A Surrendered Life

What is inviting me now? What am I pushing away? What is God saying to me? What are my priorities?  Sitting with God means not having all the answers; sometimes there are only questions. Other times there are clear priorities, a clear direction. So when it’s clear, go do it. When there are questions only, wait. It’s like playing the red light/green light game of our childhoods. It’s up to the one with the say-so to tell you when to go or to stop.

To lead a surrendered life we let go of your expectations, wishes and especially any cultural ways of thinking to depend on God who wants nothing more than for our truest, deepest self to emerge from the culturally conditioned, false self. To surrender is not to lay down and give up. It means that we yield to the greater wisdom about ourselves, to the One who created us and knows us best of all. Then as our true selves emerge from the wreckage of the false selves, we become a true partner in the relationship, a co-creator with God.

One lesson that I’ve learned is that timing is very important in the kingdom.  To do something before I am ready to do it or before its time violates God’s sense of timing. That’s why we so often feel that there is no answer to our prayers. How often have I been anxious to do something, almost anything, only to be put off by the lack of answers from God?  Anxiety comes from the cultural assumptions we make of how things should go. Trust and faith are God’s currency. Anxiety is not a watchword in the kingdom.

So slowing how our cultural selves think in order to enter into God’s timing is a big goal for all of us. Being patient is the first big lesson in leading a surrendered life. The right timing is key to the success of what is done. If I’ve ever tried to force the issue in my own impatience, I’ve found out how difficult it can be. When I have waited upon the Lord, then things seem effortless. So now I know how to wait without impatience.