I Submit! I Submit!

     Well, I’m back! Not that I’ve really been anywhere. It’s just been a very busy past few weeks. Now I’m ready to get back to a routine and maybe carve out some extra writing time.
     And, believe me, it’s none too soon! I’ve been feeling the Lord calling me to get my creative juices flowing again. I just wasn’t sure in what area exactly he wanted me to go. I love to write, but sometimes it’s hard to find the rights words to put the inspiration on paper. It also requires quiet time with just me and the Lord, with pen in hand. Around here, that’s not easy to find. I also dabble in cross-stitch, I like to take pictures, and I am attempting to learn to play the piano. Did I need to get back to that project I started so long ago? Did I need to push myself to learn to play a new song? Did I need to get my family together and do some family photos? Or maybe I needed to start on my thorough housecleaning again. (Neh, but I did find a nice housekeeping schedule I think I’m gonna try.)
     I think I’ll just stick with what I enjoy most - sharing with you when God reveals things to me. This past weekend I have gotten so many messages, and I will share those in time. Lately, though, I have been reading a lot of Bible devotions, stories in scripture, and blogs by some wonderfully encouraging women. And I have been blessed to hear some awesome Spirit-filled messages through different preachers.
     Today, as I was cleaning out my purse, I was led to go back through some notes I had taken during our summer revival. The evangelist kept asking, "Did you surrender? Or did you submit?" My first thought was that both words meant the same thing, so obviously I was missing his deeper meaning. I looked them up at dictionary.com. They both were defined as "giving oneself up to the power or authority of another." But ‘surrender’ added the words "on demand or under duress." Related words for ‘surrender’ were to give up. Synonyms for ‘submit’ were comply, bow, obey, agree.
     Now my brain starts turning this over, and I apply this to my meager understanding of the two words. When I think of the word ‘surrender,’ I think of one army surrendering to another army. They do not do this willingly. The weaker army is forced into a position where they have no choice but to go with the overpowering side. In their mind, this is a temporary situation. They are doing what is necessary for the time, but already they are thinking of ways to escape. As prisoners of war, their ultimate goal is to be set free.
     Moving on to ‘submit.’ That was a little harder to apply to everyday life. As a wife, I am to submit to my husband. That is not in a way of "doing what I’m told." It’s more of a way of allowing him to be the head of the home as God intended, and supporting him in that capacity. (I must admit I struggle with this one.) For those of you not experienced in the married life, let me put it another way. When you fill out an application for a job, you submit it to the employer. Or when you enter a craft or essay, etc. in a contest, you submit your entry for the judges to review. Once you hand it over to them, it’s out of your hands. Their decision is final, and you must accept it and agree with it.
     So, in that sense, I guess I can see where the evangelist was coming from. If I simply surrender to what God wants me to do, I am in a temporary position, looking for ways to get out of it, and just waiting for time to pass. But, if I submit to His will for my life, it is out of my control. I must accept the calling, agree with it, and do my best to fulfill that obligation. Not just for a time...but for all time. Or at least until He tells me to do something else.
     "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord..." 1 Colossians 3:23