We negotiate a lot of things in our lives.  We negotiate when buying a car or house.  We negotiate salaries with our jobs and contract deals.  We even negotiate with the family when trying to decide where to go eat or what to eat (This is a non-stop negotiation in our house).  To put it plainly, there is negotiating in all areas of life when trying to make decisions and commitments and trying to get the best terms and outcomes for us.  Another area that people often try to negotiate is their faith and there surrender to and trusting of God.  I have been guilty of this too.  Making terms like I will trust you but I really need this or that to happen.   We may even get angry with Him if things just don’t go the way we want it go.  Even if when we sin, we often just can’t let go and let God be God.

The simple fact is that we cannot negotiate our surrender to Him.  We cannot be partially committed in our faith and only trust God on our terms.  It does not work that way.  When we are broken, the biggest thing we need to just to let go and let God love us as He does and trust Him fully.  He is after everyone of our hearts and loves each one of us.  He loved us so much that he put on a robe of flesh and became fully man invading enemy territory.  Lived the life that man was meant to live in Christ, and suffered and died for our sins and salvation and was raised to life to open a doorway to Father through Him.  That’s love beyond any comparison.

This past weekend, we had a baseball coaches clinic at my church.  My pastor is a former Major League pitcher and brought in Royals Manager, Ned Yost, Hall of Famer, John Smoltz, and former MVP Terry Pendleton.  It was awesome to hear their insights about baseball and coaching tips and above all hearing them in their faith in Jesus Christ.  Ned Yost shared something big about his faith in where he had not fully surrendered and then reached a point where God just told him to let go and trust Him.  A life changing moment for this man and if you follow baseball, you know the Royals did this past year getting to the World Series.

It’s that simple though folks and I even needed to hear this, because I even find myself at times trying to set terms in my surrender.  Just let it go.  Trust God and know that He has a plan for each and every one of us.  He loves us beyond all measure and even when we stray away pursuing things of this world that don’t matter, He is still there pursuing and waiting for us.  He is after each of our hearts.  Don’t try to negotiate your faith and surrender to God.  It just does not work that way.  It’s a life changing feeling and one that’s hit me as well.  If you just trust God, love God, and let go, you can live free, come fully alive and everything will begin to play out according to His decided will and you will be able to discover more and more about His will and calling for your life.