Learning to Let Go: Finding Freedom in SurrenderÀpẹrẹ

DAY 2: HAVE YOUR WAY

Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine. (Mark 14:36 NLT)

If you were asked to do something, and you knew you were going to suffer and die in the process, would you still do it? Gen. Gregorio Del Pilar did. He was given the task of defending Tirad Pass to give ample time for President Emilio Aguinaldo to move. The task was risky, and Gen. Del Pilar knew he and his men were doomed. In his diary entry, he wrote, “I realize what a terrible task is given to me.” Despite his realization, he went on to write, “And yet I feel that this is the most glorious moment of my life. What I do is done for my beloved country. No sacrifice can be too great.”

And that was exactly what he did on December 2, 1899. Faced against the American troops, he did not retreat. He held his line until his very last breath. We can say that Gen. Del Pilar did not surrender. But we can also say that he did—if we look at it differently. He surrendered, not to the enemy, but to the order of his commander. He may not have retreated, but he did surrender his life… in service to his country.

Jesus had a similar moment in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was well aware that the hour of His Crucifixion had arrived. So, “he became troubled and distressed” (Mark 14:33) and His Soul was “crushed with grief to the point of death” (v. 34). His agony was so deep that He reached the point of asking His Father, “Please take this cup of suffering away from me” (v. 36). But despite His knowledge of what was ahead of Him, Jesus still ended His prayer with, “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine” (v. 36).

We, too, are familiar with such moments. Moments when we want things to happen our way. It’s either we want God to just leave us alone so we can live as we want to, or we want God to act immediately and answer our prayers instantly so we can live as comfortably as possible.

But having our way and being in the driver’s seat is not freedom. Freedom is being able to lift our hands to feel the wind and enjoy the ride–precisely because Someone Else’s Hands are tied to the wheel. It’s the freedom from worrying about when and where to head next because Someone Else is already doing the navigating for us. In short, Freedom is being in the back seat and letting God do the driving for us. Isn’t that a relief? Let’s surrender to God’s Will and have the ride of our lives!

Are there areas in your life where you’re doing the driving instead of God? What concrete steps can you take so He can be in the lead and not you?

Lord Jesus, please forgive me for trying to run my life my way. I give up my control and surrender to Your Will and Your Ways.