The act of surrender is a shedding, a revealing of what exits. And what exists, what is, cannot be changed, weakened, or destroyed by anything in this world.
The world around us is full of ever-changing circumstances. We face many trials throughout our lives, just like we experience many joys. That’s the nature of life. It ebbs and flows, always changing.
Who we are exists in a timeless state. A state that remains constant regardless of what’s happening around us or whatever we might be experiencing in the moment. A state free from past and future. A state of presence.
When you no longer look to the mind to provide you with your sense of identity — because your sense of identity now comes now from a deeper place — that’s the shift that changes everything, dramatically.
Eckhart Tolle, author of The Power of Now
Once I understood this, I knew that nothing in this world had the power to crush me. Absolutely nothing. Unless I allowed it.
It’s the same with peace because it too is a choice. One freely given to us. Once I experienced the source of all peace, I knew nothing could take it from me unless I allowed it.
We make choices every day, but none impact our lives and our beings as significantly as the ones that weaken our spirits and separate us from God. “Choose this day whom you will serve,” Joshua | 24:15.
Like all of us, this is the most important choice I’ve ever faced. For it holds both earthly and eternal consequences. To truly serve the Lord requires complete surrender to His will and obedience to His commandments. Dying to self is a moment-to-moment battle, but one worth fighting every second of every day. God never said it would be easy. But, He promised to fight for us and to stand with us on that battlefield. Our victory has already been assured through Jesus Christ. Now, it’s up to us to choose it.
When my first big test came, just months after surrendering my life to Christ, He was with me in the storm.
In 2018, shortly after I returned home from the hospital for treatment for alcoholism and the eating disorder that began when I was 19 (yes, that’s 32 years of self-inflicted suffering), just months into my recovery, Category 5 Hurricane Michael slammed into our home in the Panhandle of Florida and nearly wiped us off the map.
For weeks, in some cases months, we were without power, water, and communication with the outside world. All we had was each other and the grace and benevolence of those who came to help. I was amazed, that throughout the storm and after, that source of presence and peace that had been awakened within me the moment I surrendered, was not diminished or altered by this very real storm.
It was then that I realized the truth of 1 Corinthians 3:16, “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”
Though my circumstances in those first weeks after the storm were fluid, changing, and often challenging, my Being was not. It remained steadfast and unalterable because it comes from a source much greater than I. The spirit of God that dwells within me is at the core of my being and everything I am comes from Him and through Him.
With that realization came peace, trust, and faith. I will never again go down the path of darkness and destruction. I cannot, because I now know and have lived Truth and it has set me free.
SURVIVING IS SOMETHING
TO BE PROUD OF.
RECOVERY TAKES COURAGE.
BECAUSE ACCEPTANCE REQUIRES STRENGTH.
FORGIVENESS REQUIRES FAITH.
AND SURRENDER IS THE BRAVEST
THING YOU’ LL EVER DO.
IT’S ALSO THE MOST IMPORTANT.
SURRENDER FREES THE POWER
THAT LIVES INSIDE YOU.
POWER IN ITS PUREST, TRUEST FORM.
POWER THAT COMES FROM THE CREATOR
OF HEAVEN AND EARTH.
POWER THAT HEALS,
THAT SANCTIFIES,
THAT JUSTIFIES,
IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST.
POWER THAT’S BEEN THERE
FROM THE BEGINNING.
WAITING.
JUST WAITING.
FOR YOU TO SEEK IT,
TO RECEIVE IT,
TO FINALLY ALLOW IT
TO SET YOU FREE.
JN Fenwick (© 2021-2023) | mothjournal14
Dear God, you know the secrets and longings of my heart. You hear my cries. You send strength and comfort in times of need and celebrate with me in times of joy. All blessings come from You, as does all peace and all understanding. Continue to guide me on this journey of faith and healing. Strengthen my resolve and increase my desire to always choose You, to submit to Your will in all things, and to live as Your servant, both willing and humble. For You, God, are the pathway to peace and the author of all Creation. Amen.