Text: James 4:1-3

1 From whence come wars and fightings among you?  come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?  2 Ye lust, and have not:  ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain:  ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.   3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.  

Wednesday, 7^th February 2024

SELF-SURRENDER

Text: James 4:1-3

Memory verse: Romans 12: 1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Job’s anger would have continued if he asserted his own innocence and righteousness. He continued to defend himself against his so-called friends. He continued to defend himself to God. He did not wait or trust God to defend him. Instead, Job wanted to take justice into his own hands. But eventually, Job surrendered not only to the idea that God is sovereign but also to the reality that God, not Job, will have the last word and will endure and out-exist Job.

“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires, that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” To answer anger, we need to surrender our demands. We are not Buddhist, denying our passions. Our surrender is an act of trust in God, not a denial of personal needs or desires. Even in our surrender, we can ask God for what we need.

Many of us cannot surrender our hurt, our pride, or our desires to anyone else other than the true God. We are so filled with pride that the thought of surrendering to anyone less than us is unthinkable. Yet, God is greater than us, and He has modelled us how to humbly surrender, even His life on the cross. And that makes my self-surrender possible. When you feel anger swelling up in your emotions, ask the question, “God, who or what is causing my anger?” Sometimes the cause is your own unrealistic expectations. Other times, the cause is another person or another emotion, such as fear, stress or hurt.

You may also learn to ask, “God, what do I have to trust you for?” “What am I trying to attain on my own that I’ve not asked You for?” “God what do I have to surrender in order to overcome my anger or in order to diffuse my anger?” Sometimes the answer is surrendering your right to a certain expectation. Other times, you need to surrender your right to recover certain losses, such as time, energy, or money. Still other times, you need to surrender your pride as a parent or a pastor. Until you turned from self-assertion to self-surrender, your anger will rarely leave you.

CGDS HYMN 41: SS & S 601:

ALL TO JESUS I SURRENDER

1. All to Jesus I surrender,

All to Him I freely give ;

I will ever love and trust Him,

In His presence daily live.

Refrain:

I surrender all, ... I surrender all ; . . .

All to Thee, my blessed Saviour, I surrender

all.

2.  All to Jesus I surrender,

Humbly at His feet I bow ;

Worldly pleasures all forsaken----

Take me, Jesus, take me now.

3. All to Jesus I surrender,

Make me, Saviour, wholly Thine ;

Let the Holy Spirit witness

I am Thine and Thou art mine.

4. All to Jesus I surrender :

Lord, I give myself to Thee ;

Fill me with Thy love and power,

Let Thy blessing rest on me.

5. All to Jesus I surrender :

Now I feel the sacred flame ;

Oh the joy of full salvation !

Glory, glory to His name !

   Prayers:  

1.  Lord Jesus, I surrender all to You, be my helper and make me behave right under every circumstance.

2.  LORD God Almighty, I know it is not by my power or by my might, but by Your Spirit help me always behave more like You, in Jesus’ name. Amen. 

3.  Pray for others in this regard.