Surrendering to the Spirit
by Jen Price
God created us in His image and equips and empowers us to be conformed to the image of Christ Jesus (eikon in Greek – Romans 8:29 / tselem in Hebrew – Genesis 1:27). We know that Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness and was full of joy through the Holy Spirit (Matthew 4:1 and Luke 10:21). The Holy Spirit, as taught by Jesus, will comfort, counsel and convict us. Jesus expanded our understanding of the one called the Advocate, that the Holy Spirit would be the Spirit of truth in our lives, that He would be our Counselor, that He would teach us and remind us of Jesus’ words. Jesus knew the Holy Spirit, was led by the Holy Spirit and filled with the Holy Spirit. To live as Jesus did; to be conformed to Jesus’ image, we need to surrender to the Holy Spirit.
In surrendering to the Holy Spirit, we do three things:
Get rid of sin
Paul in his letter to the Colossians states in 3:5, “Put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature…” (Paul repeats this in varies ways through Ephesians 4:22, 25, 31, Colossians 3:8-9, James 1:21, 1 Peter 2:1). Surrendering to the Holy Spirit begins with an honest look inside at our heart, at our core, and removing any sin found in us. Once we have examined our inner man, we turn our attention to that which is around us: removing any distractions that inhibit my devotion to God. We begin with getting rid of sin because “those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires” and “the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want” (Romans 8:5 and Galatians 5:17). Ask the Holy Spirit to help you take inventory of your internal and external world and get rid of, put to death, that which is hindering you from surrendering to the Holy Spirit.
Get resolute about obeying God
We have for a long time put a negative connotation to the word obey. We think it is duty and drudgery, an obligation and orders to follow. But this is not how God envisioned obedience. God, in one of His first commands to mankind, expresses the freedom that comes in context to His commands (Genesis 2:16). He told Adam that they were free to eat from any tree in the garden just not the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They could enjoy all the trees…think of the freedom this command incites…cherry trees, apple trees, mango trees, the list is goes on to the tune of 2,000 kinds of fruit-bearing trees in the world! God also tells us in 1 John 5:3 that our expression of love towards Him is to obey His commands. Love and obey can be indistinguishable. God tells us His commands are not burdensome, they are not oppressive. In fact they are guardrails for our life, for our good, to keep us from harm, to initiate the abundant and full life Jesus speaks about in John 10:10. In surrendering to the Holy Spiriting we need to be purposeful and unwavering in our obedience and the good news is that as we surrender we align our life with the Holy Spirit, He helps us be resolute in our obedience.
Get receptive to the Holy Spirit’s leading
Surrender is a posture of our will, spirit, heart, mind, soul that is giving God whatever it is we are clinging to, whatever it is we think we need in addition to Him. This surrender is to live by the Spirit and keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25), is receiving from God His presence, power and purpose. In this surrender we are not left empty and void but are filled in abundance with all the goodness, faithfulness, and power of our Mighty God. A life surrendered to the Holy Spirit is one that can say, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).
This is our daily affirmation of a life surrendered: I am created by God, I have been crucified with Christ, and I concede to the comfort, counsel, and conviction of the Holy Spirit. A surrendered life is full, free, and fruitful in the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit.
How will you live surrendered to the Holy Spirit today? What sins and distractions need to be removed making room for the fruit of the Spirit? Where has God asked you to be obedient and you have taken a stubborn stance? The Holy Spirit is counseling you in a life surrendered to His teaching and leading. How will you heed His counsel today?
