give your head & hands a break

For the past few weeks, some friends & I have been reading through Isaiah (** text me if you wanna join !!! 3343009710). This book contains lots of prophecies foretold that we see come to fruition in the New Testament. Most of these are the fall of sinful nations. Two weeks ago, the Lord used Isaiah 9:9-10 to convict me of my selfish desire for control. Tonight’s message is short & sweet, but grasping the concept of surrender is crucial.

Isaiah 9:9-10 “…who say in pride and in arrogance of heart: ‘The bricks have fallen but we will build with dressed stones; the sycamores have been cut down, but we will put cedars in their place.’”

Instead of submitting to the Lord’s power & will for their lives, the Israelites felt the need to fix what was broken. When bricks fell, they built it back with stones. When sycamores fell they replaced them with cedars. As I’ve reflected on this verse, I’ve realized my own tendencies to try & repair things I find broken in my own life.

As a type 8 enneagram, I love control. LOVE IT. I put my head & hands into any situation that seems to take a turn for the worst. I have a hard time waiting on the Lord because I sometimes believe that my hands are more powerful than the Lord’s. One thing I’ve learned through several trials is that visible doesn’t mean valiant. Even though we can’t see the Lord’s physical hand from day to day, He is absolutely at work. Anything & everything that He touches is far more notable than anything I could accomplish, even on my best days.

1 Corinthians 1:25 “For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”

The first thing I wanna make note of in Isaiah 9:9-10 is the VERY ACT OF BUILDING.

As they stand in ashes, the Israelites see only brokenness. Their first response is to pull out the toolbox. Don’t we do the same thing, y’all? When something doesn’t go according to plan, we jump right into action. There is no pause for prayer, reflection, or waiting. Action always points toward belief. The act of rebuilding indicates that the Israelites belief that the Lord has perhaps made a mistake and needs someone to fix it. When I jump into action, I’m usually acknowledging that my plan is better than His. I don’t know what causes you to get your head and hands busy, but I think we both need a perspective check. Remind your soul that the Lord makes no mistakes & certainly doesn’t depend on us to correct anything. Because the Lord is omniscient, we can rest assured that nothing needs fixing. Even in the ashes, we can find beauty.

Next, let’s talk about the BUILDING SUPPLIES.

If you didn’t know, stones are more desirable than bricks, & a cedar tree is nicer than a sycamore. If I could put this situation into dialogue it’d probably sound something like this: “Lord, you wanna take everything from us? That’s ok because we can put it back together. In fact, we’ll make it even better than before.” Wow. How many times do I try to initiate restoration?! Way too often! It’s like I’m trying to prove my flesh is more reliable than His strength. It never is; these are futile attempts. Praise the Lord that He redeems everything!

Maybe surrender is a hard thing for you too. Please understand that I write from a place of vulnerability. I’m admitting that I don’t have everything figured out. The Lord calls us to DAILY take up our cross and follow him. That means that every single day, as soon as my alarm goes off, I’m fighting a new battle. I have to make a new decision each day to give up control to the Lord. Sometimes I surrender at 8am right when my alarm goes off. Sometimes, I am so unwilling to let go that it can take hours, days, or even weeks before I give my issue to the Lord. Let me assure you that keeping things from the Him only makes things harder. It can be scary to willingly hand over the reigns of your life to someone you can’t see, but once you truly believe that He is capable and sovereign, surrender becomes more natural.

I would love for this to be a two way conversation. Y’all feel free to comment below or even text me ways that you are learning to surrender. This is definitely a process, & I’d love to learn from each other! Reflect on these questions in your own time:

• What do I consider broken in my life?

• What bricks and sycamores am I replacing with stones and cedar?

• How have I seen the Lord bring restoration to these areas?

• What makes me quick to put my head and hands into a situation. Why do I feel the need to get involved?

• How can I start the process of surrendering to the Lord?