Surrender.
In a conversation with one of my close friends, he mentioned how our lives are a journey toward the Heart of Jesus. The more I think about this, the more this idea of a life toward Jesus’ heart becomes a fact on an objective and personal level.
Objectively, in any relationship you grow closer to the heart of a person becoming more like them. And so, as God is love, we become Godlier and more loving the more our relationship with Him grows. Consequently, our hearts are deeper unified with His!
On a personal level, the further I grow in love for God the more I am called to surrender myself to Him. This reminds me of a talk I heard from a Religious Sister at a retreat I attended. She likens our journey to Christ’s heart to that of a ship travelling to its destination.
Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee, Jan Brueghel, the Elder (1596)
In traversing the bumpy and lengthy waters, a ship travels on a set bearing to arrive at its destination. Before the voyage, the ships sets its bearing toward its destination. As the ship travels, it remains true to its set bearing. Well what if the ship adjusts its bearings by 1 degree? Surely it wouldn’t be too significant, right? Well, if a ship travels 100 kilometers on a bearing adjusted by 1 degree, the ship finds itself in uncharted waters that are roughly 141 kilometers away from its original path! Wild.
Now when thinking about our lives being this grand journey to the heart of God, we need to examine our own brokenness as fallen beings. Due to the fall, we’re constantly falling to sin no matter how hard we try. On our own strength an avoidance of sin is forlorn. Recognising this fact, how often must we find ourselves in these uncharted waters? The set bearing helps us journey towards the heart of God, but through sin we constantly stray from Him.
Further, the Religious Sister asserted the futility in aiming towards goodness on our own strength. To assert this, she played a severely out of tune guitar. As she strummed the guitar, this horrible, discordant train wreck of a sound could be heard. People winced from the discomforting sound of the guitar, though to me -as terrible as the guitar sounded- it resonated within my heart. It simply felt real. The struggle of doing your best and falling short time and time again was encapsulated through the strumming of this out of tune guitar. The reason it was so poignant was due to how realistic it is for this is the reality of the Christian life!
The Storm on the Sea of Galilee, Rembrandt (1632)
No matter how hard we try, our efforts will always be fruitless; and this is why surrender is so important. In a world that affirms the importance of self above all else, surrendering to anything or anyone -especially God- is radical. Giving up control feels like a weakness during a time where picturesque control over all aspects of life means everything. Yet the essence of surrender is to give everything to God, with trust that He will do what is good. It is through surrender to God that we can traverse the rocky seas even amidst the worst of storms to remain firm on the bearing toward His heart.
What I love about surrender is how worry progressively loses its hold. Worry surfaces when we lose our trust in God. The enemy loves to let the fear within our hearts take hold, and through this he leads us to act on our own accord as opposed to trusting in God. This is how the enemy ever so slightly leads us away from God, leading us into uncharted waters. But through choosing to surrender the storm to God despite the fear it causes, trust in God takes hold within our hearts. Not only is God gentle when we surrender everything to Him, but through our acts of surrender and trust God always protects, provides and delivers.
Surrender to God doesn’t mean that life instantly becomes perfect, but it does ensure that we experience fullness of life in Him. Through surrender, we can peacefully endure the storm and carry our cross knowing that God is in control. Not only does God control the ship, but God also controls the waters that the ship sails on, the winds that carry the ship, and the storms that rock the ship. God is in control; all we must do is say yes and He will do the rest, leading us to His heart.
“My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways”
Proverbs 23:26
“And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O men of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”
Matthew 8:23-27