THE CRISIS OF SURRENDER
And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. Matt. 21:44.
"Day by day God instructs His children. By the circumstances of the daily life He is preparing them to act their part upon that wider stage to which His providence has appointed them. It is the issue of the daily test that determines their victory or defeat in life's great crisis."--The Desire of Ages, p. 383. So there may be a series of little events, all based upon one issue: Am I going to do it myself, or am I going to trust God to do it? If I fail and continue to fail day by day, I can plan on a big wrestling with the angel some night by the brook Jabbok.
It happened to Jacob. It happened to Joseph. He must have failed a number of little crises, such as thinking he was pretty big in compassion to his other brothers. But you see him bound as a slave, on his way to Egypt, crying his eyes out. Peter found himself clutching the ground and grinding his face in the dirt in Gethsemane, wishing he could die because he had failed the crisis on the lake, failed again in the discussion about the Temple taxes. Not until after he realized his weakness, by the fire, as he saw the pain he had brought to the One he loved the most, did he experience absolute dependence upon Christ.
If conversion got by you imperceptibly, and you're one of those people who could never point to a time or date, or even year; if you've just been a good church member all your life, remember that absolute surrender is not going to come easily. "The warfare against self is the greatest battle that was ever fought. The yielding of self, surrendering all to the will of God, requires a struggle."--Steps to Christ, p. 43. The crisis of surrender, the being broken, the falling on the Rock, is a big crisis in the life of the Christian.
We are not indicating that you have to be totally transformed to be accepted by God. Jacob was accepted by God at Bethel. We are talking about the transforming work of the Holy Spirit.
Whatever form that great crisis takes in your life, just remember that when the hand of God is placed on your shoulder it's not the hand of an enemy. It's the hand of the best Friend you will ever have.
And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. Matt. 21:44.
"Day by day God instructs His children. By the circumstances of the daily life He is preparing them to act their part upon that wider stage to which His providence has appointed them. It is the issue of the daily test that determines their victory or defeat in life's great crisis."--The Desire of Ages, p. 383. So there may be a series of little events, all based upon one issue: Am I going to do it myself, or am I going to trust God to do it? If I fail and continue to fail day by day, I can plan on a big wrestling with the angel some night by the brook Jabbok.
It happened to Jacob. It happened to Joseph. He must have failed a number of little crises, such as thinking he was pretty big in compassion to his other brothers. But you see him bound as a slave, on his way to Egypt, crying his eyes out. Peter found himself clutching the ground and grinding his face in the dirt in Gethsemane, wishing he could die because he had failed the crisis on the lake, failed again in the discussion about the Temple taxes. Not until after he realized his weakness, by the fire, as he saw the pain he had brought to the One he loved the most, did he experience absolute dependence upon Christ.
If conversion got by you imperceptibly, and you're one of those people who could never point to a time or date, or even year; if you've just been a good church member all your life, remember that absolute surrender is not going to come easily. "The warfare against self is the greatest battle that was ever fought. The yielding of self, surrendering all to the will of God, requires a struggle."--Steps to Christ, p. 43. The crisis of surrender, the being broken, the falling on the Rock, is a big crisis in the life of the Christian.
We are not indicating that you have to be totally transformed to be accepted by God. Jacob was accepted by God at Bethel. We are talking about the transforming work of the Holy Spirit.
Whatever form that great crisis takes in your life, just remember that when the hand of God is placed on your shoulder it's not the hand of an enemy. It's the hand of the best Friend you will ever have.
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