A Surrendered Heart

There is a battle that plagues the heart of every believer after he is saved. Every moment of every day, we must wage the war between our spiritual “man” and our flesh. The question must be asked, who have you surrendered your heart to?

We use the word “surrender” quite often in Christianity; however, we don’t actually find this word in the Bible. The word surrender means to “yield to the power of another.”

When we have a softened heart, we are able to surrender or yield to the pressures Christ puts into our lives that are meant to shape us into His image.

Romans 6:13, “Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.”

Romans 6:16, “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”

Romans 6:19, “I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.”

We may think by not yielding to the Lord, we are choosing remaining neutral. These verses would beg to differ, however. When we fail to choose Christ, we are automatically choosing sin. You cannot sit on the fence when it comes to following Christ. Either you are sold out to Him, or you are sold out to the World. There is no in-between.

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A Surrendered Heart Yields to the Will of God

God desires for us to yield our wills to Him and seek Him with all of our hearts.

Jeremiah 24:7, “And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.”

Jeremiah 29:13, “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”

A surrendered heart begins by yielding in the little things in life. It is not so much about the big picture of life, although that is part of it. But it is so much more about yielding our will to Him every day.

We yield our will when:

• We spend time in His Word and in prayer.
• We choose to dress in a way to glorifies the Lord and not ourselves.
• We give of our time, money, and talents to serve the Lord.

Jesus was the perfect example of a surrendered heart when He prayed “not my will but thine be done” before going to the cross.

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

God wants to do something great with each one of our lives, but He can only do so if we are willing to surrender our wills to Him.

Andrew Murray said, 

“God is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to Him.” 

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A Surrendered Heart Yields to the Ways of God

Have you ever been working on a project and thought you had a better way to do it than following the instructions? Sometimes that works, other times we have to go back and start over. When it comes to following the Lord, if we try to do it our own way, sooner or later it will catch up with us. God’s way is not multiple choice. 

Proverbs 16:9, “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.”

Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

We can choose to follow our own path. But if we want the blessings of God upon our life then we must choose His way. Following God leads to true fulfillment, peace, and life. Following self brings destruction, disillusionment, and ultimately spiritual death.

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A Surrendered Heart Yields to the Word of God

Yielding to the Word of God means being changed from the inside out. It is allowing the Word of God to take root in your heart and transform it.

Psalm 119:9-11, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”

Just as Josiah had a tender heart and responded to the Word of God, so should our response be. Before we can respond however, we have to be listening. If we are going to yield to the Word, it must already be playing a paramount role in our lives.

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Closing Thoughts…

A surrendered Christian will yield to the Ways of God, the Will of God, and the Word of God. Betty Scott Stam was such a Christian.

She and her husband were missionaries to China. Daily she prayed the following prayer:

“Lord, I give up all my own plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes, and accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my time, my all, utterly to Thee to be Thine forever. Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Use me as Thou wilt, send me where Thou wilt, work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost, now and forever.”

God did work out His will in her life at any cost. Both she and her husband were beheaded, paying the ultimate price of surrender.

What are you willing to give up for the cause of Christ?

Most of us are willing to give up very little, much less sacrifice our lives, if we are being honest.