FROM OUR ASSISTANT MINISTER
Ken Feske
March 17, 2020
I’ve noticed that things go much more smoothly when I give up control—when I allow them to happen instead of making them happen. Unfortunately, I’m terrible at this.
I often use perfectly good energy trying to plan, predict, and prevent things that I cannot possibly plan, predict, or prevent. Like most humans I know, I spend a lot of time in business that’s not mine — not even Mother-Nature’s.
For example, I think about the weather a lot when out-of-town guests are visiting. I spend my already-limited time planning for every possible weather/mood combination when considering our itinerary.
In control mode my vision gets very narrow and focused, my breath is shallow, adrenaline is pumping and my heart rate increases. My mind shifts from topic to topic and from past to future very quickly, and I have little concentration and poor memory.
I have found when I surrender, especially when I surrender to the presence and love of God, I’m calm, peaceful. Breathing deeply, present in the moment. I see clearly and my vision extends out around me, allowing me to see the bigger picture.
Surrender literally means to stop fighting. Stop fighting with yourself. Stop fighting the universe and the grace, goodness and love of God. Stop resisting and pushing against reality.
Surrender = complete acceptance of what is + faith that God has a handle on all things, even without my input.
It’s not about inaction. It’s about taking action from that place of surrender to God. We’ll look at Paul’s continual struggle — which is like mine too– and the peace he found in surrender (Romans 7: 18-25).
