Without Restraint

What does it mean to abandon oneself to Christ? I thought about the word itself...abandon. You don't hear that word used very often except in conjunction with abandoned children or perhaps an old abandoned house. When I looked it up in the dictionary, I found why I believe it isn't used so often. 

There is an almost harsh, definite, "no turning back" definition here.
It's hard to look at perhaps, but spiritually necessary.
                                         
                                                  Abandon: 

#1: To give up wholly, desert, forsake. Spiritually speaking...to desert, and forsake my way for God's way

#2: To surrender or give over.

#3: To yield [oneself] without restraint...

 To those of us who like to think we are in control of our lives, this smacks of insanity. But think about it for a minute, are our feelings, and natural impulses a safe guide to follow?

We live by a "take care of yourself first" mentality these days. How often have you heard or even said, 

"You've got to take control of your life. Nobody is going to do it for you"?

So, how is this "giving over," to total-surrender stuff supposed to help me? 

"I've gotten to where I am today because of hard work." 

"I've pulled myself up by my own bootstraps." 

"The Lord helps those that help themselves, you know."

 Taught since childhood, this philosophy has become the bottom line in our society; the bottom line is me..."my way or the highway."

Have you ever noticed that the majority of people live externally? Great importance is placed on things. More noticeably here in America than some other countries who live with far less than we do, but the principle is the same.  

In the overall scheme of our lives, how great of an importance are: money, houses, cars, climbing the corporate ladder to success; buying the right heels for a new dress. It seems rather flimsy compared to life and freedom, doesn't it? 

When September 11, 2001, entered our lives, it momentarily changed us. It wasn't just another tragedy, it somehow became personal, and suddenly our focus and priorities changed. We began to look deeper--internally. Many began to look for spiritual meaning and were willing to give God a second consideration, and we were helping and hugging people we didn't even know.

We learned that man-made things were far less enduring than first imagined. They disappeared before our very eyes. What once was a monument to man's achievement was reduced to a cloud of smoke and rubble. 

The human loss was so great our spirits shrank from the multiplicity of the sight, and yet we were compelled to watch over and over again. As the smoke cleared, for many it became increasingly evident that the only safe place anywhere in this world is in the hands of God.

Oh, I don't mean He will rescue us from the results of living in [what my friend calls] a sin soaked world, but what He does supply cannot be found in less than abandoning ourselves to Him. 

Jesus Christ and He alone is the supplier of hope; in Him alone will we find peace. Looking for contentment and satisfaction? We will never find it in anyone else's arms but Jesus'. In Him there is joy beyond sorrow, mercy and forgiveness beyond deserving, and these things are far beyond what man can give or create.

Being ever present, He is a call away and His strength and word have been proven to be faithful. He doesn't disappear in a moment of crisis or come crashing down when attacked. 

When we abandon ourselves to Christ, the struggle is over, the price has been paid, and we have the guarantee that something awaits us that is infinitely beyond what we could ever hope for without Him. 

A restored Eden! What a picture!

In the hours before His return, He has left us with this promise to sustain us:

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid." 

What this means to me is that the world may be falling down all around me, or I may be experiencing personal tragedy, but I know, 

because I know Him, there is hope beyond today, and because I abandon myself to Him, I am secure.

Did you know the most often used phrase in the Bible is:

                                     " Do not be afraid "?

And there you have it! The glorious privilege of utter abandonment.


copyright 10/10/2014