I recently had a talk with an Army Ranger. I was asking him about the difference between Ranger training and the standard boot camp all military people go through. My conclusion was both trainings are designed to break a person down to the place, they are willing to listen to and obey commands from their superiors. When the breaking is done the only acceptable reply is, “Yes Sir!” The elite forces training is more difficult because the participants are stronger and it takes more to break them. Once they are at the end of their resources and surrender to the training, they are rebuilt to be a team of elite people who know what it is to follow orders.

This put all of life in a different perspective for me. Life is God’s boot camp. His goal is to bring each of us to a place of complete surrender. A place where every bit of our will is surrendered to His will.

I was always of the opinion that I was very weak-willed. What I’ve come to see is I have an immensely strong will but for most of my life, I was not willing to surrender my will fully to the Will of God. I would surrender parts of myself but always hold back a portion of my life that I would manage. Often those areas were in conflict with what I knew God wanted from me.

The struggles of life both common and those I brought on by my own poor choices have ultimately broken my will. For the first time in my nearly 62 years of life, I said “Uncle.” I have given up. Over these last nine months being willing to listen to everything God was telling me, surrendering everything I am and have, has put me in the rebuilding stage of useful living. In many ways I am sorry it took so long. What I see now is a new strength in my life. A very strong will bent toward doing the Will of God.

There is a sweetness in surrender. It really doesn’t matter what is happening in my world whether good or bad as long as I know I am seeking to know and do the will of God. I’ve known for a long time surrender is the key to everything valuable life has to offer. I’ve surrendered in major areas of my life in the past, just never the whole of my life.

The key to joy and peace in this life is to only worry yourself with two things. To seek God’s will and the power to carry it out. To stand before Him and say, “Yes Sir,” even before you know what He is asking of you.

blessings,

Scott