Committed to the Drop

It’s a very exciting time in my life, because I’ve been able to restart my very favourite hobby – surfing! For many years I was itching to do so, but the coldness of the Scottish sea put me off. However, being out in the waves again is proving to be worth braving the cold, and it brings me so much joy.

In re-learning the basic lessons, I had opportunity to ponder the importance of being fully committed and surrendered. Before paddling into a wave, there’s always that slight sense of apprehension. Am I going to fall or not? If this apprehension leads to hesitation, it’s usually bad news, and a wipe-out is almost guaranteed. Fun perhaps for the onlookers, but less so for me. One really needs to be committed in letting yourself fall forward - an act of real trust. When this dropping in is done confidently, the rest of surfing is actually not all that hard - but it sure is a lot of fun.

Being a Christian involves a real commitment, a genuine and wholehearted surrender to the Lord - a walk of trust. Letting go of our own ways, abilities and understanding naturally leads to some apprehension. We might wonder: “Will I be OK, and will God’s promises be true for me?” If we don’t commit fully, but try to only half-lean on the Lord, and half-lean on our own ability to control things, we’re unlikely to succeed. We’ll never taste that true excitement of living by faith.

If we’re honest, there are many Christians, perhaps ourselves included at times, that are half-in, half-out, type people. We don’t really want to live completely depending on our own wits, as the world does, because we know that’s not the right thing to do. But we also don’t live a life of true surrender to God, because we let our fears rule our decision-making process. But sadly, this semi-surrender leads to an unstable, no fun, unadventurous Christian walk. We miss out on God’s very best, and don’t taste true freedom in God.

The fact is that surrendering and being fully committed to trusting God is a bit scary for us all. But I want to encourage you to not let that fear hold you back. The more we trust in God, the more opportunity we give Him to prove His faithfulness to us. He’ll never let us fall. We’ll find more freedom. We’ll walk more closely with God, and I believe that it will even be a lot more interesting, adventurous and more fun than anything else we’ve ever done before.

Prayer: Father in heaven, please let me be fully surrendered to trusting You, letting go of my own ability to control things. Please don’t let my fears control me. I want to live a life abandoned to You. Thank You for helping me, in Jesus’ name. Amen.