After surrender to Christ, what is next?

HIMSELF

Once it was the blessing, Now it is the Lord;

Once it was the feeling, Now it is His Word.

Once His gift I wanted, Now the Giver own;

Once I sought for healing, Now Himself alone.

Once 'twas painful trying, Now 'tis perfect trust;

Once a half salvation, Now the uttermost!

Once 'twas ceaseless holding, Now He holds me fast;

Once 'twas constant drifting, Now my anchor's cast.

Once 'twas busy planning, Now 'tis trustful prayer;

Once 'twas anxious caring, Now He has the care;

Once 'twas what I wanted, Now what Jesus says;

Once 'twas constant asking, Now 'tis ceaseless praise.

Once it was my working, His it hence shall be;

Once I tried to use Him, Now He uses me;

Once the power I wanted, Now the Mighty One;

Once for self I labored, Now for Him alone.

Once I hoped in Jesus, Now I know He's mine;

Once my lamps were dying, Now they brightly shine;

Once for death I waited, Now Him coming hail;

And my hopes are anchored Safe within the vail.

Albert B. Simpson

 After Surrender - Then What?

"I have finished the work which You have given Me to do"     John 17:4

  True surrender is not simply surrender of our external life but surrender of our will - and once that is done, surrender is complete. The greatest crisis we ever face is the surrender of our will. Yet God never forces a person's will into surrender, and He never begs. He patiently waits until that person willingly yields to Him. And once that battle has been fought, it never needs to be fought again.

  Surrender for Deliverance. "Come to Me…and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). It is only after we have begun to experience what salvation really means that we surrender our will to Jesus for rest. Whatever is causing us a sense of uncertainty is actually a call to our will - "Come to Me." And it is a voluntary coming.

  Surrender for Devotion. "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself..." (Matthew 16:24). The surrender here is of myself to Jesus, with His rest at the heart of my being. He says, "If you want to be My disciple, you must give up your right to yourself to Me." And once this is done, the remainder of your life will exhibit nothing but the evidence of this surrender, and you never need to be concerned again with what the future may hold for you. Whatever your circumstances may be, Jesus is totally sufficient (see 2 Corinthians 12:9 and Philippians 4:19).

  Surrender for Death. "…another will gird you…" (John 21:18; also see verse 19). Have you learned what it means to be girded for death? Beware of some surrender that you make to God in an ecstatic moment in your life, because you are apt to take it back again. True surrender is a matter of being "united together (with Jesus) in the likeness of His death" (Romans 6:5) until nothing ever appeals to you that did not appeal to Him.

  And after you surrender - then what? Your entire life should be characterized by an eagerness to maintain unbroken fellowship and oneness with God.

"My Utmost for His Highest" September 13

Additional resources

“Servanthood The Way to Greatness” 3 audio MI 156   1996 Dr. Charles Stanley

“Living Above Your Circumstances” Psalm 121 audio 10/6/96 Gearl Spicer

http://www.ficm.org

“Unconditional Surrender” audio MCO31 Dr. Charles Stanley

"Absolute Surrender" Andrew Murray

"My Utmost for His Highest" Oswald Chambers

Blackmon, Selma, editor. The Exchanged Life Ministry News.