“The greatest hinderance to God’s blessing in your life is not others, it is yourself- your self-will, stubborn pride, and personal ambition. You cannot fulfill God’s purposes for your life while focusing on your own plans.”
-The Purpose Driven Life

“Surrender yourself to the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.” Psalm 37:7

It’s important to note that surrender is best demonstrated through obedience. One often confuses the word obedience as something taught to dogs to help them obey their masters. Often, we fail to realize that We are the ones that need to learn to obey. We’re taught obedience throughout our lives, although mostly as children- being obedient to our parents and elders. However, in the same way, we must be obedient to God and all He holds us to. Being obedient to God also entails listening to commands He tells us, as well as being obedient to wait upon him.

A dog does not instantly understand the command “Stay.” I can recall many failed attempts at teaching Autumn commands as a puppy. The command “stay” may be the most important command- It teaches the dog to not run toward the owner or towards another stimulus, and instead, remain motionless in its current location. I can imagine how frightening it must be for a dog to hear its master say “STAY” and then proceed to walk away! However, how long does the owner stay away for? I have never seen an owner command “STAY” to his or her dog, and then never return. The command is temporary, and the dog is often rewarded with a treat.

In the same way, we are the dog and God is the master. How many times does God command us to WAIT or STAY or SURRENDER to Him? We often fear this step of obedience- whether it remains waiting out a situation, or staying in a place of possibly confusion or unclarity. BUT GOD AND HIS CLARITY ARE NEVER FAR AWAY. If we are obedient to His commands, He will proceed in blessing us for our obedience to Him! Just as no good master leaves his dog waiting, our God is the best master that doesn’t leave his children alone.