By: Christopher Charles Bull
I had often pondered on what the world would be if all men and women across the nations of the world surrender their will power to choose through obedience and reverence to God. And I discovered that the result of a surrendered life and reverence to God is an expression of the kingdom of God on earth. God created and formed man for his purpose, to be an expression of His Image, His Likeness, to host His Life, to have dominion and to fellowship with Him. All these possibilities are only accessible through full surrender of our will to God.
What Is Man’s Will?
Will is the ability of a man to determine by an act of choice. The will of a man is the greatest power on earth because it decrees and ordains a thing. We exercise our will and power to choose every moment and every day. Whether it is to put on a particular attire or pick a preference between two distinct dishes, a choice is made. Our will is influenced by a set of beliefs or convictions that have been established in the mind through knowledge and experience. The will of man has been the determining factor for the full expression of the plans and purposes of God on earth.
Why does God need us to surrender our will?
- This scripture shows us that God cannot intervene in the affairs of the earth until we invite him.
God gave man dominion over the earth in Genesis 1:26 [Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over [a]all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”]
Biblical character who surrendered her will to God
- Esther – In Esther 4:13-14 [Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”]
In the above scripture, Esther was given a choice to either intercede for her people the Jews before the king or not.
Her choice was made in Esther 4:15-17 [Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, vs16 “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.” Vs 17 Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him]. Esther’s choice later resulted in the saving of the Jews.
How does one Surrender His will to God?
- Submission to God’s Lordship – All must submit to the Lordship of Christ by being saved first and through consistent expressions of desire and acts of obedience to the word of God.
- Denying Self – denying self must be moment by moment and daily. We must deny our flesh of carnal things.
- Trust and Acknowledge God – Trust is an expression of surrender and dependence. We must always trust God. To acknowledge God means to be aware of His presence and seek His thought and intention in every situation in our lives.
- Knowing his word – To express God’s will and not our own, we must know his word through consistent reading and studying of the word of God. We know His will by knowing His word.
- Prayer – Prayer to God is an expression of humility and total dependence on God. Asking for His will to be done above ours is a form of surrendering our will to Him.
Benefits of surrendering to God’s will
- Fulfillment – We were made by God and for His purpose. Outside of His will for our lives we will not be fulfilled because He knows the end from the beginning.
Psalm 57:2 “I will cry to God Most High, who accomplishes all things on my behalf [for He completes my purpose in His plan]” - Safety – In the will of God, we are safe and protected in Him and from the harms of the devil; 1 Chronicles 28:9. “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.
References The New King James Version. “Genesis 1:26, Esther 4:13-17, Psalm 57:2 (AMP),
1 Chronicles 28:9”
