Surrender is the Greatest Adventure

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Jeremiah 17:5-8. I would probably even call it my “life verse”. Its theme is trust and I’m pretty sure that’s going to be a pretty constant learning curve until the day I die. I love this passage because it’s such a poetic picture of what it looks like to not trust God AND what it looks like to trust God. It’s actually quite a dramatic contrast.

The one who DOES NOT trust the Lord looks a little something like this - “…for he will be like a bush in the desert…and will live in stony wastes in the wilderness…” Jeremiah 17:6

And the one who DOES trust in the Lord - “…for he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream, and will not fear when the heat comes…” Jeremiah 17:8

Close your eyes and imagine those two situations. Which do you want to be?

I’m pretty confident that we would all say we want to be like the tree. I know I want to be, but I also know that I have not lived that way throughout different times in my life. This was definitely the case for about two years up until last fall. I am super pumped to tell you the story of what has possibly been the most significant moment of my life. It’s personal yet I’m confident it’s something not meant to just keep to myself. God writes the most beautiful stories and I’m so thankful that He has so intricately written this one into my life. Here it is…

It had been about a year and a half since a pretty big disappointment. Life brings about many disappointments but this time it was different. For about two years prior, I believed God was leading me in a specific direction and one that I was pretty excited about. Prayers were being answered and things were falling into place but only to result in what I had not hoped or even believed it would be.

Can you relate yet?

I wrestled with God for too long, knowing in my head that He is trustworthy but in my heart feeling like I was better off doing things my own way. Life was pretty dry because of this and my heart continued to slowly harden while I kept choosing my selfish, independent, and human nature.

Then... November 9, 2015 hit and God intervened.

I was learning a lot about surrender leading up to this point. At the heart of it, I wanted Jesus but I just couldn’t quite get there. I wasn’t able to fully grasp the concept of surrender. I see now that it was because I didn’t trust Him. To surrender your life to Jesus is to trust Him. You don’t give up yourself or have that kind of vulnerability with someone you don’t trust, right?

So God took me on a little journey that began in a Walmart parking lot to show me just that…

It was a regular day. I was going to do some errands and pick up a few things from Walmart. This WAS the plan but as I stepped out of my vehicle and put my keys in my bag I looked up only to find a man standing right in front of me. He asked if I had some spare cash and I told him that I didn’t but said if he was hungry I could grab him some food. He said that he was along with his wife. Immediately, I so strongly felt the heart of Jesus in my heart. Compassion, regardless of what he may or may not have wanted the money for; it didn’t matter in that moment. It was like Jesus said, “Come on, let’s go on an adventure together, I’ve got love to pour out on this guy!”

I was all in.

I told the man that I had to pick up a few things but that I wouldn’t be long and would grab some food for him and his wife. He said he’d be there waiting.

I walked into Walmart with my heart full of joy and excitement to care for this man and provide for him just like God gets excited to do the same for each one of us. I was prepping myself to maybe have some sort of conversation with him afterwards. Honestly,though I got a bit nervous but I really just wanted to be open to what God wanted to do. When I exited Walmart, though, he was gone. I scanned the parking lot. Nothing. I wasn’t really expecting that to be the outcome.

Then out of nowhere another man came up to me in need and I thought to myself, “Is this some sort of joke?” It really was a bit humorous to me but I felt like God was asking me to not worry about the other man for now and just help the one in front of me. Oookkaaay, so I did, not really understanding what the whole point of that was until later; realizing it was all for the sake of God’s perfect timing.

After that, the first man was still nowhere to be seen but I just didn’t feel right about going home with food belonging to him. So again, I felt Jesus nudge me and say, “Well, let’s go look for him then!” I prayed as I drove through the parking lot but definitely doubted that I would even find him.

But there he was (apparently God answers prayer! Go figure) sitting on a bench by a bus stop on the other end of the parking lot. As I got out of my car, the bus pulled up (perfect timing), so I immediately walked up to where he was in the line up, a bag of food in hand, and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around, looked straight at me, turned back around, and walked on to the bus.

“Hmm,” I thought. That’s strange. I walked part way on the bus to try and get his attention again as he was getting his ticket but he didn’t acknowledge me at all. I was not riding the bus of course, so I got off, slightly confused and sad. I stood there for a minute as we glanced at each other. I walked back to my car, sat there and waited as the bus drove by, all the while both of us looking at each other the whole time. It was like a dramatic scene from a movie but without the pouring rain. Seriously, it was quite something.

I drove home trying to comprehend what had just happened. And then, as I pulled up to my house, it hit me.

I was that man on the bus.

The tears came streaming down and God’s voice was clear as glass. I hadn’t heard him that clear in way too long.

All this time He was trying to graciously lavish His goodness and pour out His bounty on me from His bottomless ‘warehouse’ (Walmart’s got nothin’ on the King of the universe!) because He is the ultimate Giver!

All this time He was taking the time to seek me out, to pursue me among the crowds in the “parking lot” because He is crazy in love with me!

All this time He was saying, “You’ve asked for help and I am here. I care for you and have good things for you!” because He is my Provider!

All this time He was saying, “Don’t get on the bus. Don’t do things your own way. That will not lead you to Life. Come, follow Me. Let’s go on an adventure together!” because He IS Life!

So I gave Jesus my yes. I understood in that moment what complete surrender meant and boy, did we ever go on an adventure! I never could have imagined all the things that happened following November 9th of last year up to this very day I find myself in now.

I could tell stories upon stories of what God did. I have never experienced anything quite like it! Probably the biggest step that began the domino effect of wild God provisions was quitting my job. It felt irresponsible and crazy especially without having anything lined up after but I couldn’t deny that God was leading me in this way. It was time for me to fall completely into His arms which meant letting go of my financial security. It was time to trust the ultimate Provider, not ‘Miss Independent Me’ who was becoming pretty self-sufficient. I did not have a consistent job for four months but every single bill was paid. It was insane.

The most beautiful thing that happened, though was that I was falling back in love with Jesus. I trusted Him again. This was the whole point of it all. Surrender isn’t about getting all these great gifts. It’s about knowing you already have the greatest gift and His name is Jesus. He absolutely deserves our everything. He longs for every fiber of our being. He wants to shape us and mold us to be more like Him and use us in the most wild and extravagant ways so that we can love like He loves.

Do you struggle to trust Jesus? Do you feel like you’re in a drought? I encourage you to seek after Him. It’s a daily decision to do this. It’s hard to do especially when you don’t feel like it but He won’t disappoint. He promises this.

I am convinced that there is no greater adventure than life with Jesus. I have traveled the world, hiked many mountains, and even bungee jumped off a bridge for kicks, but I’ve never experienced adventure like I have when I follow Jesus.

It’s true. Surrender is the greatest adventure.