[I have been blessed to welcome a group of friends to gather around my table once a month to wrestle out GOD’s truth together.  We spent this year working through Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth’s book and accompanying study guide, “SURRENDER: the Heart GOD Controls” (Moody Publishers, 2003, 2005).

I pray this series of monthly reflections from our conversations has been a blessing and encouragement that reaches far beyond our kitchen table.]

2025 SURRENDER SERIES (no.8)

Yes, LORD! … Bowing the Knee

Wow.  What a journey.  It is hard to believe we just wrapped up our year-long study about surrender.

What have we learned?  What seems clearer to us now than 12 months ago?  What remains a struggle as we move closer to wholehearted devotion to GOD, signing a blank contract, giving Him full authority, ownership, creative and directive power over our earthly days?

GETTING STARTED (p 193):

“Can you think of a time when you surrendered to GOD by faith, contrary to your feelings, and sometime later, GOD allowed you to see the positive results of that choice – – either in your life or someone else’s life?”

Several of us shared surrender moments:

“Our family has walked through seasons of financial struggle.  Although being in want is never a path I would choose, I can see how the lack taught all of us to rely on the LORD.  Together we were able to witness His unmistakable provisions.  We can now remind each other of those undeniable examples of His care for us in “remember that time…” conversations.”

“Growing up, I witnessed the struggles of marriages where one person was a Christian and the other was not.  I resolved NOT to marry an unbeliever.  It was hard to wait, but in His own time and way, the LORD honored that resolve, providing a Godly man to be my husband.  Since then, I have been grateful for the opportunity to encourage other Christian women to wait for GOD’s best choice for them too.”

“As a mom, I really struggle with frustrating situations.  I am learning to pause my knee-jerk reactions, to pray that my kids will not be negatively impacted when I have a hard day.  When I lay down my unmet expectations, the LORD does His best work, in me and around me.  I have also begun a new practice of physically getting on my knees to ask for His help, acknowledging I can’t fix anything on my own.”

For me, personally, I would have lived and died in the same house, same town, same circle of friends and church family.  The story the LORD has written for us has been exactly the opposite of that stable picture.  We have moved more times than I truly want to count.  Every goodbye, every transition, every brave step of starting over (again) has been an act of surrender.  Each time, He made His direction clear and, despite very real loss and hard days, we knew that His plan was our only choice.

The LORD has been faithful to care for us, to provide in amazing ways at every step.  The most treasured gifts in our journey have come in the hardest seasons – when the desperate cries of my heart drew me closer to Him, when prayer became genuine, two-way dialogue, when I was hungry for any and every Word from Him, when I strained to hear His voice and followed without question, because I had no clue on my own which next step to take.

In hindsight, I can see that as difficult as some of those seasons were, they were hallowed ground where He was touching deep places in me that needed healing and Divine perspective.  He loves me too much to leave me broken.  So, it truly is His kindness that takes me where I don’t think I want to go, so He can meet me there and lead me to wholeness and intimacy with Him I never imagined possible.

GIVING THANKS! (pp 193-194): 

“Share testimonies of the Holy Spirit’s work.  Use these prompts to express gratitude for what GOD has done during this study:”

• a change in your thinking about (or your heart attitude toward) the will of GOD

“The plan is His, not mine.  Although the thought of signing a blank contract seemed unthinkable to me, I now know that I can and need to commit to His will (though completely unknown to me) without hesitation.”

“He works in mysterious ways.  At one time, my husband and I were considering a commitment that would really stretch our logistics and physical abilities (could we really give more?).  We agreed that if the LORD called us to make such a commitment, He would help us through.  Knowing this, we were willing.  As we continued to pray, offering our surrender to whatever He would direct, He suddenly provided in an unexpected way, never asking us to stretch at all.  Sometimes He tests us to see if we are simply willing to trust Him, much like Abraham offering Isaac with full confidence that the LORD would provide.  And He did!”

“I now have a much greater awareness that His will is the only plan that will happen!  His plan is the only one that is worthy of my unquestioning confidence.”

“My husband was injured and needed to appear in court to be granted disability benefits.  His attorney prepared him for the worst, saying there was little chance he would win the case.  My husband told him, “You do your part and my GOD will do the rest.”  The LORD was faithful to grant us favor in that courtroom and to provide for our needs.  Through it all, we have seen the hand of GOD!”

• a specific passage of Scripture GOD has used to bring you to a place of greater surrender

“In our homeschool co-op, we are learning the Names of GOD.  We just studied the story of Hagar in Genesis 16.  Mistreated by Sarah, she ran away into the wilderness.  Alone and vulnerable, Hagar encountered GOD, who told her to do a hard thing – go back to her mistress, Sarah.  Hagar obeyed, calling Him “the GOD of seeing, the One who looks after me.”  Even in harsh circumstances, Hagar trusted the LORD’s direction and recognized His care for her.  Almighty GOD sees and cares for us too!”

“Our look at the life of JESUS in the last chapter really impacted me.  His example is so helpful when I need to remember what devotion to the Father’s will and complete trust in His plans look like on a daily basis.”

“A few passages in the New Testament really touch me.  They remind me of what I once was, in bondage to other things.  Fully understanding what JESUS saved me from, that He is a trustworthy Master, draws my heart to humbly and gratefully surrender.  Thinking about His example, I am encouraged to endure even unfair situations, trusting the outcome to the One who knows and judges all things accurately.”

Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient.  We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures.  Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other.  But – when GOD our Savior revealed His kindness and love, He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy.  He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.  He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through JESUS CHRIST our Savior.  Because of His grace He made us right in His sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.  (Titus 3:3-7)

[CHRIST] did not retaliate when He was insulted, nor threaten revenge when He suffered.  He left His case in the hands of GOD, who always judges fairly. (1 Peter 2:23)

• the ways the bad fruit of tyranny has been replaced by the good fruit of trust

We all agreed that the most common struggle with the “bad fruit of tyranny” shows up in our desire for control.  Trusting in the LORD’s sovereignty over all things disarms our wrestle for control, reminding us that we truly do want Him to exercise full power and authority, not us!  We do not know what is best.  But He does!

“Years ago, when I was a baby Christian, I was going through a horrible divorce and fierce custody battle.  I needed to travel out of state, appear in court, with no representation.  Friends of new friends from church met me at the airport.  They embraced me, a complete stranger, and cared for me during my stay.  They surrounded me with the love of JESUS in so many touching ways.  

In court, when it was time for me to plead my case, I sensed clear direction from GOD’s Spirit to simply stand.  Before I could even speak, I learned I had won the case and been granted full custody of my children.  A new Christian friend shared a verse from Ephesians 6 that seemed so timely: “having done all, to stand.”  I retreated to the restroom in the courthouse and just fell to my knees, thanking the LORD for His protection and defense.”

“The LORD has always proven Himself to be faithful.  On a very practical level, I remember being out of food.  I reached into the kids’ toy box for something and pulled out a can of soup!  I have no idea how it got there, I only know it was GOD’s way of providing for us in a miraculous way.”

“As I pray for loved ones, longing for them to turn to the LORD in faith or in surrender, I am so grateful He is right here with us.  I have been encouraged to simply bring each person before the LORD in prayer, love them where they are, and trust GOD to work in their hearts.  I hear myself telling the little ones in my life, ‘JESUS is in the room.  Just like the sun is always in the sky, even when we can’t see it through the clouds, He is always here.’”

• any new insights into the character, heart, and ways of GOD 

“GOD is still on the throne.  He is in control!”

“He is SO patient.  He never misses a beat.  Nothing deters or delays His plans.  But somehow, there is always room in those plans to allow me time to grow.  He will never stop pursuing my heart and drawing me to deeper surrender, because He wants to free me from anything that keeps me from living in the good of His best purposes for me!”

Nancy Wolgemuth opened this final chapter with the following quote (p 153):

“Say ‘no’ to self; ‘Yes’ to JESUS every time.”  (William Borden)

She closed with these words of encouragement (p 165):

“My friend, it’s all about complete surrender.  Whatever the issue may be for you, however trivial or daunting that issue may seem, whatever the price, whatever your fears, however foolish you may feel or look, wherever that surrender may lead you … right here, right now, will you bow the knee?  Relinquish control.  Let Him have His way.  Say simply, ‘Yes, LORD; I surrender all.’”