I surrender all...or do I?

Often times, the Lord speaks to me through hymns. One such hymn is "I Surrender All" was written by Judson W. Van DeVenter after a five year struggle with the Lord. He was a successful art teacher and musician but he wanted to be a full-time evangelist. In 1896, he was conducting music for a church event when he finally gave his desires over to the Lord and surrendered to full-time evangelism. That is when the lyrics to the ever popular hymn came to be.

             All to Jesus I surrender,
             All to Him I freely give;
             I will ever love and trust Him,
             In His presence daily live.

Chorus:
              I surrender all,
              I surrender all,
              All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
              I surrender all.

              All to Jesus I surrender,
              Humbly at His feet I bow,
              Worldly pleasures all forsaken,
              Take me, Jesus, take me now.

Repeat Chorus

               All to Jesus I surrender,
               Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
               Let me feel the Holy Spirit, -
               Truly know that Thou art mine.

Repeat Chorus

                All to Jesus I surrender,
                Lord, I give myself to Thee;
                Fill me with Thy love and power,
                Let Thy blessing fall on me.

Repeat Chorus

These words have always spoken to me but more so since we surrendered to the ministry. We do not know where the Lord is going to send us, if we will be in danger, or how much support we will receive. That does not matter because we have surrendered our lives to the Lord for Him to do what He desires. Or have we? Yes, maybe we are willing to go wherever He wants us to go. Maybe we will give up a lot of the comforts this great land provides us. Maybe we will even go so far as to give our lives for the cause of the Gospel. But what about the day to day things? Like where we live, what car we drive, or what we wear.

Here is a tough one: what about what we eat or drink? I am referring specifically to my love of Dr. Pepper. I know they are not good for me but I am addicted. It is hard for me to admit that but most days, I feel that I need Dr. Pepper to function. Have I truly surrendered that addiction to the Lord? No! I have all kinds of rationalizations for why I "need" Dr. Pepper. I continue to drink at least one a day even though I know water would be so much better for me. I have recently been seeking the Lord's help in this area. I had to ask myself when my habit became a habit. The Lord revealed to me that it was when I was in college. I was not getting enough rest and I had more freedom being away from home. Part of my college fees went toward my meal plan which included $100 per month in Buff Bucks that I could use at the Burger King on campus. That I did! Every day on the way to class I would fill my 32 ounce WT mug to the brim with that cold, caffeinated, delicious liquid. I would sip on it throughout the morning and then refill it at lunch. If I ran out of Buff Bucks, I could not get my fill of soft drink and would have a headache and feel sluggish until my Buff Bucks were refilled. I went on this way for 3 1/2 years of school and it lasted until now. I would stop drinking Dr. Pepper for a time and then make the mistake of telling myself it was not that bad.

The Holy Spirit has been convicting me of holding on to something that is not good for my body which is a temple. Now I am ready to surrender. I know it will not be easy to do but I will pray daily (multiple times a day) that the Lord will help me to overcome this addiction. I am also blogging about it so that there is a sense of accountability. My prayer is that if you see me and I have a drink in my hand, it will be a bottle or cup of water (maybe an occasional cup of coffee). I can do this with the Lord's help and His alone. Philippians 4:13 says, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

 Thanks for allowing me to share one area that I am surrendering all to my Jesus. I am praying that the Lord will continue to show me things that I need to let go of so that I might better serve Him. Is there anything that you are still holding on to?