
Busyness
is today’s badge of success. We even carry this over to ministry, thinking the
busier we are for God, the more He must be blessing our church, our business,
or our ministry project.
But
God would rather have us be with Him than do a bunch of things for Him.
After all, Jesus told a man that in order to win the
favor of God we must not work for it, but “Love the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37)
Yes, we are to do our work “heartily, as to the
Lord,” but we aren’t to ignore His command to rest. (Colossians 3:23)
To
rest is to trust.
Psalm 127:2 says: “It is vain for you to rise up
early,to retire late, to eat the bread of painful labors; For He gives to His
beloved even in his sleep.”
That
means that as you rest and trust in Him, He can provide for you.
Serve
Him out of love for Him, not to earn His love for you, and not in order for Him
to bless you.
When
you take time to rest and to remember that you were created to love God and
enjoy Him forever, He brings a satisfaction to your soul and a joy to your
heart (and a productivity to your work, as well.)
That
is restful and successful living.
8. Prefer
the secret life, not the spotlight.
“No one who wants to become a public figure acts in
secret... show yourself to the world.”
No,
that’s not marketing advice for today’s entrepreneurs.
Nor
is it Rule No. 1 in “Building a Social Media Following.”
It’s
what Jesus’ unbelieving brothers said to Him when He refused to “go public” at
the Festival of Booths in John 7:1-4.
Jesus eventually went to the festival “not
publicly, but in secret” (verse 10) because His time had not yet come.
What
are you doing in secret? Communing with Him? Studying His Word? Letting Him
examine your heart and motives?
Be
willing to lead more of a secret, quiet life of holiness than a public one
professing it. That is success to God.
9. Get
there faster with God aboard.
We
all have our plans. And we think they’re pretty good. Until God intervenes. Or
life intervenes. Or self intervenes and we find ourselves off course.
In
John 6, Jesus’ followers got into a boat without Him and found themselves straining
at the oars, trying to push through a storm when the wind and waves got rough.
They
rowed about three or four miles and then saw Jesus walking toward them on the
water.
When they saw him, they were terrified. “Then they
were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the
shore where they were heading” (verse
21).
Be
willing to let God into your boat, (or your marriage, or your project, or your
plan) so He can more quickly get you where He wants you to go.
It
might not seem like the best plan to you. It might seem a little unconventional
(walking on the water is certainly “out of the box”), but God’s way always
trumps your way and mine, every time.
10.
Lose your life and you’ll find it.
Jesus said, “Whoever finds their life will lose it,
and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:39)
To
lose your life is to surrender, to admit it’s not your own and you belong to
someone else.
That
smacks in the face of self-ambition, directing one’s own life, being the master
of your domain.
But
when you realize you were bought at a price (1
Corinthians 6:20) and you submit to your
Master and Savior, the life you find in return is the only one worth living.
In
essence, you and I must die in order to live.
Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with
Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the
body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Die
to self. Live to Christ.
When
you live the life of Christ through you, you are living a life successful in
the eyes of your Creator, Master, Savior and Lord.
Cindi McMenamin is a national speaker and award-winning writer who
helps women and couples strengthen their relationship with God and with others.
She has authored more than a dozen books including When Women Walk Alone (more
than 130,000 copies sold), When God Sees Your Tears, When a Woman Overcomes
Life’s Hurts, Drama Free: Finding Peace When Emotions Overwhelm You, and her
newest book:12 Ways to Experience More with Your Husband. She and her husband,
a pastor, co-authored the book, When Couples Walk Together: 31 Days to a Closer
Connection. For more on her resources to help strengthen your walk with God,
your marriage, or your parenting, see her website: www.StrengthForTheSoul.com.
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