We can agree to the terms of surrender when we are sin weary or at wits end. Surrender in those moments seems fairly easy. After all we have no strength after trying hard to battle against sin and when nothing seems to go right.
But is it truly a heart surrender or is it just resigning when all else fails?
Submission on the other hand is one of those prickly words that can get right under the skin.
It means bending the knee especially when you are in fight mode (versus flight mode - when you want to walk or run away - sometimes a passive form of surrender). Your work piles up leaving you frustrated and out of sorts. Your neighbors are too loud. You argue with your spouse. There is no rest and peace. Your soul is agitated with frustration and anger. The last thing you want to do is confess your wrong and bend the knee.
And then God calls you to submit.
Job 22:21 says, "Submit to God, and you will have peace; then things will go well for you." (NLT). In the original language the word submit means to be of use or service. In other words, when we submit to God we are ministering (becoming of use) to Him. Otherwise, if don't bend the knee we will harbor bitterness or anger that will serve no purpose of ministering to Him or to others.
That is why moment by moment submission is needed not only to resist the Devil but experience a deeper freedom from the things that threaten to bind us. The word for submission in James 4:7 means under God's arrangement. Submission must be first then resisting the Devil will follow.
Human effort can not bring any lasting victory against sin. Submission acknowledges that if there is any relief from the troubles we encounter our help is in God alone.
We have a promise of restoration when we submit to God. When we submit to Him our strong desire for justice and taking matters into our own hands - God will act on our behalf.
If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored: If you remove wickedness far from your tent (Job 22:23 NIV).
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