Surrender is an important aspect of our relationship with the Lord. It goes beyond recognizing that we belong to God. When we surrender, we let go, and put the focus where it belongs: on Him. But it isn't "giving up" in the way we normally define it. The action is more like "giving over." The best example of this is Jesus as He approaches His crucifixion.
He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me." Going a little farther, he fell on his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Couldn't you men keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done." When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!"
Matthew 26:37-46
While in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death." Jesus knew He was about to be betrayed, tried, found guilty, and finally would suffer one of the most humiliating, horrifying, and painful death imaginable: crucifixion. Jesus struggled not only with the fears of death as other men do, but also with the fact that He was about to take on the full punishment for the world's sin. He was about to literally experience hell. Because of the sin of humanity, He experienced the wrath of God. This thought was overwhelming to Him. Luke 22:44 says, "And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground."
Jesus was honest with God. He brought His cares to His Heavenly Father. Three times, He asked for a way out: "If it is possible, let this cup be taken from me." But it is at this point we see total surrender. "Yet not as I will, but as you will."
How was He able to surrender to the will of God? He had confidence in a loving heavenly Father. He knew His Father loved Him, and therefore Jesus trusted that what the Father has for Him comes from a place of perfect love.
Surrender isn't easy. Oftentimes it isn't until we reach those moments when our soul is crushed and we are in agony of spirit that we finally surrender. Hebrews 12:2 says we can do this by "fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
Have you ever been in this place? Have you been so desperately in need that you have nowhere to go but up...to God? Sometimes, God brings us to a place where we cry out to Him, "I'm exhausted and I can't carry this anymore. I just can't try to fix this any longer. Here, God, take it. Please...carry it for me."
Peter, one of Jesus' closest friends, the man who led the early church and was no stranger to pressure, pain, and suffering wrote these words: "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you" (1 Peter 5:6-7). Peter locked onto the fact that the key to making it through hard times is surrender. He teaches us to do this by humbling ourselves. Two things to note about his admonition: God will lift us up, but He will do it in His timing. Our speed and God's speed are almost always different. We want things to get resolved immediately, but God is patient. God is working alongside us in every situation at just the right pace. Part of trusting God is not only believing He will lift us up, but that He will lift us up in the right time.
Second, we can cast all of our cares onto God. We don't need to worry about filtering our cares before we bring them to Him. There is no care we have that is "beneath" bringing to Him. There is also no care that is too big for Him. Here, we are invited to bring everything we have. If you care about it, God cares about it! Why? Because He cares for you.
Give Him your burden. Surrender. Rest in His peace.