Trust’s Relationship to Surrender
On Sunday, Nancy continued the lesson on surrender. This time, she focused on trust, a small, monosyllabic word capable of transforming a desert into an oasis. “You have to trust God in order to surrender to God,” Nancy stated simply. Trusting God is a decision – a decision to believe in God’s integrity and character according to His word. Nancy elaborated on trust for some time, defining it as a “state of non-anxiety” and describing its fruit as “rest, joy and peace.” She read from a passage in Jeremiah that painted a colorful picture of trust. Jeremiah 17:5-8 contrasts two men: the man who trusts in mankind and the man who trusts in the Lord. The man who trusts in mankind is represented by images of dryness, desiccation, and the “nothingness” that one might associate with a wasteland. In stark contrast, Jeremiah describes the man who trusts in God as “blessed.” This man is “a tree planted by the water,” full of lush green leaves and bountiful fruit. The roots of this tree, according to Jeremiah, reach out to the nearby water source, by which it is continually hydrated. While others might be afraid during a time of drought, this tree “will not be anxious.”
Hezekiah: A Picture of Trust
To continue her sermon on trust and its relationship to surrender, Nancy explained that whenever we begin to trust in the Lord, there will be opposition from our enemy, Satan. She read from the Old Testament story of Hezekiah’s water tunnel to illustrate this point. Hezekiah was a king of Judah who trusted in God. When Assyria’s Sennacherib threatened to besiege Jerusalem, Hezekiah told the Jerusalemites to trust in God because He would protect them. This trust was actively, aggressively, and cleverly opposed by Sennacherib, who taunted the people of Jerusalem, saying that they were foolish to trust in God and in Hezekiah. In those days, it was common for an invading army to cut off the water supply of the city it wanted to capture. This would force the captive city to either surrender to the enemy or face dehydration and death. Anticipating that Sennacherib would use this strategy, Hezekiah acted quickly and decisively to prevent him from cutting off Jerusalem’s water supply. He stopped up the spring from which Jerusalem derived its water and dug a tunnel that would divert the spring’s water from its above-ground flow pattern to an undetectable subterranean channel that emptied out within the city walls. When considering the tunnel today, it seems a miracle that Hezekiah and his men were able to create it at all. Without the use of explosives or sophisticated power tools, they dug through solid rock in a matter of months. Moreover, in digging the S-shaped tunnel, Hezekiah’s workers started on opposite ends and worked their way toward one another, meeting in the middle. I can’t help but think that there was something supernatural in the construction of that tunnel.
So in the end, not only did God rescue Jerusalem by sending an angel to kill the entire Assyrian army; He also made sure that Jerusalem was well watered. This draws a parallel to the passage in Jeremiah, doesn’t it? Hezekiah and Jerusalem trusted in the Lord, and as a result, they were like the tree planted by the water with no need to be fearful or anxious of oncoming disaster.
Dig, Dig, Dig!
Nancy ended her message by pointing out that “our hearts are the place of worship,” just like Jerusalem was the center of worship for Judah. “The enemy wants to cut off our water supply (in scripture, water represents God’s Word and the Holy Spirit). He does this by throwing threats and circumstances in our faces so that we will not believe in God’s promises.” In light of this, Nancy said, “let your faith dig a tunnel to the springs of life so that no matter what besieges you in this life, you put your trust in God and live a life of surrender. You will experience an amazing peace that surpasses understanding that will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.”
Eating the Fruit of Trust: A Reflection
The statement that impacted me the most on Sunday was “You can’t surrender unless you trust; when you trust, you will eat the fruit.” In recent months, I have been able to taste a little of the fruit of surrender, and it really is worth it. The more I taste of it, the more I wish I had trusted God from the beginning. I became a Christian seventeen years ago and gave Him my life then, but I didn’t believe in his goodness enough to really trust Him. I remained anxious and fearful that really, He didn’t have my best interests in mind and that if I surrendered my life to Him wholly and stopped trying to run my life on my own, my life would be empty and I would have nothing. I couldn’t see His goodness; I couldn’t see His plan for me; I couldn’t see anything but emptiness. To be honest, I didn’t really believe He had a plan for me, let alone one that I would like. So I held on to small portions of my life, thinking that if I didn’t, I would be left with absolutely nothing. Not too long ago, I was brought to an understanding that there really are just two options: surrendering everything or nothing at all. Standing in “No Man’s Land,” with one foot in and one foot out really isn’t surrender at all. It is compromise, and in Jesus’ eyes, it is useless. So I stepped out of the middle and put both feet on His side, not looking back. I am so glad I did.
In retrospect, I wish I had trusted Him from the beginning. Then I would have had the fruit of surrender, like the sweet knowledge of His love for me, the cool peace of not having to be in charge of things, and the patience that comes from getting glimpses from an eternal perspective every now and then. So I encourage you to surrender with trust. If I had surrendered with trust a long time ago, I would be full of fruit right now, rather than just tasting it for the first time.
Scriptures Referenced in Nancy's Message:
Jeremiah 17:5-8
Psalm 20
2 Chronicles 31:20 - 32:22
1 Corinthians 10:6
John 7:37b-39a
Philippians 4:7
On Sunday, Nancy continued the lesson on surrender. This time, she focused on trust, a small, monosyllabic word capable of transforming a desert into an oasis. “You have to trust God in order to surrender to God,” Nancy stated simply. Trusting God is a decision – a decision to believe in God’s integrity and character according to His word. Nancy elaborated on trust for some time, defining it as a “state of non-anxiety” and describing its fruit as “rest, joy and peace.” She read from a passage in Jeremiah that painted a colorful picture of trust. Jeremiah 17:5-8 contrasts two men: the man who trusts in mankind and the man who trusts in the Lord. The man who trusts in mankind is represented by images of dryness, desiccation, and the “nothingness” that one might associate with a wasteland. In stark contrast, Jeremiah describes the man who trusts in God as “blessed.” This man is “a tree planted by the water,” full of lush green leaves and bountiful fruit. The roots of this tree, according to Jeremiah, reach out to the nearby water source, by which it is continually hydrated. While others might be afraid during a time of drought, this tree “will not be anxious.”
Hezekiah: A Picture of Trust
To continue her sermon on trust and its relationship to surrender, Nancy explained that whenever we begin to trust in the Lord, there will be opposition from our enemy, Satan. She read from the Old Testament story of Hezekiah’s water tunnel to illustrate this point. Hezekiah was a king of Judah who trusted in God. When Assyria’s Sennacherib threatened to besiege Jerusalem, Hezekiah told the Jerusalemites to trust in God because He would protect them. This trust was actively, aggressively, and cleverly opposed by Sennacherib, who taunted the people of Jerusalem, saying that they were foolish to trust in God and in Hezekiah. In those days, it was common for an invading army to cut off the water supply of the city it wanted to capture. This would force the captive city to either surrender to the enemy or face dehydration and death. Anticipating that Sennacherib would use this strategy, Hezekiah acted quickly and decisively to prevent him from cutting off Jerusalem’s water supply. He stopped up the spring from which Jerusalem derived its water and dug a tunnel that would divert the spring’s water from its above-ground flow pattern to an undetectable subterranean channel that emptied out within the city walls. When considering the tunnel today, it seems a miracle that Hezekiah and his men were able to create it at all. Without the use of explosives or sophisticated power tools, they dug through solid rock in a matter of months. Moreover, in digging the S-shaped tunnel, Hezekiah’s workers started on opposite ends and worked their way toward one another, meeting in the middle. I can’t help but think that there was something supernatural in the construction of that tunnel.
So in the end, not only did God rescue Jerusalem by sending an angel to kill the entire Assyrian army; He also made sure that Jerusalem was well watered. This draws a parallel to the passage in Jeremiah, doesn’t it? Hezekiah and Jerusalem trusted in the Lord, and as a result, they were like the tree planted by the water with no need to be fearful or anxious of oncoming disaster.
Dig, Dig, Dig!
Nancy ended her message by pointing out that “our hearts are the place of worship,” just like Jerusalem was the center of worship for Judah. “The enemy wants to cut off our water supply (in scripture, water represents God’s Word and the Holy Spirit). He does this by throwing threats and circumstances in our faces so that we will not believe in God’s promises.” In light of this, Nancy said, “let your faith dig a tunnel to the springs of life so that no matter what besieges you in this life, you put your trust in God and live a life of surrender. You will experience an amazing peace that surpasses understanding that will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.”
Eating the Fruit of Trust: A Reflection
The statement that impacted me the most on Sunday was “You can’t surrender unless you trust; when you trust, you will eat the fruit.” In recent months, I have been able to taste a little of the fruit of surrender, and it really is worth it. The more I taste of it, the more I wish I had trusted God from the beginning. I became a Christian seventeen years ago and gave Him my life then, but I didn’t believe in his goodness enough to really trust Him. I remained anxious and fearful that really, He didn’t have my best interests in mind and that if I surrendered my life to Him wholly and stopped trying to run my life on my own, my life would be empty and I would have nothing. I couldn’t see His goodness; I couldn’t see His plan for me; I couldn’t see anything but emptiness. To be honest, I didn’t really believe He had a plan for me, let alone one that I would like. So I held on to small portions of my life, thinking that if I didn’t, I would be left with absolutely nothing. Not too long ago, I was brought to an understanding that there really are just two options: surrendering everything or nothing at all. Standing in “No Man’s Land,” with one foot in and one foot out really isn’t surrender at all. It is compromise, and in Jesus’ eyes, it is useless. So I stepped out of the middle and put both feet on His side, not looking back. I am so glad I did.
In retrospect, I wish I had trusted Him from the beginning. Then I would have had the fruit of surrender, like the sweet knowledge of His love for me, the cool peace of not having to be in charge of things, and the patience that comes from getting glimpses from an eternal perspective every now and then. So I encourage you to surrender with trust. If I had surrendered with trust a long time ago, I would be full of fruit right now, rather than just tasting it for the first time.
Scriptures Referenced in Nancy's Message:
Jeremiah 17:5-8
Psalm 20
2 Chronicles 31:20 - 32:22
1 Corinthians 10:6
John 7:37b-39a
Philippians 4:7
Bravo Heather! What an incredible work you have brought forth, especially the last section with your reflections. You wrote the very thoughts that try to take root in my own mind but I will not live in "if only" because I choose to embrace the freedom I now have since surrendering all to the One who loves me most and has only the best planned for my life. BTW - the fruit is unbelievable.
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