February 23

“...if we will only surrender ourselves utterly to the Lord, and will trust Him perfectly, we shall find our souls ‘mounting up with wings as eagles’ (Isaiah 40:30) to the ‘heavenly places’ in Christ Jesus, where earthly annoyances or sorrows have no power to disturb us.”  Hannah Whitall Smith, The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life, p. 240

Hannah, in her usual practicality, points out that the wings of the eagle that carries him to the heavenly places are Surrender and Trust.  What’s more, it takes both wings to fly.  I know in my own life that the times I’ve surrendered my will to God’s Will have not always been coupled with trust.  And the times I have trusted God I’ve not done so fully surrendered.  Understanding now the necessity of both surrendering and trusting simultaneously explains an awful lot to me about why my Christian walk has seemed so ineffective.  All the ingredients have been there, but I haven’t followed the recipe!  I was just discussing with my son the necessity of following a recipe exactly if you want the dish to turn out right.  You may be able to fudge a little on some of the seasonings, but the main ingredients like liquids, leavenings, and flour, if you’re making bread, have to be followed exactly or else you’re not going to end up with the planned product.  God’s recipe for a life well lived requires both surrender and trust.  This is the life hid in Christ.

“I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”  John 15:5