The first step in overcoming any kind of situation that holds me in bondage in my thoughts, mind, body, and spirit is to surrender it to God. “All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give,” says an old hymn of the church. But singing these words in a sanctuary and living them in daily life are two very different things.
Perhaps, the most important battle of the mind has to do with trusting God enough in order to be able to give everything to Him. In this battle, your view of God has everything to do with whether or not you will be able to surrender all (or anything) to Him. If your conception of God is that of a tyrant king or harsh judge then you are not likely to surrender your life to His care.
A good resource that has helped many in our church trust God more is James Bryan Smith’s “The Good and Beautiful” series published by IVP. The Good and Beautiful God: Falling in Love with the God Jesus Knows, is where it all starts. Once you have learned to see God and know Him as Jesus does, then you will be ready to surrender yourself to His care.
Other books in this series are:
The Good and Beautiful Life: Putting on the Character of Christ
The Good and Beautiful Community: following the spirit, extending grace, demonstrating love
The Good and Beautiful You:Discovering the Person God Made You to Be
Each one of these books is designed to help you grow in your relationship with God, self and others.
Another author that has helped people apply God’s word to their lives is Neil T. Anderson. Some of his books are: Victory Over the Darkness, The Bondage Breaker, and Breaking Through to Spiritual Maturity.
Personal growth in grace and the knowledge of the holy that will empower you to walk in freedom and power requires a humility to engage God’s word, admit what you do not know, and seek the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit to lead you every moment. While God’s grace will carry you forward you must be a willing participant in your liberation from sin and death. As the Apostle Peter says, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. (2 Peter 3:18)
