Well, here we go. This is where the rubber meets the road. Phase 8 is: Begin surrendering your will to God, entering a deeper and more loving relationship with Him. Surrendering ones will is one of the most challenging things anyone can do. Yet in many ways it is a common thing that is done often without any thought. How often do you help someone one who asks even though you really would rather be doing something else? How often do you bite your tongue when you really want to speak your mind? How often do you go to work and do exactly what your employer wants you to do when you would rather be doing nearly anything else? In reality no one can make you do anything. In every situation you are choosing to do exactly what you want. In most cases, you are choosing to do what you believe is the right thing to do. By surrendering your will to the one who sees the beginning from the end you will discover a freedom and a lifestyle that is quite liberating and exciting!
No one wants to wear a mask! Yet, most of us are wearing one regularly because we believe it is the right thing to do and we want to think of ourselves as being good. While others specifically do not wear a mask because they believe that it is the right thing to do and they believe themselves to be good. Many in our country specifically do not have a gun in their home believing it is the right thing to do for themselves and the family they love. While many other in our great nation have several guns in their home believing it is the right thing to do for the family they love. I want to make this very clear, doing what you believe is right or doing what you believe makes you a good person has absolutely nothing to do with surrendering your will to God! For those of us who like to think of ourselves as wise, it is a difficult pill to swallow when we learn that God’s ways are far above our ways. In fact, His ways are so far over our heads, most of the time we would not have the ability to understand what He is doing even if He spelled it out plainly on a drawing board. As a result, God seldom lets us in on any of the details of His plans for us. Let us take our examples to show you what I mean. Maybe you are one of those that feels very strongly about wearing your mask to keep others – especially the vulnerable – safe. What if the Holy Spirit clearly whispered in your ear, “Never wear a mask again.” What do you do? Maybe you are one that feels strongly that it is wrong to blindly follow unsubstantiated mandates of the government and you stopped wearing your mask a long time ago. What if the Holy Spirit clearly whispered in your ear; “I want you and your family to start wearing your masks out of respect for your Governor.” What do you do? Or how about if you are one that believes that guns are dangerous to have around the house or around your children. What if the Holy Spirit told you with no explanation, “You need to purchase several guns and teach your children how to shoot.” What do you do? Or what if you are one who has always believed that it is your right and responsibility to defend your home and loved ones with your guns and ammo and the Holy Spirit told you with no explanation, “that you should destroy all your guns and ammo.” What do you do? You see, surrendering your will to God is how you tell Him that you completely trust Him. When you do not surrender your will, you end up making it clear that you still trust you over Him. The crazy thing about this is when you take that leap of faith and just do what He asks, hindsight is always 20/20 and you will see He had your best interest in mind. A freedom comes over you because you do not have to get it right every time. You just need to hear from Him and obey. He has got your back. A book can easily be written on each of the Phases that I am covering, but the thickest of the books would be on Phase 8. I will touch more on this issue in Phase 12, but for now, know that you will face many decisions in your life where there is no clear scripturally right choice. Many times, we choose the easy road over the more difficult. God tends to lead you down paths that you would not necessarily choose for yourself. So it is, with those that are of the Spirit. No one knows which way they are coming from or which way they are going, yet in the end they always have the victory! Slow down your fast-paced life and take the time to hear His voice and move when He says move and stay when He says stay. You will never regret sharing what Holy Spirit asks you to share or doing what Holy Spirit asks you do….
Phase 9: Through the work of the Holy Spirit and the amazing love of the Father you will be led to places of deep internal healing and restoration.
As you continue down this path of living in a relationship with the creator of the universe you will discover that some of the tests seem to continue to stump you and surrendering your will in some areas seems impossible. There is an old English word in the bible that we never use: uttermost. I like to say Jesus saves to the uttermost parts of our being or our heart. Heb 7:25 says, “Therefore He is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through Him. He lives forever to intercede with God on your behalf.” Each of us have deep wounds from our past, usually from early childhood that have shaped who we have become. We have lies that we believe about ourselves from very early on that have controlled much of our lives, even if we don’t specifically know what those lies are or remember where they came from. This cruel world has targeted you from the very beginning and wounded your precious heart, but thanks be to God who sets the captives free. With this phase you will need some help and guidance. The more resistant you are to getting help the deeper your need. The better off you think you are the greater the bondage you are under.
If someone were to ask me two years ago if I had an issue with shame, I would have whole heartedly and honestly said; “Not at all.” Too me it was a complete non-issue and was something that I had never considered even once. Yet, during a marriage retreat in Redding, California, the Holy Spirit specifically brought me back to events in my life during the summer when I was 9 years old. I had not thought of it for decades, yet there I was describing these events to some new friends. My best friend and neighbor Terry and I were out running around the neighborhood when we noticed that someone left their key in their mailbox. Being our mischievous selves, we grabbed it. The next day after the mailman came, we of ‘course went to the large metal mailbox and used the key to collect the delivered mail. While hiding in my garage, we opened some cards that had cash in them. Jackpot! We could not believe our fortune and we never bothered reading the cards. After the third day of cashing in, our parents gathered us in my living room with questions about us having a key and taking our unknown neighbor’s mail. They shared with us that our neighbors up the street had lost their infant child through a tragedy and the cards were sympathy cards and the cash was to help with funeral expenses. Tears filled our eyes as we hung our heads in shame. Filled with grief over my actions I had told myself that I was shameful. I had no idea that I had carried that shame with me my whole life. The Holy Spirit showed me that I was not shameful, just a young boy that made a mistake. A huge weight that I did not even know I was carrying was lifted off me and I experience a freedom I had never known! Shame was such a part of my life that it felt normal, so I had no idea that it was even there until it was gone. I share this story with you because I want you to trust me and do something you may feel you have no need of. I want you to search for and take a course or go on a retreat. All of us have experienced destructive thoughts such as: I am worthless; I hate that person; I should quit; ect…. And destructive feelings of depression, anger, fear, confusion, lust, and hopelessness; ect…. These thoughts and feelings stem from destructive beliefs like: bad things keep happening to me; I have to be perfect in order to receive love; I only get respect if I yell; I will never
succeed, ect…. You may never verbally speak these beliefs, but you have come into agreement with them internally, therefore giving them power to dictate your life. For example, if you agree with the lie that says, “I’m worthless,” you have joined with it and opened the door for it to work in you and cause you to live as though you are worthless. The good news is, this is a spiritual battle that we can win! The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will lead and guide us into all truth. So, we need to learn to be led by the Spirit to identify the lies operating in our lives and allow the Holy Spirit to replace those lies with His truth in the deepest parts of our being.
I was first introduced to this work of the Holy Spirit through reading a book on Theophostic Ministries. I contribute that a lot of my business success started after reading this book and applying its wisdom. I will also mention Sozo Ministries, Ancient Paths Ministries and Cleansing Stream Ministries. It appears that God has been doing this wonderful work through many different groups throughout the country and the whole world. As I stated earlier, you will need some guidance to be able to move through this phase. Go to a seminar, read the books and attend a retreat. Pick which ever one you like or go to them all, either which way you will not experience the deep internal healing and restoration that God has for you until you take the leap faith. Drag your partner with you or your best friend or just go alone. Your victory is always found in Christ, do what it takes to move yourself in His direction this year. Let 2021 be forever fixed in your heart as one of the greatest years of your life. The year the chains were broken off and you soared to new and greater heights of freedom and victory!