Retreat or Surrender?

          To quote Noah Webster: “To surrender up is not elegant.” To surrender to something means to yield to a greater power. As a Christian, we are called to surrender to Christ all of us and everything we have. One of the definitions in Noah Webster’s 1821 dictionary has an interesting take on this: “to give or deliver up possession upon compulsion or demand.” I don’t always “feel” like surrendering to Christ—especially when I’m struggling with something particularly difficult. I know in my head that I should surrender, but my heart is filled with rebellion, which pulls me in the opposite direction. As a result, I have to choose with my head to surrender—in fact, I’m compelled to do so even though it seems counterintuitive to do so.

          I’ve been thinking a lot about Job. When his life fell apart he said to his wife, "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?" (Job 2:10, NASB). Then the Bible comments that in these matters, Job did not sin with his lips. I don’t have much trouble accepting the good things that come my way. I don’t have trouble planting the word of God in my heart and teaching it. However, I’ve had terrible (and unexpected) trouble trying to apply the word to the difficult situation in which He has placed me, which has caused me great angst. I have always wanted to please him, but apparently not enough to surrender everything about the situation to him. Regarding this, Dietrich Bonhoeffer said while imprisoned by the Germans, “You have granted me many blessings; let me also accept what is hard from your hand” (Prayers from Prison). The difference? I’m not in a physical prison—I’m in one of my own making.
          James also references the difficultly of surrender, and he relates it to perseverance: “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him” (1:12). A lack of surrender is a lack of perseverance…hmmm. James later says, “As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy” (5:11). So, even when it’s hard to see what God is working out in us, surrender is necessary for the work to be complete. A warning from Daniel comes to mind: “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt” (12:2). I’d rather not go there…but instead be one who shines like the stars in the heavens: “Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who have insight will shine brightly like the stars forever and ever” (Daniel 12:3). At this point, I “get” to choose how I respond to the situations in which I find myself—I can retreat or I can surrender: “There is not a place to which the Christian can withdraw from the world, whether it be outwardly or in the sphere of the inner life. Any attempt to escape from the world must sooner or later be paid for with a sinful surrender to the world” (Bonhoeffer, Ethics). Since a retreat doesn’t seem to be an option, I’m working toward an unconditional surrender…may God have mercy on me and help me to quickly do so in a way that pleases him—even if it’s not “elegant.”