Surrender

We attended a concert of sorts at our church the other night that featured a visiting speaker and singer.  We enjoyed both his message and the music time.  One thing caught me up short in the moment.  We were singing the song, “I Surrender All.”  I attached a link to a YouTube video at the bottom—holy cow that took me longer than I expected.  There are many versions on YouTube, most much slower than I prefer.  The one I chose is closer to the tempo I like, but it is part of a longer clip and I didn’t watch the whole thing, so… there you go.

Anyhow, the singer at church was leading us all in this song and at one point asked what was the physical position of surrender.  He suggested that we assume the hands-up pose if we meant the words we were singing.  I understand the importance of conforming our bodies to what our hearts and spirits express, so the request was perfectly ‘kosher’ in my mind. 

The night before we had watched a James Bond movie.  I couldn’t help but picture certain scenes from the show after the song leader made that comment.  Especially in spy movies, we can see that there are times when strategy dictates a temporary surrender until an opportunity for escape presents itself. So, even though Mr. Bond raises his hands and allows for his own capture, you can see the wheels turning behind his eyes as he calculates his escape and plans to leave behind any destruction he can muster.

That got me to wondering…  Do I ever surrender with this double-mindedness to God?  When I conform my body into positions of worship, is my mind busy elsewhere?  I wonder how often I pray for Him to reveal wisdom to me while simultaneously figuring out how I am going to handle the situation my way.  I am going to have to remember the point to raising my hands or kneeling while spending time with our Lord, and pay close attention to be sure I am in unity with my own body.

‘I Surrender’ sung by Mercy Me