March  8

Joy in Surrender

As a father of many children, I remember an occasion that one of my young sons was struggling to finish a very difficult task.  I watched him struggle and struggle and then as he became tired and frustrated, he gave up and walked away.  I called him back to his task and full of skill, experience and strength, none of which he possessed, I helped him finish the undertaking.  When it was complete, he looked at me with a smile and said, "Thanks, Dad!  You can do anything!"

That was not even close to truth, of course.  But to his young perspective, I was one who loved him and one who cared about what he was doing and I had all the resources necessary to help him on his way to his goal.  But before we could come to that point, he had to understand his limits and then surrender the task to me and let me take care of it for him.

In Romans 15:13 we find that our lives as children of God mirror this example perfectly.  The Word says, "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."  The power of the Spirit gives us hope and joy.  In this we find assurance that – as we surrender to His greater resources, skill, experience and strength – He is fully capable of helping us in every frustration and difficulty in our lives. 

As we let go and surrender to His far greater capacity, we come to learn in the joy of the love of our Lord Master, that He is the One who through His Spirit loves us, and the One who cares about what we are doing and is there to be our mighty arm in times when we cannot do it on our own. 

In the end, we may confidently say, "Thanks, Dad!  You can do anything!"