Good Success Publishing
The Art of Your Surrender
©2016 by Dr. Celeste Owens
This book is also available as an ebook.
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P.O. Box 5072, Upper Marlboro, MD 20775
ISBN 978-0-9837895-7-4
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016908300
This book is printed on acid-free paper
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Cover design: August Pride, LLC
Interior design: Electronic Quill Publishing Services
Printed in the United States of America
Dedicated to AJ and Aaliyah.
May you know the power of surrender.
CONTENTS
Foreword
Introduction
Jesus Predicts His Death
ONE
Surrender Keeps Me Focused:
“You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of man.”
TWO
Surrender is a Choice:
“If anyone desires to come after me.”
THREE
Surrender Reveals the Real Me:
“Let him deny himself.”
FOUR
Surrender Requires Death:
“Take up his cross.”
FIVE
Surrender Paves the Way
“Follow me.”
SIX
Surrender Resurrects:
“Whoever loses his life for me will find it.”
SEVEN
Surrender Advances:
“What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his soul.”
Acknowledgements
About the Author
FOREWORD
Can I be honest? I used to wish Matthew 16:24 wasn’t in the Bible. I was fine with Psalm 23 and all God’s promises to bless me. But this verse made me extremely uncomfortable. Here’s why: My heart, like yours, longs for joy and fulfillment. How was I going to taste joy and fulfillment following these heart-penetrating words of Jesus? “If any man wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.”
Surrender is a total act of faith because it means giving up control. Control is rooted in fear; surrender is rooted in love.
Here’s the bottom line. God is the perfect gentlemen. He will never force His will on us. But apart from surrendering to Him life is filled with futility, fruitlessness and frustration.
In her timely book, The Art of Your Surrender: Jesus, You, and the Cross my friend Dr. Celeste Owens helps us know it is only through “surrender” we discover our true life, ultimate purpose and unspeakable joy.
The process simply laid out in The Art of Your Surrender will…
You really want to live your best life? Surrender your current life today and every day.
The Art of Your Surrender: Jesus, You, and the Cross will show you the way.
Dr. Johnny Parker
Director of Spiritual Cares and Men’s Ministry First Baptist Church Glenarden
Former Chaplain of Washington Redskins
INTRODUCTION
There is an art to surrendering and I have written this book to simplify its process. That’s not to imply that there is anything simple about surrendering; indeed, it takes the supernatural power of the Father to get it right; however, when one surrenders completely, it makes life simple.
I know this first-hand. At the end of 2008, at what I thought was the height of my career God instructed me to leave it all. For what, I wasn’t sure, but in obedience to God I did just that.
By the end of 2009, I had left a flourishing private practice, a national speaking platform, writing commitments to several prominent online magazines and newspapers, and my role as ministry leader at my church. And at the top of 2010 I found myself at home waiting on my next steps. The wait wasn’t easy. In fact, the wait was painful, but it was necessary.
There is a scripture in the Bible that sums up surrendering as this, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24).
The scripture speaks volumes for where I was in 2010. I desired with everything that was in me to come after Jesus. In fact, my compliance with the Godly directive to deny myself, pick up my cross and follow Him was what catapulted me to my next greater position in the kingdom.
How much do you desire Jesus? Are you willing to leave it all?
Surrendering is not to be feared; it doesn’t imply defeat. In fact, in God’s economy surrender equals freedom and victory. When you surrender to God, you are not a victim but a willing partner in a plan that will change the world and advance His kingdom.
I tell you the truth, at some point in your life God WILL bring you to a place of surrender. My prayer is that you answer that call with a “Yes”.
JESUS PREDICTS HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION
(Matthew 16:21-26)
21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.
22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”
23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
ONE
Surrender Keeps Me Focused
“You are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
What would your life look like if you were truly mindful of the things of God? If you were operating in His strength and not your own? If you were fully surrendered to His agenda, His plans, His wants? Would your life look like what it looks like now, or would some changes be in order?
Being mindful of the things of God takes a full surrender of the heart, mind, will, and emotions. It requires you to do God’s will, His way and to yield what you want and put Him at the center. When God is allowed to be the center, we talk, walk, think, and live as such. Our conversations are God-directed, our interactions are pleasing to Him, and our pursuit of dreams, ambitions, and goals are done so with a reverence for His will and plan.
So often in life, with all of its ups and downs and opportunities for distraction, we become more mindful of the things of men than of God; we merely see things from a human point of view, not from God’s. The human point of view is shallow. It seeks to live a life that brings only comfort, ease, and simplicity. Many misguided Christians accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior with the belief that they just bought a ticket to easy street. However, the phrase pick up your cross and follow me implies the contrary. Life with Jesus is a life of peace and joy, not because there are no problems, but because He is the problem-solver and His strength is made perfect in our weakness.
In Matthew 16:22-23, we are witness to an interaction between Jesus and Peter that demonstrates precisely the points made above. Jesus was surrendered and mindful of the things of God, while well-meaning Peter was guided by and mindful of the things of men.
In Peter’s defense, Jesus had just dropped a bombshell on him and the others. He would die a criminal’s death? That wasn’t the plan they had for Jesus. The Messiah they had conjured in their minds was a strong and glorious earthly king whose purpose was to deliver them from their Roman oppressors and form, once again, a great and independent Jewish kingdom. So Jesus’ prediction of His death left them bewildered and confused. So I’m guessing the others elected Peter to talk some sense into Jesus; He needed to know that they would follow Him to the ends of the earth, as long as He led where they expected Him to go.
Before you go judging the disciples, how often do you box God into the image of who you think He should be? How often have you boxed Him into a plan that you considered foolproof only to discover that He had an entirely different plan in mind; a plan you were sure would fail or worse, cause you pain?
Perhaps that was a little of what Peter and the others felt as they listened to their Lord and Savior predict His death. To their dismay, Jesus wasn’t focused on and mindful of His comfort or theirs, but mindful of the things of God. He was convinced that God’s bigger dream was worth living.
Let’s be clear—God can dream a bigger dream than you. No matter what you are going through right now, God’s plans for your life have not changed. As stated in Jeremiah 29:11, His thoughts and plans of peace and not evil for you are still true. As the disciples came to learn, His dream for them was far greater than deliverance from the government of that day. His bigger dream was that they would take the world by storm with the message of the Gospel. That they would open blinded eyes, cause the lame to walk, cast out demons and deliver a message of hope and deliverance well beyond their territory. But that could only happen when they became mindful of the things of God.
IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU
As a babe in Christ—not implying that I was newly converted, but rather that I possessed a mindset that lacked maturity in the ways of Christ—I summed up the Christian life as such: when I do good I am rewarded and when I do bad I am punished. That destructive thought pattern caused me to be entangled in a “works” gospel that had less to do with cultivating an authentic relationship with God, and more to do with pretending to be all good all the time so I could get more and more of what I wanted from God.
So imagine my distress in 2007 when one bad thing after another began to take place in my life despite my good works. My first thoughts were I’ve sinned and I am being punished. But as I reflected on my actions, I could find no sin that warranted the type and severity of “punishment” I was experiencing. Human logic was failing me yet, I spent several months condemning and beating myself up. Finally, in a moment of clarity, a still small voice whispered, “This is spiritual warfare.” Armed with that truth I became mindful of the things of God and partnered with Him for an amazing journey.
This change of heart could only take place once I surrendered my belief that God’s kingdom agenda was tied to a rewards system. To survive that season, I had to believe that Father knew best and that He would use my suffering to make a major impact for the kingdom. So by the time I was diagnosed with breast cancer that same year, my inner man was ready for the fight because I knew God and not just knew of God.
Dr. Lance Watson writes, “Every person in pursuit of a dynamic and fulfilling life will be challenged by obstacles, setbacks and even tragedy.” The Word tells us that a man that is born of a woman is a few days and full of trouble. Suffering happens. Period. And when you live as if your comfort is all that matters, you are selfish. Yes you read right; you are selfish and need to cry out to God with a heart of repentance acknowledging His sovereignty and wisdom; surrendering your will for His greater plan because it is not about you. I am not suggesting that you should neglect to pray for God’s abundance in your life, but when His abundance includes some suffering, trust Him no matter what.
Here are some basic truths about how God goes about fulfilling his plan. First God is more concerned about building your character than making you happy. Second, if God only gave you what made you comfortable He would do so at the expense of others. Jesus had to suffer so that we could have life more abundantly. In turn, you may suffer for the good of others and the furthering of God’s kingdom.
This life will not always be what you expect or even what you want. In fact, if you live long enough, there will come a time when God will request some things of you that you had not considered. He will present to you a set of instructions that seem so farfetched that you wonder if it is God at all. But that is how God works. Again, He isn’t so much interested in your comfort as He is in building your faith. And when He is done with a situation, He wants you and others to know that it was Him and only Him who brought you through.
So now that we’ve gotten “you” out of the way, you can better hear what being “mindful of the things of God” looks like. The following are a list of attitudes and behaviors needed for one to be fully mindful of the things of God.
Keep in mind this list is not exhaustive; it’s all a process. And as you surrender daily to God and His plan, completely align your heart with His through the power of the Holy Spirit you will find success and focus for your every endeavor.
WHEN YOU ARE MINDFUL OF GOD YOU ARE FEARLESS
When you are mindful of the things of God you are fearless, even at the risk of looking foolish.
It was made clear to me as a 7th grader what the first leg of my adult journey in God would look like. While browsing the library’s microfilm during 4th period Study Hall, I happened upon a story of a little boy who, at the hand of an abusive parent, was killed. That story wrecked me. I instantly knew that I would become a child psychologist.
How that was to be—considering I was the eldest of 8 in a working class family with no college fund—was none of my business. I just knew that it would happen because God placed that desire in my heart.
On occasion, I would verbalize my intent to become a psychologist to others. The reception was mixed; some encouraged me to pursue my goals while others, thinking I was foolish to dream so big, were skeptical. But I would not be dissuaded. I was mindful of the things of God and I knew He would do just as He had said. And He did. I became a psychologist and worked in that profession for over 10 years.
Jesus had a similar determination; not to be a psychologist, but to become Savior for all that were willing to accept Him. He knew for what purpose He had been brought to earth and He would not be tricked, bullied, or coerced to believe otherwise. So when his well-meaning disciple Peter rebuked Him for saying that He would die a criminal’s death, His response, “Get behind Me, Satan!” demonstrated His strong belief in the plan God had for His life despite what others thought. In other words, Jesus was willing to look foolish. Are you?