The Strength of Surrender

From Consumer to Consumed

You weren't created to be a consumer. You were created to be consumed by God for His good purposes. Our whole society revolves around consumerism—we consume food, fashion, technology, entertainment, social media, news cycles. We even bring that same mindset into our relationship with God, treating Him like a drive-thru experience: "I'd like great music, a relevant message, free coffee, and a fun environment for my kids. Hold the challenge."

But here's the deal: you and I were meant to live a God-centered, other-centered, difference-making kind of life that burns with passion and purpose.

God Is a Consuming Fire

Hebrews 12:28-29 tells us: "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe. For our God is a consuming fire."

Our God is transcendent, holy, perfect, and pure. Like a consuming fire, His presence burns away sin, evil, and impurity. He is all-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful, and absolutely awe-inspiring. He showed up before Moses in a burning bush. He led His people through the wilderness as a pillar of fire. He descended on the followers of Jesus in Acts 2 like tongues of fire. His love burns hot and never goes out. He never changes, but His presence changes anything it touches. He longs to touch you and me and move us from being mere consumers to being consumed by Him.

The Showdown on Mount Carmel

This story is found in 1 Kings 18, and it's one of the most dramatic confrontations in Scripture. Elijah was Israel's most famous prophet—a lone voice for God in a nation that had turned away. The evil king Ahab and his wife Jezebel had led the nation into idol worship, surrounding themselves with 850 false prophets of Baal.

Israel had moved from being consumed by God to being self-centered consumers. Their culture was spiraling out of control—people doing whatever they wanted. So God told Elijah, "It's time to do something about this."

Elijah challenged Ahab to a showdown on Mount Carmel. He gathered all the people and posed a simple question:

"How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him. If Baal is God, follow him."

But the people said nothing. They sat frozen—knowing God was speaking but unable to respond.

The Contest

Elijah set up the test: each side would prepare a bull for sacrifice, but neither would light the fire. Whichever god answered by fire would prove to be the true God.

The 450 prophets of Baal went first. From morning till noon, they called on their god. "Oh Baal, answer us!" they shouted, dancing around the altar. But there was no response. Nothing happened.

At noon, Elijah began to taunt them: "Shout louder! Surely he's a god. Perhaps he's deep in thought. Or maybe he's busy. Or maybe he's sleeping—you just need to wake him up."

The prophets became increasingly desperate, slashing themselves with swords and spears until their blood flowed. Still, there was nothing. No response. No one paid attention.

The Living God Responds

Then Elijah repaired the altar of the Lord. He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces, and laid it on the wood. Then he did something surprising: he had them fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and the wood. Not once, not twice—but three times. The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.

Why? Because Elijah was intentionally stacking the odds against God. He wanted everyone to know that this was unmistakably God's work, not some trick.

Then Elijah stepped forward and prayed:

"Oh Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and I've done all these things at your command. Answer me, oh Lord, so these people will know that you, oh Lord, are God and that you are turning their hearts back again."

Notice something crucial: Elijah didn't pray for himself. He didn't ask God to make him famous or respected. He wanted what God wanted—for the people to turn their hearts back to their Creator.

Then the fire of the Lord fell. It burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the soil. It even licked up the water in the trench.

When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried out:

"The Lord, he is God! The Lord, he is God!"

Wavering Between Two Gods

Elijah's question cuts across the centuries and reaches us today: How long are you going to waver?

The history of Israel since Moses was a pattern: we follow God. No, now we follow our own selfish desires. Our desires wreck our lives. So we follow God again. No, we're going to do whatever is right in our own eyes. On and on this pattern went.

And today, we still waver between two gods. Between famine and rain, between death and life, between misery and happiness, between guilt and forgiveness, between little-g wannabes and the true living God.

You might be thinking, Well, I'd follow God too if He did a miracle like that for me. But listen: every day of life is a fire from heaven miracle. A brilliant, blazing ball of fire sets every day, painting the sky with unparalleled majesty. Fire twinkles millions of miles away in the night sky. Fire rises in the eastern sky and lights another day where we awaken refreshed. Our lungs fill with the exact right amount of oxygen. Our hearts beat with incredible regularity, sending life-giving blood through intricate passageways.

We know the miracle of loving someone so much that it feels like a fire is burning deep in our soul. We laugh so hard we feel like we're going to combust. We walk through our front door and know that the home fires of shelter and safety are still faithfully burning.

Your whole life is a miracle sparked in you by the loving God who is an all-consuming fire.

So God asks: How long are you going to waver? You see all this miraculous life around you—how long are you going to waver?

The Lure of Little-g Gods

We don't worship carved pieces of wood anymore, but we sometimes bow at the altar of looks and image. We worship at the shrine of materialism, success, and status. We give our energy, devotion, and affection to shallow self-seeking relationships, self-gratification, and fame—never stopping to think: Isn't this idol just a piece of paper? Isn't this just reflective glass? Isn't this just metal and rubber? Isn't this just wood and stone? Am I bowing before something that's just a lie?

The truth is: these gods can't rescue you. They can't save you. They can't love you. They can't create you. They can't recreate you. They can't sweep away your failures. They can't give you purpose or eternal life.

But the true and living God can do all of that. If you chase all the stuff of this consumeristic life, making them little-g gods, you will miss out on knowing and experiencing the true and living God of unfailing love and mercy—the good Father who wants to consume all of you and walk with you every day.

The Power of Surrender

Romans 12:1-2 says:

"And so dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice, the kind he finds acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don't copy the behavior and customs of the world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect."

Being a living sacrifice isn't comfortable. Being consumed by God means your plans may change, your identity gets reshaped, your priorities get reordered. But here's the great paradox: According to Jesus, when you and I do that, we don't lose our life. We find it.

Moving from consumer to being consumed centers around one word: surrender.

The greatness of a man is in direct proportion to the measure of his surrender.

There's a lot said about being a tough guy, being a strong man. Let me tell you what makes a guy really tough: it's when he realizes that there is tremendous power in powerlessness. When you finally come to God and surrender and say, "I need your help to be a good man. I need your help to be a good dad. I need your help to be a good husband." When we humble ourselves and say, "Father, I cannot kick this habit on my own. I can't live this life in my own feeble strength. I need a higher power. I need better wisdom. I need the strength of the everlasting God surging through my veins."—that's when God starts developing true strength within us.

The Fruit of Surrender

Here are nine characteristics of a really tough person:

1. Love
2. Joy
3. Peace
4. Patience
5. Kindness
6. Goodness
7. Gentleness
8. Faithfulness
9. Self-control

Galatians 5:22-23 tells us these are the fruit of the Spirit. And they only happen inside of you when you surrender to the power of the Holy Spirit of God.

The Apostle Paul wrote from a prison cell: "For I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength." That's the secret of internal toughness: lay your life on the altar every day and rely on the power of Jesus Christ in you.

Paul also wrote in Ephesians 1: "I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God's power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him at the place of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly realms."

If God can blow the rock off a tomb and give life back to a dead man, He can work through your life too. The same power is available to all of us.

So why would we go through life choosing to do it on our own? Why wouldn't we stop chasing other gods, put our ego on the altar every day, and say: "Consume me, oh God. Burn away all that is shallow and selfish and fake. I want to burn for you as a living sacrifice. Consume my heart, my thoughts, my plans, my passions for your glory. I want to rely on your strength, your wisdom, your grace, and your power every day."

The greatness of a man, the greatness of a woman, is in direct proportion to the measure of their surrender.

God's Relentless Love

When it comes to God, there is no wavering. You may not yet believe in Him, but He believes in you. So much so that He promised He would come down and bring us up out of the bondage and oppression of sin.

The promised one, Jesus, laid Himself on the altar. He took the sins of the whole world upon His shoulders so that mankind—you and me—could be made right with God. Jesus never wavered either. He went to the cross and voluntarily laid down His life so that we could know real life.

There is a God who cannot bear the thought of heaven without you. So much so He allowed His Son to take your punishment on a cross so your sins could be wiped away—if you would just surrender to Him.

The Call to Surrender

So let me ask you one more time: How long will you waver?

Maybe right now you know God is speaking directly to your heart. You're in one of those frozen moments, and you know He's saying to you: "Come on. Stop wavering. Stop living with one foot in and one foot out. Put both feet in and just follow me. Surrender your life to me. Lay it down so I can fill you with power and purpose and passion and freedom and wisdom."

He wants to do that right here, right now. All you have to do is surrender to Him. Say:

"Jesus Christ, I accept the gift of your forgiveness on my behalf. Thank you for what you've done on the cross. I want you. I want you to lead my life. I need you to lead my life. I want to be consumed by you, God."

When you do that—when you go palms up and surrender—that's when everything changes. That's when you move from being a consumer to being consumed by the all-consuming fire of God's love and purpose.