“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps” (Proverbs 16:9, ESV).
I know what the middle of nowhere feels like. And I can testify that God is there too.
Imagine that you surrender everything . . . your dreams, your car, your house, your money, your family, your life.
You sit completely open-handed before the Lord and ask about His desires for you.
You find yourself on a plane, headed half-way around the world.
Your journey does not end there, for you hop on another plane or take a 24-hour train ride to your next destination.
When that leg of the journey ends, you gear up for a bumpy taxi ride to your final stop because the road is not yet fully complete.
Where does that road end? In a desert, far from anything you have known.
Many years ago, we found ourselves standing in this desert place. Full of awe and fear and disbelief.
In this remote part of the world, our foreign presence was a rare thing . . . and only welcome for no more than a few days. Though we did not stay overnight, we taxied back and forth every day on that makeshift road.
We approached our time there with wonder and caution, as we met beautiful people, ate delicious food, and sought ways to be Light in a very dark place.
Over the course of several days, it became evident that a very unique window of opportunity was opening to us. We were welcomed warmly and even offered an invitation to live in this place at the end of the road. We knew this would undoubtedly pierce the darkness of that place with even a small glimmer of Light and, therefore, make its way from that city into the more remote villages. We felt certain God was opening the way, if only for a short season.
Seeing as this turn of events was wholly unexpected, we were unprepared to make the necessary final decisions on important factors about work and leasing an apartment. In fact, at the time we had no way of contacting those who were authorized to give us the green light and finalize the details necessary to make a prompt move into this new location.
We took a day in a nearby city to sightsee and pray, begging the Lord to make our path forward clear.
As we prayed and talked and walked through a beautiful open-air bazaar, my husband’s cell phone started ringing. Please note that it was miraculous he even had a cell phone with him, as they were just beginning to make an appearance in this part of the world.
We looked at the incoming call from an unknown number and wondered who could be calling.
Upon answering, we were surprised to hear our leader’s voice on the other end. He and his wife had been praying very specifically for us and felt prompted to try to call us and see if there was anything we needed.
We literally started crying, for he was the very person who could give us the go ahead for signing a lease in order to move forward with plans.
Within a matter of time, we found ourselves living in a new city . . . in a desolate place . . . at the end of the road.
We needed this undeniable confirmation from the Lord, to hold us on some very dark days.
A deep assurance that He was in this and had, indeed, orchestrated the whole thing . . . down to the smallest detail.
God has acted in our lives in this same manner time and time again. Though our time there was short, we remained not a second less or second longer than He deemed necessary.
And thus, we live in surrender. A family that stands before Him completely open-handed and always asking what He desires next for us.
He rarely shows us much ahead of time, but provides for us at the exact time that we absolutely need it.
Though we no longer live on the edge of a desert or even half way around the world, we still live day by day with open hands before the Lord.
Oh friends, that’s what surrender looks like. I wouldn’t want to live any other way.
Surrender, according to Webster’s Dictionary, is “the action of yielding one’s person or giving up the possession of something especially into the power of another.”
Yielding one’s self.
Complete and total submission.
He can be trusted.
He will show you the way.
He will take care of you.
Even if the way gets difficult.
“Fret not yourself . . . Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act . . . Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself . . . The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand” (Excerpts from Psalm 37, ESV).
Today, if you find yourself sitting on the edge of a desert, literally or metaphorically speaking . . .
Fret not yourself.
You need only to sit, trusting Him, waiting patiently for Him.
Fix your gaze on Him, delighting in Him.
And commit your way to Him, befriending faithfulness.
For He establishes your steps.
A Thousand Little Deaths 