A Christian aspires to sense, with the heart, unbroken communion with God.  But that cannot happen before surrender of the will.  Furthermore, God will never force me to surrender my will; He waits for me to give it up!

 

DELIVERANCE

When I surrender my will to the yoke of Jesus, I find rest for my soul (Mat 11:28-30).

 

I was living in bondage to sin.

But my heart yearned to be born again.

 

I glimpsed god’s peace which confounds the wise.

And rest for my soul was realized.

 

The yoke is easy and the load is light for Jesus Christ I bear.

Compared to Satan’s bondage, Christ’s load is lighter than air.

 

DEVOTION

As I am led by the Holy Spirit along the path of sanctification, God expects me to gradually surrender my will for His.  The Holy Spirit does not merely seek to deliver me from the influence of sin or give me the experience of personal holiness.  He seeks also to deliver me out of myself and into a union with God.  My life will be taken up by the One for Whom I abandon all things of self.  John 3:16 means that God gave Himself to me completely; in my devotion I give myself to God completely.

 

DEATH

The activities dominating the earthly ministry of Jesus include:

 

  • Teaching, Preaching and Fellowship
  • Miracles
  • Death and Resurrection

 

The physical death, of the incarnate God the Son, is called the substitutionary atonement.  It was defined in space and time by Jesus’ own words when He said: It is Finished (John 19:30).  By these words and His simultaneous death, the substitutionary atonement was complete.  I must surrender my will to the inevitability of death and look forward to resurrection.