The Surrender Experiment

This book was a timely read and recommended from a guy I trust a lot. It landed in the middle of a season when I was fit to be tied. Life had kinda thrown a curve ball and like always, I wasn’t expecting it. Like all these moments- we don’t create them, they happen, and our response (I’ve realised) is what truly matters.

The challenge to this ‘surrender experiment’ is simple. Instead of resisting these events, what if they are destined to teach us something about ourselves. What if our reaction is a negative one that reveals more about where our heart is at and is supposed its to push into growth? Hands up – this is exactly what this series of events in my life helped me focus on. Me. I couldn’t control the circumstance but I could work on me.

In truth this has become a fun way to do life, especially in the moments that feel like bad ones. It redefines them in a beautiful way and labels them as moments where God is doing his beautiful character work in our story.

So with my ears tuned into this word surrender for the last 6 months, my ears perked up during our current Women’s bible study. Beth Moore is a content legend. To live is Christ had a week on the fruit of the Spirit; and as she explained the word gentleness in its original context – lo and behold we have the word surrender.

Gentleness isn’t only soft, mild and all the other thoughts that come into our head when we hear it. It means surrender, to lean into the will of God.

I was intrigued as our Pastor taught a recent series and the key text was Matthew 11.

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30

With gentleness fresh in my head from bible study, and life lessons teaching me to surrender to whatever comes my way, this verse took on a different meaning. Check out the root meaning of ‘gentleness’ ⬇️

This concept of living lightly (what our series was called) is wrapped up in surrender. Leaning into life. Trusting. Accepting his dealings with us as good, even when the curve balls come – do we trust the process?

Some things are just simply out of our control. I have been guilty of overthinking the circumstance, trying to rework it or manipulate in some way to make sense of it all. But what if instead of trying to land a better outcome, what if the better outcome is what that event did in me as opposed to around me? The surrender experiment is about accepting life and trusting that ALL things, good and bad, are training and designed to bring something good out of everything. Whilst the book isn’t necessarily Christian based, I couldn’t help but think that everything about it sounded like Jesus and his kingdom way of life.

Do we trust the process of inner work when our outer world is going crazy? Having tried this for the last 6 months I can definitely say it’s a simpler way to do life and dare I say lighter one.

So in light of surrender meaning to give up – I give up trying to sort it all out and I give in once again to the author of it all. He’s convinced me that He can make good out of anything.

So here’s to letting go, leaning into life, living surrendered, living gently just like Jesus.

I challenge you to give it a go!