Surrender – Can I trust you with this dream?
There’s a song written by the Barlow girls called Surrender. It so beautifully describes how hard it is to trust God with our dreams and plans.
Surrender – BarlowGirl
My hands hold safely to my dreams – Clutching tightly not one has fallen. – So many years I’ve shaped each one – Reflecting my heart, showing who I am. – Now you’re asking me to show – What I’m holding Oh so tightly. – Can’t open my hand; can’t let go – Does it matter? – Should I show you? – Can’t you let me go? – Surrender, surrender – You whisper gently – You say I will be free – I know but can’t you see – My dreams are me, My dreams are me – Say you have a plan for me – And that you want the best for my life. – Told me the world has yet to see – What you can do with one – That’s committed to your call. – I know of course what I should do – That I can’t hold these dreams forever. – But if I give them now to you – Will you take them – Away forever? – Or can I dream again?
My dreams. All the plans I have made and thought about. All the things I want in my life. There are details of my life that are so easy to surrender to God’s plan and His way and then there are others that I am afraid to let go of. What if they never come true? What if God has other plans for me? All these thoughts and more run through my head each time God asks me to trust Him in these areas.
The one thing we need to realize is God is the dream giver so it’s no wonder we each have dreams we hold tightly to. God is in control of all things, including plans He has for us and the timing of those plans. One more thing to keep in mind; so often the dreams and plans we have are from God. He is the one who gave us passions and desires. He created you to be draw in specific directions. It’s often the way to the fulfillment of the dream or the timing of that dream coming to pass that we take issue with.
Psalm 33:10-11 The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.11 But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. NIV . This passage talks about how God foils the plans of nations but His plans stand firm forever. Forever is a long time. God sees time from beginning to end. The plans He has are the best plans when ALL of time is considered. I like to think of things in terms of being a parent. How any times do we tell our kids no or yes based on upcoming events that they don’t know about yet. We know they will be happier or healthier or benefit more in the future when they look back but sometimes it’s hard to see in the moment looking forward. That is how it is with us.
Psalm 40:5 Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare. NIV This is one of my favorite verses. MANY are the wonders you have done for us. Too many for me to be able to tell. I have seen this in my life and marriage many times. When my hubby and I were re-married (more about this in future blogs), I thought I knew how it would look but the more I surrendered that dream and my plans, the more I realized I couldn’t have imagined a life this good! His plans were significantly better than mine.
Proverbs 16:25 There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death. NIV Had I done things my way I would not be in the place I am today. I can see in my past – when I didn’t listen and surrender my plans to God – my life was a total mess. I tried and tried to make “good” happen, but it became more and more messed up. Only when I stopped pushing my agenda and stopped to pray, listen and obey, did I begin to see that mess change to something beautiful. This is a constant cycle for me. I get moving my own way. I get tied up in my plans and my future and before long, I don’t see my dreams, I just see a mess. I am getting better at see the cycle starting over as I age but the struggle is real.
Proverbs 19:21 Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.
Isaiah 29:13-16 The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught. 14 Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.” 15 Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the Lord, who do their work in darkness and think, “Who sees us? Who will know?” 16 You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, “You did not make me”? Can the pot say to the potter, “You know nothing”? NIV Simply put, when we decide we want our own way we are doing the same thing as telling our potter how to shape us. We are the clay. He has made us for a purpose. When we get in the way and do our own thing we feel useless and without purpose. That’s because we are trying to change the purpose for which we have been created.
Isaiah 46:11 From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.What I have said, that I will bring about; what I have planned, that I will do. NIV Lastly, if we are people who call ourselves Christians and we are seeking to follow Christ, then understanding that God is sovereign and in control our lives. His plans come to pass. We can fight against it and try and force God to do it our way but in the end it causes us more hurt and difficulty when we don’t surrender.
Abba, thank you for your patience with me. Thank you that you have given me passions and dreams. Forgive my impatience with the timing and my complaining about the path you have for me. Change my heart so that I can be calm and trusting of your good plans for me. Thank you for all the wonders you have done in my life this far. I do not deserve your grace and yet you freely give it. Use my passions to draw others to you. I am yours
