The Cost Of Surrender

Luke 1:38 (NIV)

“Be it unto me according to your word.”

Gas Street Music recently released a song called 'Return to You' which talks about giving our heart, our soul, our mind, our all. But if we're honest, giving all is costly. Through my life, there have been times where I've felt the Lord leading in a particular direction or asking me to do something and I haven't always been quick to follow. It wasn't because I didn't trust him or believe it was the right thing. It was because it was costly and a lot of the time, painful. 

It's painful to lay down a dream, a desire, to step out and risk rejection, putting our reputation on the line, or to have a conversation that might impact a relationship, or even do something that is simply inconvenient and embarrassing. All of that is costly. 


We don't always get to know why the Lord asks something of us, but if only we could see what will happen if we say ‘Yes’! As we lay our lives down to embrace his will, we find that surrender is not only worship but also the beginning of real change in our hearts and minds. Just like Mary's response to the Angel (Luke 1:38) 'Be unto me according to your word.' It was her 'Yes', that act of surrender, that would lead us into great places of joy, but it took her on a road of great sorrow. It was a decision that was super-costly for her but also had an impact on all of humanity. 


So I invite you today to take a moment to think about the areas of your life you might need to surrender. Sometimes surrender is instant, sometimes it's a process. But whichever it is, it's always the foundation of worship. The quicker we can move to a place of surrender, giving that 'yes' to the Lord, the quicker we can stop clinging onto what separates us from walking in true freedom with God and the good future that God has for us.


Prayer — Lord, I give you my 'Yes' again today. Come and show me the areas that I need to surrender, the things that I've carried for too long. Let me hold nothing back from you. Help me take the steps I need to walk into greater freedom!