Sweet Surrender

UV 636/10,000 Sweet Surrender “Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me! We are for signs and wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells in Mount Zion.” Isaiah 8 v 18 Mount Zion is the unshakeable mountain of God. All other mountains can be shaken but not the Mount of the Lord. When God’s presence is there in our lives, we too like Mount Zion cannot be shaken or moved. We and our families must always and every day offer ourselves before the Lord saying, “ Here am I and the children You have given us.” Our purpose in life is not to merely fulfill our own desires and goals. But, our life is meant as a testament, evidence or witness of the signs and wonders the Lord performs in our lives. Our natural and default mode is to resist God and yield to our own whims and desires. But, when we perceive the glory of the Lord seated on His throne in the midst of His immense armies, we are overwhelmed. When a brave general sees the awesomeness of the stature, power, prowess and forces of the opposing army, he surrenders with his hands up to the king and trusts himself to the magnanimity of the conquering king. Similarly, we offer ourselves to the Lord, we are submitting ourselves in all humility and obedience. It is a paradigm shift in our thinking that causes this offering: till then we thought God exists for our sake, to help us fulfill our goals. But, when we see the awesomeness of God, His amazing grace and our relative unworthiness to even offer ourselves, there can be only one response- to throw oneself and one’s own at His feet and to depend on His mercy and grace to lift us up. Such surrender fulfills our being and pleases the Lord. We are in effect saying, “ We trust you. We are in Your loving hands as pliant clay in the hands of a potter. Take it and make it as You like it.” Signs and wonders or miracles are from the Lord of hosts. It implies that He is the Lord of the armies of heaven- large companies of angels who are ready to do His will. These signs and wonders are sent to establish and expand our faith, to confirm the presence and favour of the Lord, to confirm the Word and to glorify the Lord. The Lord sends angels like Michael to the aid and assistance of His people. We, human beings vulnerable as we are , tend to be overly concerned about our family and children, about their security and their future. But, the Lord through this uni-verse says, “ Submit your children as Abraham offered Isaac. I will not take their lives but make it both blessed and a blessing to others.” The words “ Here I am” that Isaiah uses when he sees in a vision God Almighty on His throne in Heaven is a verbal expression of complete surrender to the Lord. It is an act of total worship in the manner of falling speechless and prostrate in the presence of the Lord. When the Lord sees this kind of submission and surrender, He is pleased to ordain signs and wonders to lift us up in the eyes of all Israel or in the eyes of those who enjoy a relationship with the Lord. Our very lives becomes a sign and wonder among the faithful. Indeed, when we yield ourselves to the Lord, He will increase our yield and that of our own flesh and blood. For instance, many who see me and know my past experiences and encounters with death call me a “ walking miracle.” Prateep V Philip