The surrender series is the first of many Christian series I’ll be trying by the grace of God to cover on my blog, and I believe that by God’s infinite grace, He blesses and teaches all of us through this series🙏

I was listening to a sermon recently about surrendering, and I heard something that stuck and wrote down this statement:

“Saying yes to Jesus involves letting something go and giving up a lifestyle. It is reorienting your life around Him. Jesus is our first pursuit, not a backup plan.”

That statement epitomizes surrender, and that is where I got the inspiration for this blog post.

I initially wanted to make this just one post, but I felt moved in my heart to make it a series.

One of the reasons I decided to make it a series is that there is so much about just this one word, especially to a Christian seeking perfection in Christ. It is one of the most important aspects of our Christian walk, and you can't claim to be a Christian without actually surrendering your all to Jesus.

The other reason is that surrender is not just a one-day activity; it isn’t a program, it’s a lifestyle. We spend our whole lives surrendering to Jesus, and that is the life of a Christian in a nutshell!

Today, we’ll talk about just one verse, which I believe is one of the most important statements Jesus made to His disciples. This is because this word didn’t just have an immediate impact, but it ages like fine wine and transcends generations, speaking to all of us. This statement was documented by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, but today, we’ll be looking at Luke’s version.

Luke 9:23 (KJV):

“And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”

This message is so powerful that we’ll look at it using another version. MSG version reads:

Luke 9:23 (MSG):

“Then he told them what they could expect for themselves: ‘Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat—I am. Please don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how.’”

‘… let me lead… ’ 🙏

The power of this verse in our Christian lives is so strong that I can spend my entire time speaking about this.

So, let's unpack it. May the Holy Spirit grant you understanding, Amen.

‘And he said to them all, if any man will come after me …’ Jesus uses ‘if’, a conditional word. It isn’t mandatory to follow Christ, but it's necessary. So, do you want to follow Christ? Do you want to spend eternity in heaven? Good! This is for you.

As Christians, we spend all our lives trying to follow Jesus. Reading and trying to obey His word, praying and fasting, going to church and serving, and obeying the great commission. That is all good and wonderful, but Jesus is saying that if you truly want to follow me, surrender! The concept of surrender covers all these aspects of our lives!

What does surrender even mean? Let me paint a mental picture.

Imagine a patient suffering from a disease goes to a surgeon for an operation. The surgeon then explains that the surgery has a 50-50 survival chance! The patient then decides to go through with it. On the day of the surgery, before the operation, the patient looks at the doctor and says, ‘Hey doc, I trust you.’

That patient has just shown two things. First, faith (a series is cooking by God’s grace), then surrender.

As he is lifeless under an anesthetic, the doctor can do anything he wants. If he wants to cut out his heart, he can. The patient just surrendered his life to the doctor and said Do with it as you please. That’s what Jesus is asking us to do!

Or imagine a parent teaching their child how to drive for the first time, leaving the steering wheel, or going to sleep in the car. That is surrender. You have no idea where you are being driven to, or if you’ll make it out alive, but you still let go. Our Lord Jesus wants us to do the same with Him, ‘Let Go’, but what He asks us for is one of the reasons many people run from Christianity, and why many Christians find it hard to remain strong in the faith.

‘… let him deny himself …’

This is the most powerful phrase for me in this entire verse. To surrender to Jesus means to deny yourself. Let's just spend time here.

Jesus is asking us to deny ourselves. What does that mean? We want to follow Him? Therefore, we have to sacrifice, and we have to do so daily! He is telling us that we should forgo some things, let some connections go, let some pleasures go, let some desires go, let some dreams go. Deny!

What pleases us? Deny it for Christ. What used to make our flesh happy? Deny it for Christ. Those carnal conversations, earthly music, influencers, hobbies; let them all go for Christ!

That thing you love doing, you stop because of Jesus. That sin that pleases your flesh, you stop because you love Jesus. You leave what you love for someone you love more.

Matthew 10:37 (KJV):

“He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”

Jesus isn’t telling us not to love our parents, but He is saying, when you meet a crossroad in life, do you seek to please Him or your parents if their wish is contrary to His? He is asking us who we meet first when faced with a situation. Who do we credit for our provision?

This logic doesn’t only apply to your parents. You want to make a decision, do you ask God in prayer and seek an answer through scripture, or do you ask that friend who isn't a Christian or that trend?

Let me ask a question? If I scroll through your fyp on TikTok or YouTube, will I find a Christian channel? If I look at your socials, are they in any way linked to Christ? These are signs of someone living for Christ, and that is my definition of surrender.

Live for Him, through Him, by His word!

“… Please don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how.” Jesus is telling us we should not run from suffering. Well, who brought up suffering? Why is Jesus, the Prince of Peace, telling us we should not run from suffering?

KJV says:

“… take up his cross daily …”

What does this mean? Suffering, cross, why is all of this important? That is because the life of a Christian here on earth is going to be riddled with persecution, temptation, and tests! The metaphorical cross refers to the burden of the trials and the hatred a true Christian carries. The sufferings and temptations are all part of our lives.

Take home:

I say I can’t; surrender says God can

I say it costs too much; surrender says He’s worth it

I say this hurts; surrender says this heals

I say not now; surrender says His will not mine

Surrender is not a moment—it’s a lifestyle.
Surrender is not weakness—it’s strength in Christ.
Surrender is not loss—it’s gain of eternal life.

I’ll end this post here. I hope that God’s word has been spoken, not mine, and His will done, not mine. I pray that we all practice surrendering daily. By His Grace🙏🙏