𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 (𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯) 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘎𝘖𝘋’𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.

𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘕𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘺 𝘓𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘋𝘦𝘔𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘞𝘰𝘭𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘶𝘵𝘩’𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦, “𝘚𝘜𝘙𝘙𝘌𝘕𝘋𝘌𝘙: 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘎𝘖𝘋 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘴” (𝘔𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝟸𝟶𝟶𝟹, 𝟸𝟶𝟶𝟻).

𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦.

. . .

2025 SURRENDER SERIES (no.1)

The Battle for Control: Kingdoms at War

Why were we drawn to embark on this particular study?  As one friend stated it simply, “Surrender to GOD is foundational to our Christian walk.  We can’t move forward unless we yield to His will, His ways, His truth.”

In her introduction to this study, Nancy Wolgemuth described it this way:

“The initial surrender to Christ (which we often refer to as the point of salvation) was not the end of the story.  In fact, it was really the starting place.  That point of surrender simply set the stage for a lifetime of surrender.  Having surrendered our lives to Christ as Savior and LORD, we must now learn what it means to live a surrendered life – to continually say NO to self and YES to GOD.

Many Christians live perpetually discouraged, defeated lives because they have never realized the implications of their initial surrender to Christ.  Having once surrendered control of their lives to Christ, they have reverted to trying to manage their own lives.  As a result, they are living out of alignment with the LORD who created, redeemed, and owns them (p 19-20).”

. . .

Before digging into our first lesson, we thought it would be helpful to define a few key terms with a basic “Google” search:

BATTLE: (noun) a sustained fight between large, organized forces; conflict, dogfight, collision, war, combat; the opposite is a truce, peace; (verb) to fight or struggle tenaciously to achieve of resist something; to resist, withstand, put up a fight against, confront; the opposite is to give up or give in

SURRENDER: (verb) to cease resistance to an enemy or opponent and submit to their authority; to yield, submit, acquiesce, lay down one’s arms; to be defeated, overcome, overwhelmed, to relent; (noun) the act of surrendering; forsaking, ceding, waiving (rights), handing over, transfer, abandoning (previously held stand); (Biblical characteristic) a transformative act of yielding oneself fully to the will and authority of GOD, relinquishing our own desires, plans, and control in order to embrace GOD’s perfect purposes for our lives

 . . .

Even as redeemed children of GOD, we battle every day to align with Him, His heart, and His purposes.  We wrestle against our own sin-nature and deeply embedded desire for control.  Yielding to GOD is not an innate response.  So, how to we navigate this ongoing struggle?

Nancy Wolgemuth opened this first lesson asking us to think about real-life combat.  “Has anyone (or a loved one) served in combat?  Describe their experience of being in battle.  What can we learn about how to wage and win a battle? (p 174)”.

One friend shared that her Dad served in the US military in Vietnam.  He rarely speaks of his experiences, struggling to find words to describe the horrors he witnessed and honestly not wanting to bring them back to the forefront of his mind.   One thing is clear – the impact of those battles has stayed with him for the rest of his life.  He may push those thoughts from his mind, but the harsh reality of war and its scars are always present.  How sobering!  Battlegrounds are fierce.  

We brainstormed some additional factors that might lead us successfully through a battle:

• unshakable confidence in a clear chain of command
• strong, capable leaders
• good strategy and safety measures
• unity, loyalty, working together toward a common goal
• knowing the enemy
• endurance, determination, commitment
• the favor of GOD

It will be good to revisit this list as we journey through our study and learn how the LORD will lead us through the spiritual battles we encounter.

 . . .

Surrendering our will to GOD’s is a battle for control.  This first lesson helped us focus on this concept of control, beginning with evidence that the created world is surrendered to GOD’s control.   We chatted about our personal observations: He causes the sun to come up every morning, painting a picture in the sky that is fresh and new every time, and that natural elements, plants, and animals do not make their own choices, but operate as GOD intended and directs.  The weather bows to His command.  Only He knows the place for each star, the home of each animal, the intricate workings of each living creature.  Every detail of creation comes from His masterful hand and power.  The breath of life is from Him alone.

Unlike the rest of creation, GOD gave man his own will, the freedom to submit to or to resist His control.  Why did we think He chose to do so? 

We agreed that GOD desires genuine relationship with human beings.  He wants us to choose Him and His ways.  He wants us to intentionally invest in a growing relationship with Him that is sincere, not just following commands like a programmed robot.  The LORD longs for us to acknowledge and receive His love and provisions for us and to love Him in return.  

 Despite our GOD-given freedom of choice to respond or to reject Him, He is always sovereignly in control of all things.  We only have as much freedom as He allows.  Like the rest of creation, our very breath comes from and is sustained by GOD alone.

 . . .

Our lesson asked a probing question (p 174): “In what areas do we battle for control?” 

There were a lot of vulnerably honest responses around the table:  moments of perfectionism that lead to a white-knuckled grip on our own agendas, moments of selfishness or impatience or frustration when we don’t want others to inconvenience us or interrupt our plans, or the bad habit of steering away from asking for GOD’s direction because we are not sure His answer or His timing will match with our own. 

Simply put, as ugly humans, we want what we want, the way we want it… and in a “microwave society” we have been trained to want it NOW!

But GOD.  Our loving Father longs for us to desire His best over whatever it is we think is best.  What we hold back from Him (our time, our plans, our desires) becomes a fierce battleground for our hearts. 

Nancy Wolgemuth warned us, “Count on it – the very points on which you refuse to surrender will become enemies that rule over you” (p 40).  We might shrink back from surrendering *ALL* to the LORD, but what have we surrendered to instead?  How might our hold-out areas enslave us?

One practical example that came to mind is worry! – the “what-ifs” that nag and taunt, the disappointments that swirl, or the fears that fuel impatience and doubt.  Unchecked, these thoughts build until they dominate our minds and paralyze us from true joy, confident action, or grateful rest (because these concerns are in the Father’s capable hands).  We can easily find ourselves yielding to the impulse to “fix” things, usually making a bigger mess!

 . . .

Our study asked a follow-up question (p 175): “What is one area of your life that has ended up ruling you as a “tyrant” because of lack of surrender to GOD?”  A “tyrant” is something or someone that is never satisfied.  One can never do enough, prepare enough, anticipate enough, consider enough options, make enough impact, succeed enough to please a “tyrant”.  

We realized that flesh-fueled goals are never fully realized.  If selfish aims become our masters (like acceptance from others, keeping up with the successes of others, or striving for our own ideals), we will never be at peace, confident, or satisfied. 

We have all seen firsthand how sin complicates.  Relationships become strained, thinking becomes clouded and tangled, and we have a scary tendency to justify many ill-intended decisions.  Our study described this process as a downward spiral into “bad fruits of refusal to surrender” (p 176).

How can we safeguard against these pitfalls?  How can we make choices that position us better for surrender to GOD’s will and ways?  These will be questions we will revisit all year as we journey through this study.  For now, we encouraged one another that a few simple but important habits can make a big difference: 

• hunger to know and more deeply appreciate the heart of GOD through His Word and time spent in conversation with Him in prayer
• pay attention to the “voices” that impact our thinking – the company we keep, the things we read or watch or listen to
• ask the LORD for His help, for the ability to give His Spirit more freedom to work in our hearts, guide our thoughts, mold our attitudes, and guard our steps

. . .

In the final pages of chapter one (pp 42-43), Nancy Wolgemuth described “kingdoms at war” in this way:

“Surrendering our will to Christ’s control brings about a dramatic change.  ‘Your kingdom come, Your will be done’ replaces a former motto of ‘I am in charge of my own life.’

What is the turf in which you are in a battle for control?  Whether in our relationships, personal disciplines, daily decisions, or recurring habit patterns, our choice to resist or to voluntarily surrender to the control of the King has far-reaching implications.

When we play “king” – when we insist on establishing our own kingdom and asserting our right to rule – we set ourselves unavoidably at war with the Sovereign GOD of the universe – a battle, I might add, that we cannot possibly win.  Invariably, we will end up being ruled by tyrants.

However, when we bow to His kingship – when we recognize His kingdom as being supreme, when we surrender to His wise and loving control – then we can live at peace with the King.  And only then will we be free from all other tyrannies.”

She added a final thought at the end of lesson one:

GRACE NOTE ~ “Surrender brings peace and a foretaste of “paradise restored” that every believer will enjoy one day in heaven. You can begin to enjoy those benefits now by saying yes to GOD.  As the familiar song says, ‘There’s no other way to be happy in JESUS, but to trust and obey.’” (p. 176)

We thought about the home the LORD JESUS is preparing for us in glory and how in some ways it will echo His original intention for the garden home He created for Adam and Eve.  We were so touched by His unfailing love and care for us and how His desire for us to surrender to Him is not so much about what He is asking us to give up as it is His deep longing for us to live in the good of His absolute best for us. 

Why would we want anything less?

 . . .

Yes, we are in a battle!  As redeemed daughters of the King, it doesn’t take much to convince us that we want to surrender only to Him!  We simply find ourselves struggling to find a free path to that surrender.  

How interesting to realize that our battle is not against GOD (He is not the enemy!), but against sin, self, and the real enemy of our souls.  We are waging a war against those opposing forces in order to fully surrender (we are not fighting to win, but fighting to concede!) to the only One who has always been on our side!

Let the Holy Spirit guide your lives.  Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. (Galatians 5:17, NLT)

Show me the right path, O LORD; point out the road for me to follow.  Lead me by Your truth and teach me, for You are the GOD who saves me.  All day long I put my hope in You. (Psalm 25:4-5, NLT)