Surrender your anxiety! Be silent and stop your striving and you will see that I am God. Psalm 46:10 (TPT)

To Let Go – The Surrender Series – Part 4

Go to PART 1  |  PART 2  |  PART 3  |  PART 4

I live by the beach, and I grew up holidaying by it too. We always headed to the ocean. I’ve spent hours upon hours in the surf (not surfing… not yet, anyway), riding waves, diving under them, floating on the surface, enjoying the embrace of the sea. One thing you learn early on is to how to survive being dunked by a wave.

Sometimes, instead of being able to dive under, over or through a wave, it can catch you off guard and grip you in its torrent. It tumbles you over and over, pinning you under the water, dragging you off course. It can be pretty scary.

The temptation is to panic, and fight, kick and scream, work your way out of its grip. But a seasoned surfer knows that at this moment when the wave is in control, the best thing for you to do is surrender. Let go. “Go loose.” Fighting only saps your energy and drains your most precious resource: oxygen.

Ps 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God.”

We tend to quote this regarding worship. But I think this Psalm, this directive from the Divine, is most pertinent to seasons of darkness; “In the wave.” The command to “be still” comes from the word “rapha” which means to be weak, to let go, and to release. It might be more accurate to read Psalm 46:10 as saying “cause yourselves to let go, become weak.”

In Hebrew literature, the poetic use of the noun form of ‘rapha’ – rep hai ‘im – was used as a synonym for “the place of the dead…”

Sometimes, when you’re walking through darkness, unanswered prayers, questions as deep and murky as the ocean, the best thing for you to do is to let go, become weak, still the panic in your heart, release the erratic tension within you that wants to fight and kick and force, and embrace the hardship around you. Face it head on, eyes open, lungs breathing, spirit surrendered.

Do not mistake this for giving up. This is not the kind of surrender that gives in, then lays down and dies. We’re talking about the kind of surrender that leads to presence, faith, clarity, and rest. A preservation of strength. Peace in the midst of chaos. So when the time comes, we have the strength to rise. And rise we will.

Paul wrote to his friends in Corinth and said:

“It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness.” (2 Cor 12:9 MSG).

I don’t want to get all cheesy about this verse, but there is strength in knowing your limitations. There is strength in the awareness of where you are and what is before you. There is strength in the humble and vulnerable admission and embrace of the season you’re in.

So, take a moment. Sit down. Try and relax. Slow your heart rate. Stop fighting. Let go. Surrender to the wave. It will be done soon enough. Let grace have its way. The Divine is with you, in you and present to you, even in the wave. And when the time comes, you will have the strength to rise with humility and hope.

Surrender is not giving up, or laying down, or walking away. It's a humble strength to be awake and aware to both what is going around you and who is present with you, through it all, in all.

Be still, and know.

Written by Lizzy Milani
[font_awesome link=”https://www.instagram.com/lizzy.milani/” icon=”instagram” color=”000″ size=”16px” margin_right=”” margin_left=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=””] lizzy.milani [font_awesome link=”https://www.twitter.com/lizzymilani/” icon=”twitter” color=”000″ size=”16px” margin_right=”” margin_left=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=””] lizzymilani

[vcex_image_grid columns=”3″ pagination=”false” thumbnail_link=”custom_link” link_title_tag=”true” custom_links_target=”_blank” overlay_style=”title-category-visible” columns_gap=”5″ img_hover_style=”fade-out” image_ids=”20934,20935,20937″ custom_links=”https://itunes.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1239768002?pt=118656308&ct=blog%20footer&mt=8,https://www.pktfuel.com/dailyemail,https://www.pktfuel.com/support” img_height=”350″]