More of Him, Less of Me

Read: Jeremiah 29:11, Mark 8:34–35, John 3:30

If my life is surrendered to God, all is well. Let me not grab it back, as though it were in peril in His hand but would be safer in mine! — Elisabeth Elliot

Surrender.

It’s a word that many see in a negative light. A surrender occurs when a person or group has been overpowered. While that’s a true definition of it, there is more to it. To surrender also means “to give up completely or agree to forego especially in favor of another.”

When we surrender to Jesus, we have the ability to agree to forego in favor of His purpose. We get to choose to be a part of His eternal game plan. Jeremiah 29:11 says that His plans are not harmful, but are good, bring hope, and a bright future.

But we often hold on to our agenda as we attempt to follow Jesus. We don’t want to surrender because we are convinced that our limited vision and wisdom exceeds God’s boundless and foolproof strategy. Our full surrender to Jesus usually boils down to one question:

How much will be required of me?

And the answer is simple. Everything.

In Mark 8:34–35, we read that if we want to be Jesus’s disciples and follow Him, we have to deny ourselves and take up our cross. The Greek word for deny in Mark, chapter 8 is aparneomai, and it means to “forget one’s self and lose sight of one’s interest.” These two verses are summed up in this way: deny self and die to self.

Surrendering to Jesus means setting aside our selfish appetites and allowing Him to live through us. It’s choosing to trust His faultless plan even when we can’t make sense of it. It’s believing that our eternal joy is more pressing than any momentary pleasure.

But there’s another question that we don’t ask, but should. What is a life surrendered to Jesus filled with? The answer is the same. Everything.

Every spiritual blessing from God is what we get when we stop striving to fulfill our human plans on earth. Yes, trouble will still find its way to our doorstep. Burdens will still leap onto our shoulders. Hardship will still stumble in front of us. But through it all, we get…

His peace that’s impenetrable. His joy that’s indescribable. His freedom that’s unexplainable. His love that’s outrageous. His mercy that’s generous. His grace that’s undeserving. His presence that’s soothing. His wisdom that’s reassuring.

All because we trusted in the plan of the God of the universe instead of our own.

So, if we want to know how to follow Jesus, we just have to ask who is leading us. Either Jesus is leading or we are. Either we choose Jesus or we choose self. It’s not complicated to decipher; it’s just not easy to accomplish. Following Jesus means more of Him, less of us.