Lay Down Your Arms...Surrender

Surrender of troops at the end of WW II. Hotcore.info on Google 2023

On September 9, 1939, Hitler’s Armed Forces invaded Poland launching a war that reached all major countries in the world. There were devastating losses of approximately 15 million soldiers, 38 million civilians (DCAS 2023), and the extermination of 6 million Jews and 5 million non-Jews that were also specifically targeted by the Nazi’s for eradication (Washington Post 2017). The war lasted six years and one day, culminating in the unconditional surrenders of Germany, Italy, and Japan. The unconditional surrender of the German Third Reich was signed in the early morning hours of Monday, May 7, 1945, at Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) at Reims, France (Government Archives2023).

The military surrenders of these three countries were officially documented in a peace treaty (Wikipedia 2023) that detailed the relinquishment of control over troops, armament, ships, fortifications, and territory to the Allied Forces (The United States, Great Britain, and Russia).

War and battle are not pretty, are not romantic, and cannot be ignored. Choosing to stay out of it is not successful and can result in losses not foreseen. The fourteen countries that declared neutrality during WW II all were either occupied or attacked anyway. While Spain declared neutrality, Madrid became a hub for espionage. Juan Pujol gave inaccurate information to Germany throughout the entire war. He was such an effective deceiver that Hitler awarded him the Iron Cross, never learning that he was not loyal to Germany.

Juan "Garbo" Pujol, in disguise on the left. WikiCommons 2023

What Is Surrender?

When two parties are battling during a war, there can be great advantage to deciding to stop fighting either by declaring a truce or a surrender. A surrender is declared when one party is dominating and the other surrenders because there is no victory coming. The surrendering party would otherwise not surrender. In a surrender situation, there is a cessation of “resistance to an enemy or opponent” and submission to their authority to prevent further destruction (Oxford Languages Dictionary 2023).

With a truce, both parties decide to stop the battle mutually. With a truce declared, both are in agreement to cease fire, but it is a temporary arrangement. For example, soldiers may agree on a cease fire truce on Christmas day with battling to restart the day after. It is understood that fighting will commence when the time of truce ends. With surrender, the cessation of fire is permanently ended with agreed upon terms being outlined and detailed in a peace treaty document signed by both factions. Thus, the war ends as it did in 1945.

There is a war waging in the spiritual realm that we do not readily see, but perhaps sometimes see evidence of. The Accuser (Revelation 12:10) is the primary opponent of God. Before the creation of mankind, he staged a coup de e'tat in Heaven against God’s sovereignty and was removed from Heaven and was exiled along with his so-called army of unreformable, malevolent spirits (Revelation12:7-9). Like human aggressors and despots, he continues to attempt to oppose all that is God’s will and plan, primarily by going after God’s children. The reason for this is simple. God has chosen to utilize his children to carry out his will and plan, and he loves each of his children completely. The Adversary (1 Peter 5:8) seeks to use God’s love for his children against him. Also, the Adversary knows that to thwart those who execute God’s plan, in theory, prevents the plan from being accomplished and evokes God’s wrath (strong anger against sin. Nelson 1982.) But God’s will and plan cannot be derailed. Yet, since Satan was expelled from Heaven, he still fights God’s will, and it is obvious that he will not relent. What does this have to do with us and our surrender?

What does this spiritual war in the heavenlies impact us, God’s children? Ephesians 6:12 clearly states, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” So, according to scripture the battle is one we are faced with.

In a war there typically are at least two opposing factions. Each is supremely represented and lead by a president or prime minister and their supporting government and military forces. While there are many groups involved in planning and conducting a war, it is the armed forces that take the brunt of the fighting, but so do civilians. It is the troops and sometimes the civilians who are shot or bombed.

Similarly, the Accuser who leads the opposing faction, uses several tactics against God’s children, both soldiers and civilians alike, in an attempt to provoke God. His arsenal of weapons includes temptation to sin and disobedience (1 Chronicles 21), affliction (suffering, pain, malady, disease; Job & Luke 13:11), accusation (incrimination based in condemnation and shame; Zech 3:1), sifting (isolate; divide or separate from God and God’s children; Luke 22:31), beguiling (deceive, lie, lure away, entice, ensnare, take advantage of, distract, fool; 2 Cor. 11:3), disguise (pretend to be, be unrecognizable, conceal his true motives, scheme, lie; 2 Cor. 11:14-15). The enemy has no intention of calling a temporary truce, nor has he any intention of surrendering to God and reaching terms of peace. There will be no peace treaty. The Accuser is totally given over to his campaign.

"A man may have to die for our country: but no man must, in any exclusive sense, live for his country. He who surrenders himself without reservation to the temporal claims of a nation, or a party, or a class is rendering to Caesar that which, of all things, most emphatically belongs to God: himself."

"Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms. Laying down your arms, surrendering, saying you are sorry, realizing that you have been on the wrong track and getting ready to start life over again from the ground floor-that is the only way out of a "hole." This process of surrender-this movement full speed astern-is repentance."

C.S. Lewis (AZ Quotes, 2009.)

What are our options?

In this life once we have accepted Christ as Savior, we are inherently either civilians in God’s country so to speak, or we are soldiers in his army. What options do we have in the midst of the fight?

To maintain the metaphor, civilians have decided to stay out of the Armed Forces by choice. They have not surrendered to God’s call to intimacy and all of the benefits of that. They are holding back from God their free will to choose their own spiritual direction and the degree to which they get involved in his government. As civilians, they are living daily in the midst of battles and skirmishes. Like soldiers, civilians are in the middle of all the suffering, accusations, enticements, and afflictions but yet they are not informed, are not prepared, and are not well equipped for battle. They may own a shield of faith or a sword of God’s Word, but they have not trained in using them to effect. They may own a helmet and breast plate, but they seemingly have no need for wearing them. In a pinch, they use what is on hand from the world they live in, and sometimes those things are not sanctioned by God for their use. Nonetheless, skirmishes and battles are happening on their own property, in their own territory, in their own mind, in their own interpretations, and in their own hearts. There is a risk of being captured because of sin or from being caught unaware, just as it is with soldiers.

When we surrender to God, we become soldiers in his Armed Forces. Soldiers also deal with the assaults of enemy suffering, accusation, afflictions, but there is a significant difference. Soldiers are trained and are aware of enemy tactics. The primary benefit of that is obvious in the name ‘ARMED” and “FORCES,” we are not alone, and we are packing! We allow God the Holy Spirit to teach us how to wield the sword, and pray by his empowerment, and we are assured victory because we are getting our instructions and information from our Leader,

YHWH -Tzva’ot (the Lord of Hosts [angelic armies]; Jewish Virtual Library 2023.) There are times when it seems as if we are losing the battle or skirmish. However, even when we go through difficulties, God does not abandon us. He deeply loves us, and he makes sure we get through all things without fully experiencing what the enemy actually intended.

2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. 3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. 4 Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. 5 Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you.

Isaiah 43:2-5

What Keeps Us from Being All-In?

Many of us have voluntarily given our heart to Christ and we meant it when we did it. Perhaps we go to church or volunteer on a committee. We even pray. So, what do I mean that we have not fully surrendered to God? Submitting to God by inviting Jesus into our heart and lives is just the starting point. We are supposed to continue to increase in spiritual growth and understanding, becoming more devoted to God, allowing him to become our closest companion. Surrendering to God is a mark of spiritual maturity.

What keeps us from being all-in? It boils down to two things: fear and pride. Fear weakens resolve, and pride justifies and rationalizes self-reliance and self-righteousness. Both of these make it easier for the enemy to manipulate us.

Fear

In terms of surrendering to God’s management of our lives, we fear what will happen if we relinquish control. Asking God to manage every single aspect ourselves of our lives feels as if we are putting ourselves in a vulnerable, perhaps even dangerous position. No one enjoys feeling unprotected or open to attack. We are able to easily imagine the worst-case scenario and be frightened that God will not help us avoid it or get us out of it. Generally, it makes natural sense to have a Plan B because none of us know what the future holds, and we are all aware of how quickly circumstances can change. Conventional wisdom tells us that holding back some control makes rational sense. However, divine Wisdom tells us that God’s unlimited power, his unlimited resources, and his unstoppable will for our best are far better than our Plan B would ever be with its limited everything.

We may know about God intellectually or may theoretically believe he is good, but maybe we are unsure he will make things turn in our favor. While we may not mean to do it, we compare him to humankind who frequently fails us, wounds us, or makes it clear to us that we are not worth Future People Recruitment Image on Google 2023

investing in. That is why we sometimes bargain with God, trying to strike a deal to persuade him to do what we want.

Fortunately, the ways of God are not like ours. He cannot sin, lie, or break a promise. He may stretch us beyond our zone of comfort to help us grow and gain courage, but he will not make us miserable. He will not leave us to our fate. He is steadfast, loyal, honest, invested, vigilant, and proactive (even though from our limited vantage point we do not always see it.) God is unlimited, immeasurable, inexhaustible, and incapable of any weakness. We do not have anything to fear from him.

Pride

Pride is the underlying sin of Satan’s character and behavior, and it is the underlying sin of humankind. It is the springboard for other sins of the Flesh (the unregenerate aspects of our mind, will, and emotions; a.k.a. the soul) such as willfulness, justification, and rationalization of rebellion and disobedience. Pride is the root of self-righteousness, selfishness, self-sufficiency, self-importance, self-admiration, and self-protection (notice anything?). Pride elevates Self above God in priority, as well as in provision.

Google Image 2023

Pride operates from the deception that we are only responsible to ourselves and that we have full authority to govern our own lives. We sometimes chafe at the idea that we no longer have the right to unlimited authority or governance of ourselves and our lives. The Adversary rebelled against his Sovereign because his self-perception incorporated the delusion that he could be all and more than God was and is. In his own mind, he who was created elevated himself with bombastic arrogance above the Creator. The fact is, no one has total autonomy and self-governance even when they are not a believer. We all are bound the social mores, civil laws, moral and ethical standards. Spiritually we are inherently aligned with either God or the Adversary, in other words, no choice results in a choice by default.

Image on Google 2023.

"You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit.

As your fathers did, so do you." Acts 7:51 ESV

Pride blinds us so we do not see ourselves as we are. It has deaf ears to Truth. When we are prideful, we believe ourselves to be the standard of comparison for righteousness, intelligence, problem-solving, and thus, position ourselves as superior to all others including God. When God is not our benchmark, we become vulnerable to sins of the Flesh and attacks from the enemy. God is the only opinion that ultimately matters. He is the only one who deserves to be the standard of measurement for all things, and it only God who can predetermine an outcome because his control and reach have no limits or constraints.

What Do We Need to Know?

The New Covenant has terms of agreement between God and the individual. This covenant is both conditional and unconditional regarding terms. When we do not resist the Holy Spirit wooing us into a relationship with God through Jesus, we receive reconciliation with God, forgiveness of sins, and God’s covenant is written on our hearts as a relationship, not external religious activity. Theses terms are unconditional to all who believe in Christ.

The covenant is also conditional. To the extent that we do not resist the Holy Spirit and obey God the Father is the extent to which we enjoy the benefits of personal relationship with God. The more we submit to the will of God and obey him, the more we mature spiritually. Another way to put it is, the more we surrender the stronger the spiritual integrity of our journey with God. That way when we experience challenges and difficulties, we are grounded in a way that keeps us unshakable and able to get through such things without excessive collateral damage.

Again, this is dependent on us. If we do our part by humbly seeking God’s will, worshipping him in Spirit and in truth (versus religious perfunctory), obeying him even when it feels challenging, and SURRENDER EVERYTHING holding nothing back (finances, relationships, marriage, children, career, decisions, etc.), he is free to do ALL he wants to do for our advantage.

How Would You Answer the Question?

What could God ask you to do that you absolutely would not do?

If your answer is, “It depends” then there is something that keeps you from being all-in. You are holding back. Why do I say that? Because even if it seems that what he asks seems outrageous or even controversial, there should not be any worry or doubt about the character of the Person who asks. He will not act against his own law or the heart behind his law (which is how you can determine it is him). He is consistent and holy. God asks difficult things of his children. When we use the word 'depends' we are asserting a condition. In our covenant with God, it is he who determines the conditions, to us. It is not ours to assume what God will and will not ask of us. Everything he ever asks is for our good. Sometimes he asks the exacting things of us to reveal our strengths and to refine areas of weakness. We do not always fully understand his motus operandi, but it will serve to either protect us or bless us.

The story of Noah provides an example of a man who did something that other people could not understand and seemed completely unreasonable and unfounded, but he saved a remnant (Genesis 6). Joshua and Caleb obeyed God when the rest of Israel did not. They were blessed to be the only two men, along with their families, to enter the promised land after forty years of waiting (Numbers 32:12.)

Enoch was the great-great-great-great- grandson of Adam. Scripture says that Enoch ‘walked with God.’ This phrase is used to describe the intimate, personal relationships between God and three men in scripture, Enoch, Noah, and Levi. Enoch’s blessing was that he was raptured, not experiencing physical death. Noah’s blessing was saving the remnant of creation and on behalf of all humanity received the promise of God that he would not purge the earth and creation by flood. Levi walked so closely with God that he lived a life of peace, uprightness, and truth. God established the Levitical Priesthood through he and his offspring.

What Is the Takeaway?

Unlike a war fought in this world, the battling against our enemies is spiritual. While a skirmish or battle is underway, there may be evidence of it to us, but the fight is in the spiritual arena. The battle is dealt with through prayer and utilization of scripture. But the first step is full surrender to God with whom we are completely safe to trust with the management of our lives.

Resisting his Spirit, ignoring him when he is nudging us to act, and justifying our pride and fear can only result in a much shallower connection with God than he desires. Surrendering to God ensures your personal victory even while the war wages around you. When you do this, he will order

your life so that it aligns with his perfect will, and he will work for your good Google Image 2023

even when the enemy tries to come against you. Surrendering to God does not put us at risk, and we are not left vulnerable. On the contrary, He will not withhold from us anything that is good (Psalm 84:11.)

If you want to be all-in and fully surrender to God, simply tell him that you want to be fully surrendered to him and ask him to help you do so. “God, please take over.” Then regularly and consistently ask his will, and then obey it. If you sin, ask him to forgive you. If you offend or hurt someone, apologize. Allow the Holy Spirit to teach you and counsel you as you familiarize yourself with Scripture and talk to God about everything and anything.

The proper good of a creature is to surrender itself to its Creator—to enact intellectually, volitionally, and emotionally, that relationship which is given in the mere fact of its being a creature. When it does so, it is good and happy.

C. S. Lewis (Az Quotes 2023.)

REFERENCES

*All scripture references are from Bible Gateway (2023). English Standard Version. https://www.biblegateway.com/.

Az Quotes. (2023) C. S. Lewis Quotes About Surrender. https://www.azquotes.com/author/8805-C_S_Lewis/tag/surrender

Jewish Virtual Library. (2023). “Jewish Concepts: The Name of God.”

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/”the-name-of-god.”

Miller, John Anthony. (2018, December 11). “Neutral nations managed to tiptoe through a global conflict, avoiding war while protecting their own interests.”

https://militaryhistorynow.com/2018/12/11/neutrality-or-not-how-the-worlds-non-combatant-nations-quietly-took-part-in-ww2/.

Roat, Alyssa. (2020, January 20). Is ‘Pride Comes Before the Fall’ in the Bible?

https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/is-pride-goes-before-the-fall-in-the-bible.html#:~:text=Being%20prideful%20will%20not%20end

Stephens, Katharine. (2017, May 26). Letters to the Editor. 11 million, not 6 million died in the Holocaust. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/11-million-not-6-million-died-in-the-holocaust/2017/05/26/6fdcc270-3flc-11e7-b29f-f40ffced2ddb_story.hyml

Surrender. (2023). In Oxford Languages Dictionary. https://languages.oup.com/google-dictionary-en/

Surrender. (2023, October 14). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrender_%28military%29

Surrender of Germany. (2023, Jan 10). Milestone Documents. https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/surrender-of-germany#:~:text=The%20unconditional%20surrender%20of%20the,at%20Reims%20in%20northeastern%20France

Wrath of God. (1982.) In Nelson’s here-in-One Bible Reference Companion. Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers.

WW II. (2023). Defense Casualty Analysis System. https://dcas.dmdc.osd.mil/dcas/app/conflictCasualties/ww2.