I surrender...

(This story is from the late Henri Nowen.)

Once upon a time there was a little river that said “I can become a big river.” It worked hard to become big, but in the process, encountered a huge rock. “I won’t let this rock stop me,” the river said. And the little river pushed and pushed until it finally made its way around the rock.

Next the river encountered a mountain. “I won’t let this mountain stop me,” the river said. And the little river pushed and pushed until it finally carved a canyon through the mountain.

Next the river came to an enormous forest. “I won’t let all these trees stop me,” the river said. And the river pushed and pushed until it finally made its way through the forest.

The river, now large and powerful, finally arrived at the edge of a vast desert. “I won’t let this desert stop me,” the river said.

But as the river pushed and pushed its way across the desert, the hot sand began to soak up its water until only a few puddles remained. Now the river was quiet.

Then the river heard a voice from above. “My child, stop pushing. It’s time to surrender. Let me lift you up. Let me take you over.”

The river said “Here I am.”

The sun then lifted the river up and turned it into a huge cloud. And the wind carried the river across the desert and let it rain down on the hills and valleys of the faraway fields, making them fruitful and rich.

What a powerful story this is. In our devotions today at the church, I shared with my Pastors that I felt God was telling me to get prepared and to stop doing things in my own strength. Then I read this story. It says to me that ambition and determination are wonderful attributes, but apart from God, they won’t get me very far. I learned this the hard way. When I was young, I felt invincible. Don’t we all? Culture taught me that I could do anything. If that’s true, who needs God, right? So there came a time when I tried it on my own. I walked away from God. Then when I came to a desert, I didn’t know what to do.

There’s always a desert up ahead. There’s always a time when the heat will become so intense I won’t know what to do. I don’t have the strength or the resources to make it through the desert on my own. My desert contains failures, rejections, disappointments, loss, and doubts among many other things. They leave my emotions in a puddle and I stop pushing and become stagnant. What do I do in the desert?

When I come to a desert, I may not have the time to hear God’s voice say “It’s time to surrender.” But I hear Him now. He wants me to stop pushing and let Him show me the way. He wants to lift me up and take me to the place He wants me to be. He will let what He has taught me rain down and pour into the lives of others. In that place where He will take me to, I will be fruitful in ways I can never imagine.

Listen! He’s saying “It’s time to surrender.” Lord, I surrender all.