Dangerous Surrender

I have changed the title of my blog to Dangerous Surrender. I am currently reading a book by Kay Warren called 'Dangerous Surrender -- What Happens When You Say Yes To God'. I am going to start writing about how the Holy Spirit speaks to my heart as I read this book.

Even though I have seen this book in the bookstore, this is not a book I would just happen to pick up and buy. After all, I like probably most people, don't like to surrender. It implies defeat. However, after decades of trying to do things my way, I have decided to at least open up my heart to reading and praying more about surrender.

The reason I am reading this book is because my good friend Linda Cicardo gave it to me this past weekend. I was intrigued by the book because Linda gave it to me and also because Kay is going to be speaking at our church in April.

When I got home, I started flipping through the comments. The first comment that jumped off the page was an endorsement that Rich Stearns of World Vision gave Kay Warren. Rich wrote, "Kay Warren, like it says in Robert Frost's famous poem, "took the road less traveled by, and that has made all the difference".

When I was in middle school and had to create a picture book on a poem, I chose the "Road Less Traveled". Also, lately God had been really laying that poem on my heart. So, this comment really resonated with me.

Next, I started reading the book over the last few days. Kay Warren and her husband Rick Warren (author of Purpose Driven Life) had plans for how they were going to spend their lives. Then one day, Kay was reading a news magazine about AIDS victims and she read a line that said there are 12 million orphaned in Africa due to AIDS. Actually that number surprised me as well. I know that it is a problem, but I had no idea it was that big.

Kay wrote in her book another statement that really resonated with me. She wrote that she cried out to God, "Why are you bothering me with this? There's nothing I can do about it. I'm just an ordinary person. What could one person do about such a gigantic problem?"

I think like Kay, we all feel sometimes that we are powerless do much of anything about a problem as big as AIDS or Hunger or injustice or .....

I wrote a couple a months ago on my blog about Mission Direct and a story that they use. (Mission Direct is who I go to the Dominican Republic with). The story is that a little boy and his mother were walking along the beach and there were thousands of Star fish that had washed up on the beach. The little boy started to throw the star fish back into the ocean. The mother told the boy, that there were just too many to help. The little boy told his Mom, "I made a difference to that one".

The problems of this world are overwhelming. However, God through his grace chooses to bless us to use us in being his hands and feet to help others if we allow him to.

Kay goes on to write that as soon as she surrendered to God's call to let her heart engage in the cause of helping people impacted by HIV/AIDS, her heart was shattered and she became disturbed.

She writes, "I believe that God is looking for some disturbed people. He is searching for men and women, students, and young adults who will allow him to disturb them by making them truly see the world in which we live -- so disturbed that they will be compelled to do something about what they see"

I want to close today's post with a song that Kay shared in the book. Kay was still struggling with being just an 'ordinary' person and feeling inadequate. One day she was having a pity party about this and God put the following song by Danniebelle Hall on the radio:

Ordinary People

Just ordinary people,
God uses ordinary people.
He chooses people just like me and you
Who are willing to do as He commands.
God uses people that will give Him all,
No matter how small your all may seem to you;
Because little becomes much as you place it in the Master's hand.
Oh, just like that little lad
Who gave Jesus all he had;
How the multitude was fed
With the fish and the loaves of bread.
What you have may not seem much,
But when you yield it to the touch
Of the Master's loving hand, yes,
Then you'll understand how your life could never be the same.