Surrender Gives Life
These colorful, vibrant leaves are the calling card for autumn. They are a masterpiece of beauty as they dazzle us with their miraculous hues and mesmerize us with their ability to change so drastically and brilliantly! They give us joy in the simple act of beholding their loveliness! And then they break away one by one from the branches that once held them so securely. However, even in their given nature, there is life---there is abundance for the future!
The Great Designer of all life has constructed a process of continued life, even in the falling of leaves. Being unable to sustain the brutal conditions of winter, they lazily float to the ground. Instinctively, the leaves release themselves, knowing the act will lead to the survival of the tree. For it cannot maintain its leaves without its very growth being stifled.
What a profound and significant analogy to our own lives. There are behaviors, mindsets, circumstances, and people that we need to release because they are stunting our growth. The next season is precarious without the act of surrender to that which seeks to hang on, draining us of what we need in order to become mature and complete. Letting these things go is a necessary act of protection---allowing us to shift our focus, energy, and resources during this transitional period.
Dying to self in order to preserve the Divine image of our Savior within us actually gives new life. We are no longer just surviving by tenaciously clinging to that which will eventually be our demise. One by one we free ourselves from those things that prevent fulfillment. We let go, feeling freed and liberated for a fresh start. Surrender is the beginning of new life!
“But forget all that---it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”
Isaiah 43:18-19 (NLT)
(Excerpt from Daily Dose of Intention: 365 Days of Purpose by Shagae Jones)