Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.
Psalm 17:8
On January 27th, 2019, I became a father for the first time to twin boys, Joah and Jayken. I know it’s easy to make jokes about no sleep and tantrums and spitting up food, but you can combine all the negatives and it doesn’t even compare to the joy I get when they look at me and smile in the morning. Man I love being a dad. I actually remember the moment that I wanted to be a father.
At one church where I was the children’s pastor, I use to do a summer lock in for the elementary students. We’d do worship and prayer and then play games, have laser tag, watch movies, it was awesome. Of course when parents would show up at 7am to pick up their kids, naturally they’re exhausted. One little girl was still asleep when her mom came to take her home. Her mom asked if I would be willing to carry her to the car and I was happy to help. As soon as I picked her up, she immediately threw her arms around my neck and rested her head on my shoulder. That moment was when I knew I wanted to be a dad. This little girl felt so safe in my arms that she went right back to sleep without a care in the world.
So why am I talking about how great being a dad is when the title of this blog is I Give Up? Because that’s what the little girl did. She was so exhausted that all she wanted was for someone to help her get home and she trusted that I was going to help her get where she needed to go without hesitation. I’m sure you’ve had days where you were so exhausted with everything the world throws at you with work, school, family, friends, finances, health, or your two pet dachshunds who are so obsessed with coconut oil that they try to eat the entire jar every time you open it. Living life is exhausting and sometimes we want to just give up. The good news is that we can. Not give up as in quit, but give up as in surrender to God.
I’m sure you’ve been in a worship service where the worship pastor asks everyone to raise their hands and take a moment to surrender to God. Now to the best of my knowledge from all the TV I’ve watched, “Throw your hands up” usually means someone is pointing a gun at you and unless you say, “I Give Up!” it is not going to end well. Maybe you’ve been in a situation where surrendering to God felt like a threat. “Either surrender to God or face eternal Hell Fire and Damnation for Eternity.”
What people need to realize is that the fear of the Lord doesn’t mean to fear Him in the terrified definition of the word. We’re talking about a sense of awe and wonder of His majesty that can be overwhelming with how great mighty He is. But God doesn’t scare us into loving him. He’s not pointing a gun at you telling you to give up to Him or else. That’s not God. Romans 8:15 says, “The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”
When my dad would come home from a long trip, he didn’t have to threaten me to come and greet him. As soon as he opened the door, I would run with my arms raised for him to pick me up because I was so happy to see him and being held in his arms always made me feel safe. That is God. Life is going to do everything it can to wear you out until you can’t go on anymore. The good news is that Abba Father is waiting to help you. If you are willing to surrender to His will for your life, He will take you up in His arms and keep you safe and secure. All we have to do is give up. We have to give up our doubts, our fears, and our insecurities. We have to let it go and fully trust that God is for us and not against us. Then we can say, “Father, I give up myself completely to you.” Then you can rest in his arms knowing He will lead you home.
