Sweet Surrender to God

The moment we surrender to Christ and commit ourselves to absolute obedience to him, a marvelous power is released in our inner man. Fear of what men can do to us vanishes. There is no more dread of God or hell or retribution. And instead of hurt, pain, trouble and anguish, the Spirit of God floods us with new light, fresh hope, great joy, glorious peace, and abounding faith.

It was said of Christ that he endured and was obedient to his heavenly Father, not because of fear but because of the joy that was set before him. He laid aside all weights; ran the race with patience; endured shame; never fainted or was wearied in his mind — all because he saw the glorious rewards of obedience. Unspeakable joy. Peace. Rest. Freedom. Fullness.

Fear is not the best motivator toward obedience, love is. It is sweet surrender to the will of God that opens the heavens to us. It is the yielding of every sin, every act of disobedience, that allows us the revelation of who Christ really is. The Scripture says, “Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him” (1 John 3:6). 

Could it be possible that we, through living in disobedience, no longer know him? Could it be that we go on indulging our lusts because we have never had a revelation of Christ, his hatred of sin, his absolute holiness, his glory and mercy? In plain language, "he who lives in disobedience has never truly seen Christ.”

Jesus said, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him” (John 14:21). 

What greater reward for loving obedience could we want than to have Christ reveal himself to us? He says, “Love me enough to obey me. I will then love you and show you who I am!”