Surrendering to Him
"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." ~ Matthew 11:28
Read Sermon I before reading this Entry
“How do we start believing?” She asks, softly and curiously.
With a smile, I look at each of them, “Through surrendering yourself to His will for your life, my dear Vesper.”
Their hands raise again.
Eronadel
“Do you mean like, give up?”
I look at him and back at Vesper, “Surrendering to an opponent is different than surrendering to He who created you. When I, or any true believer speak of surrendering to Him, hear me when I say, He will come to you and give you rest and assurance that His love is everlasting and faithful.”
“But how do we know? Will He just appear?” He asks.
“That is possible, for anything is possible through Him. But not as likely. His grace is abundant but His presence, when felt, appears when you are truly surrendered before Him. This looks like a constant orientation towards Him, through prayer, through reading of scripture, and even through fasting; which is denying your flesh things of this world for fruits from His spirit that lives in you.”
Eronadel nods as he tries to make sense of what I just said. Although he and Vesper are young, I do not wish to sugarcoat or approach them as though they are lesser than Markus or Harim.
If they are unsure, I can see that they will further ask me what might be troubling them. For now, I’ll let the words spoken through His spirit in me to simmer in the young one’s mind.
With a slow raise of a hand, Markus has something stirring in his mind.
Markus
“When my father talked about Jesus, he said something about how we need to ‘repent’, or turn away from our wickedness. Is that the same as surrendering?”
I lean back on the wooden chair and feel the floorboard creak, “Oh Lord, forgive me, for I have forgotten the first and most important thing to teach my new students.” I look back toward Markus, “Thank you, Markus, for reminding me of repentance!”
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Matthew 3:2
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 1:9
Markus puts his hands up and waves them back and forth, “Oh no! No need to apologize, I was just recalling something tha-”
I cut Markus off, “It’s fine Markus, this is a good point and teaching moment for us all. Now tell me, what did you just witness?” My eyes gloss across their faces. Eronadel and Vesper think long and hard to pick out exactly what just occurred. Markus is still stricken by my reaction.
Harim however…
Harim
“You did exactly what Markus pointed out to you. You repented.” He answers.
“Ah, yes!” I lean in and motion to Harim, “Repentance is one of the most important ways in which we surrender to Him. We do things, unspeakable things, against He who created us, and yet, when others do unspeakable things to us, do we expect ourselves to forgive them?”
“No.” Harim shakes his head.
“No…” I nod, “No indeed. Yet, you and I,” my eyes gloss over them all again, “have been forgiven for our transgressions against Him. But how do we reconcile with this?”
Tears begin to form in Harim’s eyes, “Ask Him for forgiveness. For us to be made right, through Him.”
I place my palm on Harim’s leg, “Repent and surrender to Him.”
Heavenly Father
May we be made right before You. As You forgive us of our sins, use Your spirit to orient us towards You, to take the path You’ve so graciously made for us. When we surrender, remind us of Your faithful love and kindness that provides for us and gives us peace. It is through Your Spirit in me that brings me great joy and I ask that for the one reading this, praying with me, that You work through the Holy Spirit in them to bring them great joy and peace!
In Jesus name
Amen