(We were blessed to have Sister Sharon Cranford with us this weekend. She is a missionary to Kenya in East Africa. Here are some thoughts on what she had to say.)
Hebrews 11:8 ( NKJV )
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
Surrender is a hard thing. We like to know the details. We like to have some degree of control over our lives. We thank God that He “holds the future in His hands”, but we want to know what He intends to do with it. The problem is that God requires faith from us and by definition faith is the evidence of things not seen (Heb 11:1.) Another translation says, “faith is the evidence of things not perceived with the senses.” If we know the future and can control the future we are not in faith.
Abraham is called the father of faith in Romans 4. In this verse we see one of the first manifestations of faith in his life. The invisible God calls him to leave everything and go to another land. There was a promise of blessing in this land. God’s purpose is in this land. As we read about these wonderful bible characters we forget that they don’t know the end of the story like we do. We anticipate the wonderful blessing that will come upon Abraham as he obeys God. We know he is going to obtain an inheritance for his children as he obeys God. Hebrews, however, gives us insight into his frame of mind. “He went out, not knowing where he was going.”
There is great blessing in surrendering our lives to God’s care. God has great reward for us. He has a great destiny for us. We can build an inheritance for our children by surrendering to God. However surrender implies that I must obey Him “not knowing where He is leading me.” I must trust him with my life. Not in theory, but in reality. Trust is the real issue with surrender.
I know that it can be difficult to trust. Maybe you have been hurt by people. Maybe your family was not the best. Maybe life hasn’t worked out the way you think it should. That could really be said for most of us. However, if the God of the bible really exists He is not like any of those people. He is what He says in His word. He is a God of absolute love. He is motivated only by your highest good. You really can trust Him. You really must trust Him. There is no other alternative if you believe He exists at all.
Abraham began a journey with the first steps of obedience. This verse says, “He went…..” Many people have asked me how to trust. I have pondered this deeply because I know what a difficult thing it is. Certainly I can say that we learn to trust God by giving place to his Word in our lives. As we read His thoughts we come to know him better and it is easier and easier to trust him. I can also say that we need to be a part of a local church where we meet people who are trustworthy and who have learned to trust God themselves. The problem with this is that none of us are perfect and we will usually be let down at some point.
The best answer I have come up with is that the only way to learn to trust is to do it. Abraham had to go. If he did not go nothing else would have happened. If he did not go there would have been no Israel, no messiah and no Christianity. God did not explain it all to him in advance. He simply had to obey the first step. He had to go even though he did not know what the full outcome would be. He had to go because God said to go and that was step one in learning to trust.
Let me encourage you to begin today. Don’t bring the whole set of “trust issue” luggage with you on the first trip. Just bring the “carry on bag” if you will. If trust has been a problem find some small area you can trust God with. If you are born again you have already placed your life in His hands. Find an area that is troubling and give that to God. Obey His word and see what He will do. Go to a leader in the church and let him or her help you do this. We have all been through the same thing in one form or another.
Let me say one more thing. We have been and will continue to talk about the “new wineskin” local church. This is the church that will be able to contain the fresh outpouring of the Spirit that we are seeing in our day. Part of what God wants from His church is that we be real Christians in attitude and practice. If you are a Christian be someone that others can trust. When someone gets saved and comes to church, be a person they can rely on. You will be surprised and how being trustworthy yourself will help you trust God.
The only true victory in the Christian life comes to one who lives fully surrendered to God. Take that first step today.
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