The Overwhelming Importance of Christians COMPLETELY Surrendering Their Will to God’s Divine Will!

18 Jan 2026 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Luke 22:42.        Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.

One more Sunday morning amongst the many in our lives, my fellow believers, (smile) meaning that we should make the pilgrimage to the Lord’s sanctuary to worship, give praise and thanks and receive divine blessings to enable us to handle another week in this evil and ungodly world! Now, though  it’s a rather chilly Sunday, that should be offset by the bright rays of sunshine filtering through the cloud cover. 

And for today’s song of worship, we’ll sing an old favourite written around 1896 by the American Hymnwriter Judson W. Van De Venter (1855-1939), most aptly titled ‘All to Jesus I Surrender.’ And how did the song come about? According to Reynolds (Companion to the Baptist Hymnal), the author apparently stated it was written “in memory of the time when, after a long struggle, I had surrendered and dedicated my life to active Christian service.” And that’s what ALL believers are called to do! 

But more on that later. Right now, let’s raise our voices in sweet sacrifices of praise in a soulful, heartwarming, heartfelt, mid-tempo version of the song. Singing: ‘All to Jesus I surrender. All to Him I freely give; I will ever LOVE and trust Him, In His presence daily live. (Refrain: I surrender all, I surrender all; All to Thee, my blessed Saviour, I surrender all.) All to Jesus I surrender, Humbly at His feet I bow, Worldly pleasures all forsaken. Take me, Jesus, take me now. (Refrain: I surrender all..) All to Jesus I surrender, Make me, Saviour, wholly Thine; Let me feel the Holy Spirit, Truly know that Thou art mine. 

(Refrain: I surrender all…) All to Jesus I surrender, Lord, I give myself to Thee; Fill me with Thy LOVE and power, Let Thy blessing fall on me. (Refrain: I surrender all…) All to Jesus I surrender, Now I feel the sacred flame; Oh, the joy of full salvation! Glory, glory, to His name! (Refrain: I surrender all, I surrender all; All to Thee, my blessed Saviour, I surrender all…I surrender all, I surrender all; All to Thee, my blessed Saviour, I surrender all… All to Thee, my blessed Saviour, I surrender all…’ 

That was a great rendition friends! And isn’t surrendering our all to Jesus the most momentous moment of our lives? It most certainly is!  And I like what this commentary says about the hymn. ‘The song “I Surrender” is a beautiful reminder of the power of surrendering to God and trusting in Him. When we surrender to God, He will provide us with strength, courage, mercy, and grace. We can trust Him to take care of us and provide for us. May we all remember to surrender to God and trust in Him.’ And that’s exactly what the Christian faith and life are all about; surrendering ourselves to Jesus! 

Now, before we get into the heart of the matter, (smile) it might be best to define what it means to surrender in biblical terms. This commentary explains it thus: ‘Biblically, surrender means fully yielding your own will, plans, and desires to God’s will, submitting to His authority, and trusting His sovereignty, which is seen not as weakness but as a path to spiritual freedom, true purpose, and intimacy with Him, often involving obedience, humility, and letting go of self-centered control. It’s about putting a “white flag” up to God, trusting He can handle your anxieties and lead you better than you can yourself, aligning your life with His divine viewpoint.’ 

And that’s indeed a tough row to hoe in this turbulent and ungodly society, but it’s what our discipleship calls for. As Jesus so succinctly puts it: (smile) ‘If any man will (desires to) come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.’ (Luke 9:23) Now that’s what we are called to do daily, not when we feel like it. And it’s not the easiest thing to do, especially when Jesus breaks it down thus: ‘If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren (brothers), and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosever doth not bear his cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple.’ (Luke 14:26-27) 

Oh, we know that Jesus doesn’t truly mean we should hate our families, but as the scholars point out: ‘In comparison to one’s devotion to Christ, one’s family ties must be secondary. This does not set aside Jesus’ other teachings to LOVE one’s enemies, to honour father and mother, and the like. It does highlight though that absolute loyalty to Christ is paramount, not the either-or that the verse sets up and so many societies adhere to.’ 

And the easiest way to begin living for Christ is by doing like Bruh Paul advocates to the Roman church: ‘And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.’ (Rom. 12:2) The first thing we must do is change our way of thinking from that of the world to that of Jesus. And we know that’s not easy either, but with Jesus’ help we can certainly do it. 

And it won’t be right to close without a couple examples of biblical surrender. The first is when Jesus called the brothers Peter and Andrew, two fishermen in the process of casting their nets. He simply said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him’ (Matt. 4:18-20) Imagine that nuh! They left their livelihood just like that to follow an itinerant preacher. And it’s the same thing James and John did when He called them soon after. They were mending their nets with their father on their ship. The Bible tells us: ‘They immediately left the ship and their father and followed him’ (Matt. 4:21-22) 

Wow! Not many of us would do that on such short notice. But that’s exactly what discipleship calls for! And possibly the greatest surrender in human form might be Bruh Paul himself; an abuser and killer of the brethren when known as Saul, but after Jesus knocked him off his horse and blinded him on the way to Damascus to persecute more Christians, he became as docile as a lamb, and went quietly into Jesus’ service, with his name changed to Paul, to become one of the most hardworking and zealous apostles of them all. And you can find Bruh Paul’s story in Acts 9. 

And the best example of surrendering is obviously Jesus’ surrender to His Father’s will, to come to earth and die to save a bunch of ungrateful sinners. As He says in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before His crucifixion, when His soul was in much torment at the dreadful situation he faced: ‘Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.’ (Luke 22:42) 

Now that’s how we all ought to be when the Lord calls on us. So please, let’s ponder our individual responses to Jesus today, and see where we can make improvements in our attitude of surrender. Much LOVE!

…there’s such amazing rest and peace…with no fear or anxiety…when we surrender our all to God… 

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit 23 September 2019 1 Samuel 16:7.

23 Sep 2019 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

1 Samuel 16:7.    ​But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused (rejected) him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.
 

Aloha people! It’s Monday, that means it’s time to rise and shine and join the battle lines where Jesus awaits us! Like any good Field General, He’s the first one at the front surveying and reconnoitering the situation, so He can draw up good battle plans to ensure our victory. Remember, without good, solid, wise plans victory is never possible. 

Consequently, we His soldiers also ought to have good, wise battle plans for our day. And the first one is to arise with enthusiasm, to greet the new day full of vim and vinegar, giving our Lord thanks and praise for allowing us to see another day! Oh, I know that’s not possible for all of us, but don’t worry, we have the secret ingredient to help us get up to par. We call it our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, a simple but most productive prayer, suitable for any ailment you have on a Monday morning. 

So let’s join together in saying it nuh, because we all need prayer regardless of how strong and faithful we are. As one now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together. 

We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies. 

But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’ 

Yuh feel it friends? Yuh feel the power of the Holy Spirit just working its way through your soul and spirit? I know you do, because I feel it too! It never ceases to amaze me that whenever we pray that prayer, how my enthusiasm level just rises another notch, even when it’s already high! That’s the giddy answer (smile) of our great God to our genuine and sincere prayer. And believe me, I needed a boost this morning, because it seems I caught some bug on the plane. 

When you’re packed like sardines with so many people hacking and sneezing, with one lady right next to me, it’s not unusual to catch something. Brother! After church yesterday, where I was feeling lousy, with my throat aching, I came home, had breakfast and went straight to bed. Remember I don’t have my I-pad, so I couldn’t play any games first. (smile) And I spent the whole day there, just getting up for supper in the afternoon and going straight back. 

I also spent most of the night there, waking and sleeping, listening to the strong wind that kept blowing all day through the trees. Sometimes it sounded like rain, but when I opened my eyes and looked, it was still just the wind. Sometime in the early morning hours I did get up and say some prayers, not fully conscious though, but I know our wonderful God understood, because my heart was in the right place. 

Oh friends, I can’t begin to tell you what a wonderful God we serve and worship because He doesn’t look at our outward actions but at the motives of our hearts, and if they are true and sincere, He does accept our faults and frailties. In any case, He already knows them better than us. And we see this plainly in the words of the Lord to Samuel when He sent him to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as the next king of Israel. Samuel looked at Eliab, big and strong and handsome and thought ‘This must be the one‘ 

‘But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused (rejected) him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.’  But that doesn’t mean that the Lord doesn’t like good-looking people, for it was said of Bruh David: ‘he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look at.’ (1 Kin.16:12) Meaning he had bright eyes and was also good-looking, and he must have been strong too from all those hours out in the wild. (smile) 

Oh my people, unfortunately we can only look on the outward actions of our fellow man, so we can’t tell what is truly in their hearts, but the Lord can. And we see the good motives and intentions of our hearts played out quite plainly in Bruh David. Although he made many mistakes, and the Lord did punish him for them, He never left him, because Bruh David never left Him either. He always stuck to the God of His Fathers. 

Note too, the prayer of Cousin Sol, when the Lord asked him what he wanted. ‘Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people. And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon has asked this thing.’ (1 Kin.3:9-10) ‘And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the seashore.’ (1 Kin.4:29) 

Yes friends, most of what we ask for, if it falls within the Father’s will and our hearts are true, we will get them. But note when Cousin Sol got old and turned to the gods of his many wives, how the Lord blanked him. ‘And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel which had appeared unto him twice. And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the Lord commanded.’ (1 Kin.11:9-10) 

Therefore the Lord told Cousin Sol he would take away the kingdom from him, but not in his days, but in his son’s. And why was the Lord so generous? ‘For David thy father’s sake…for David my servant’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake which I have chosen.’ (1 Kin.11:12b,13c) Yuh see mih people, though Bruh David did a whole lot of wrong, his heart never strayed from his God, and that eventually made him a measuring stick for faithfulness in the Old Testament. 

Are we faithful, can the Lord use us as a measuring stick for others today? Possibly not, but if we keep striving to be faithful and keep doing our best, one day the Lord might even deign to consider us His friend and a man after His own heart, like He said of Bruh David. I can think of no higher accolade that our great God can pay us. Much LOVE!

…the motives of our heart…must be right…when we come to the Lord in prayer…