The most difficult thing for any human being to do is to surrender! It's hard enough for us to submit to leadership and authority figures here on earth; yet, the more important issue at hand is our surrender to the Holy Spirit. However, God is patient enough to work with us every single day to surrender to his authority. And when we get it right, we find that surrendering to other authority figures (teachers, principals, political leaders, community leaders, supervisors, managers, and the list goes on) becomes much easier.
For me, it's extremely tough though. I grew up as a child in a somewhat broken family where daddy left at the tender age of five, so mom became the matriarch of our household. Consequently, in my own private world that most people never even knew about, I became the patriarch of the family. Taking on the responsibility to take care of my mom and sister...and the yard! Not because that was my definitive role or responsibility; but because that was how I make sense of the broken relationships and scattered puzzle pieces of my life as a child. I thought it was my duty to fill in the gaps...as best I knew how. But as a result, however not an excuse, I developed a resistance to authority (because I was the authority in my own world). Many others have their own stories as to how rebellion was "discovered" in their own lives. I'm sure you do as well. And the difficult truth is that we all live with it to some degree.
Why?
It's our earthly mind and body fighting the spiritual truth that God reigns and rules over every aspect of our lives. It's our carnal response to a most common human desire to be in control. Funny thing is, God will allow us this luxury (as it might seem) for a period of time. Yes, God can and will allow us to flail around in pursuit of some level of control in our own lives that we think makes us happy. But our best attempt at controlling life's ebbs and flows often produces what many of us like to call "baggage."
Baggage! We all have some.
Sorrow, broken heartedness, pain, grief, guilt, pride, selfishness, meanness, envy, greed, mediocrity, lack, loneliness, weariness, helplessness, fear...
All of these emotions we carry as baggage could be caused by a multitude of reasons: financial problems, un/underemployment, inability to care for self/family, marital problems, other familial and relationship issues, identity crises, homelessness, serious health issues, and the list goes on. But what does God's word tell us we should do instead of carrying these bags?
We ought to give them to Jesus, our Concierge! Because when we do, our load gets much lighter and we can then enjoy the goodness of life without the excess, unnecessary emotional baggage.
Jesus said: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
Much easier said than done...I know! That's because allowing Jesus to be our baggage handler REQUIRES OUR SURRENDER to Him inwardly (spiritually) and outwardly (physically)! Yes, considering our human nature this does present a challenge. But it also offers an amazing opportunity for those who are willing to take it on. We get to experience God's peace in the midst of chaos, joy in the midst of sadness, hope when everything around seems hopeless, and freedom...liberating freedom from everyone and everything that hinders our progress!
That, my friends, is the true gift of rest that we receive when we allow Jesus to be our Concierge.
Let Him be yours TODAY!
The sacrifice of your surrender is worth every moment of rest in God!