The Barrier of Pride

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Barrier of Pride

 

It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own.

Our qualification comes from God.

2 Corinthians 3:5

Life is a struggle, but what most people don’t realize is that our struggle, like Jacob’s in Genesis 32:22-32, is really with God! We want to be God, and there’s no way we’re going to win that struggle, but we try anyway.

 

A.W. Tozer said, “The reason why many are still troubled, still seeking, still making little forward progress is because they haven’t yet come to the end of themselves. We’re still trying to give orders, and interfering with God’s work within us.”

 

We aren’t God, and we never will be. We’re humans, and the times when we try to be God are the times we end up most like Satan, who tried to be equal with God, too.

 

We accept our humanity intellectually, but not emotionally. We give mental assent to the idea, but when faced with our own limitations, we react with irritation, anger, and resentment. We want to be taller (or shorter), smarter, stronger, more talented, beautiful, and wealthy.

 

We want to have it all and do it all, and become upset when it doesn’t happen. Then, when we notice God gave others characteristics we don’t have, we respond with envy, jealousy, and self-pity.

 

What it means to surrender.

 

Surrendering to God is not passive resignation, fatalism, or an excuse for laziness. It is not accepting the status quo. It may mean the exact opposite: sacrificing your life in resistance to evil and injustice, or suffering in order to change what needs to be changed. God often calls surrendered people to do battle on his behalf. It’s not for cowards or doormats.

 

Surrendering is not putting your brain in neutral and giving up rational thinking. God would not waste the mind he gave you! God does not want robots to serve him. Surrendering is not repressing your personality. God wants to use your unique personality. Rather than being diminished, surrendering enhances your uniqueness.

 

C. S. Lewis observed, “The more we let God take us over, the more truly ourselves we become – because he made us.He invented all the different people that you and I were intended to be. It is when I turn to Christ, when I give up myself to His personality, that I first begin to have a real personality of my own.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let Go and Let God Work

Surrender yourself to the Lord, and wait patiently for him.

Psalm 37:7

 

 

Surrendering your life means:

· Following God’s lead without knowing where he’s sending you;

· Waiting for God’s timing without knowing when it will come;

· Expecting a miracle without knowing how God will provide;

· Trusting God’s purpose without understanding the circumstances.

 

You know you’re surrendered to God when you rely on God to work things out instead of trying to manipulate others, force your agenda, and control the situation. You let go and let God work.You don’t have to always be in charge. Instead of trying harder, you trust more.

 

You also know you’re surrendered when you don’t react to criticism and rush to defend yourself.

Surrendered hearts show up best in relationships. You are not self-serving, you don’t edge others out, and you don’t demand your rights.

 

The most difficultthing for many people to surrender is their money. Many have thought, “I want to live for God but I also want to earn enough money to live comfortably and retire someday.”

 

Retirement is not the goal of a surrender life, because it competes with God for the primary attention of our lives. Jesus said, “You cannot serve both God and money,” (Matthew 6:24 NIV)and “Wherever your treasure is, your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).

The supreme example of self-surrender is Jesus. The night before his crucifixion Jesus surrendered himself to God’s plan. He prayed, “Father, everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine” (Mark 14:36).

Jesus didn’t pray, “God, if you’re able to take away this pain, please do so.” He began by affirming that God can do anything! He prayed, “God, if it is in your best interest to remove this suffering, please do so. But if it fulfills your purpose, that’s what I want, too.”

Genuine surrender says, “Father, if this problem, pain, sickness, or circumstance is needed to fulfill your purpose and glory in my life or in another’s life, please don’t take it away!”

This level of maturity doesn’t come easy.In Jesus’ case, he agonized so much over God’s plan that he sweat drops of blood. Surrender is hard work. In our case, it requires intense warfare against our self-centered nature.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Blessing of Surrender

Quit quarreling with God! Agree with him and you will have peace at last!

His favor will surround you if you will only admit that you were wrong.

Job 22:21

 

The Bible is very clear about how we benefit when we worship God through surrender: “Agree with him and you will have peace at last! His favor will surround you if you will only admit that you were wrong” (Job 22:21).

 

In surrender, you begin to really live the life God intended: “Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live” (Mark 8:35).

You are set free, liberated from self-preoccupation: “But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits. All your lives you’ve let sin tell you what to do. But thank God you’ve started listening to a new master, one whose commands set you free to live openly in his freedom!” (Romans 6:16-18).

God is able to use you in great ways.

Why did God choose Mary, of all women, to be the mother of Jesus? It was because she was totally surrendered to God. When the angel explained God’s improbable plan, she humbly responded, “I am the Lord’s servant! Let it happen as you have said” (Luke 1:38).

 

Nothing is more powerful than a surrendered life in the hands of God.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everybody Surrenders to Something

Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God,

but laid aside his mighty power and glory, taking the disguise of a slave and becoming like men.

Philippians 2:6-7

Everybody surrenders to something or someone in life.If not to God, you’ll surrender to popular opinion, to money, to resentment or fear, or to your own pride, lust, and ego.

 

We were designed to worship something, and when we fail to worship God, we create gods (idols) to surrender ourselves to. E. Stanley Jones said, “If you don’t surrender to Christ, you surrender to chaos.” You’re free to choose what you surrender to, but you’re not free from the consequences of that choice: “So give yourselves completely to God” (James 4:7).

Surrender is not the best way to live; it is the only way to live. Nothing else works.All other approaches lead to frustration, disappointment, and self-destruction.

 

The King James Version of Romans 12:1 calls surrender“your reasonable service.” The Contemporary English Version translates it: “the most sensible way to serve God.”

 

Surrendering your life is not a foolish emotional impulse but a rational, intelligent act, the most responsible and sensible thing you can do with your life.Your wisest moments will be those when you say yes to God: “So we make it our goal to please him …” (2 Corinthians 5:9).

 

Sometimes it takes years, but eventually you discover the greatest hindrance to God’s blessing in your life is not others, it is yourself – your self will, stubborn pride, and personal ambition.You cannot fulfill God’s purposes for your life while focusing on your own plans. If God is going to do his deepest work in you, it will begin with this.

 

So give it all to God: your past regrets; your present problems; your future ambitions; your fears, dreams, weaknesses, habits, hurts, and hang-ups. Put Christ in the driver’s seat of your life and take your hands off the steering wheel. Don’t be afraid; nothing under his control can ever be out of control.

 

Mastered by Christ, you can handle anything: “I am ready for anything and equal to anything through him who infuses inner strength into me. I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency” (Philippians 4:13).

 

You may worry, “What if I stumble or relapse?”

If? You will stumble in pleasing God! No one can live a perfectly surrendered life except Jesus.

But God has provided for the inevitability of your sin: “If you do sin, there is someone to plead for you before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who pleases God completely” (1 John 2:1).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Practice of Surrender

 

“If people want to follow me, they must give up the things they want.

They must be willing even to give up their lives to follow me.”

Matthew 16:24

Paul’s moment of surrender occurred on the Damascus road after he was knocked down by blinding light. For others, less drastic methods are needed to get our attention.Regardless, surrendering is never just a one-time event.

Paul said, “I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31).

There is a moment of surrender and there is the practice of surrender, which is moment-by-moment and lifelong. The practice of surrender requires perseverance; you may have to re-surrender your life fifty times a day: “If people want to follow me, they must give up the things they want. They must be willing even to give up their lives [daily] to follow me” (Matthew 16:24).

Let me warn you: When you decide to live a totally surrendered life, that decision will be tested. Sometimes it will mean doing inconvenient, unpopular, costly, or seemingly impossible tasks.It will often mean doing the opposite of what you feel like doing.

 

“Those who are living by their natural inclinations have their minds on the things human nature desires; those who live in the Spirit have their minds on spiritual things” (Romans 8:5).

 

We are, by nature, self-centered. When hurt by someone, your natural inclination is to hurt back.It is natural to hoard money instead of generously sharing it, to defend yourself when criticized, to hide your mistakes instead of confessing them, and to try to impress others. You can usually figure out what will please God by doing the opposite of your natural inclination.

 

Bill Bright founded Campus Crusade for Christ. Through the worldwide Crusade staff, his tract “The Four Spiritual Laws,” and the “JESUS” film (seen by over one billion people), it’s estimated that over 150 million people have come to Christ and will spend eternity in heaven.

 

I once asked Bill, “Why did God use and bless your life so much?” He said, “When I was a young man I made a contract with God.I literally wrote it out and signed my name at the bottom.It said ‘From this day forward, I am a slave of Jesus Christ.’”

 

Have you signed a contract like that with God? Or, are you still arguing and struggling with God over his right to do with your life as he pleases?

 

It is time to surrender – to God’s grace, love, and wisdom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

by Rick Warren

The Purpose Driven Life Daily Devotional