0913 降服之後，然後又如何呢？
…你所託付我的事，我已成全了。 《約翰福音 17:4》
真正的降服不只是我們外在生活的降服，而是我們意志的降服——一旦做到了，降服就完成了。我們所面臨最大的危機乃是意志的降服；然而神從不強迫人的意志降服，祂也從不乞求。祂耐心地等待，直到那個人心甘情願地向祂屈服。一旦這場爭戰打完，就不再需要再打了。
得釋放的降服。「到我這裡來…我就使你們得安息。」（馬太福音 11:28）。只有當我們開始體驗救恩真正含義之後明白了，我們才會將自己的意志降服於耶穌，得着安息。任何導致我們不確定感受的，實際上都是對我們意志的呼召——「到我這裡來」，而且是自願的來。
獻身的降服。「若有人要跟從我，就當舍己…」（馬太福音16:24）。這裡的降服，是把我自己交給耶穌，懷着祂的安息在我本體的核心。祂說：「如果你想成為我的門徒，你必須將你自己的權利交給我。」一旦做到這一點，你的餘生將只展現出降服的證據，你永遠不需要再擔心未來會發生什麼。無論你的處境如何，耶穌都是完全足夠的（見哥林多後書 12:9 和腓立比書 4:19）。
至死的降服。 「…別人要把你束上…」（約翰福音 21:18；另見約翰福音 21:19）。你知道束緊至死，是什麼意思嗎？要警惕你在生命中欣喜若狂時刻向神的降服，因為你很容易再將它收回。真正的降服是「…在祂死的形狀上［與祂］聯合。」（羅馬書6:5），直到沒有什麼吸引祂的事物，那些也不吸引你。
在你降服後——然後又如何呢？你整個生命應該具有渴望保持與神不間斷團契和合一的特徵。
來自章伯斯的智慧
狂熱分子是一個將自己根深蒂固於無敵的無知之中的人。《力圖更佳戰鬥》
0913 After Surrender— Then What?
I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. —John 17:4
True surrender is not simply surrender of our external life but surrender of our will— and once that is done, surrender is complete. The greatest crisis we ever face is the surrender of our will. Yet God never forces a person’s will into surrender, and He never begs. He patiently waits until that person willingly yields to Him. And once that battle has been fought, it never needs to be fought again.
Surrender for Deliverance. “Come to Me…and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). It is only after we have begun to experience what salvation really means that we surrender our will to Jesus for rest. Whatever is causing us a sense of uncertainty is actually a call to our will— “Come to Me.” And it is a voluntary coming.
Surrender for Devotion. “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself…” (Matthew 16:24). The surrender here is of myself to Jesus, with His rest at the heart of my being. He says, “If you want to be My disciple, you must give up your right to yourself to Me.” And once this is done, the remainder of your life will exhibit nothing but the evidence of this surrender, and you never need to be concerned again with what the future may hold for you. Whatever your circumstances may be, Jesus is totally sufficient (see 2 Corinthians 12:9 and Philippians 4:19).
Surrender for Death. “…another will gird you…” (John 21:18; also see John 21:19). Have you learned what it means to be girded for death? Beware of some surrender that you make to God in an ecstatic moment in your life, because you are apt to take it back again. True surrender is a matter of being “united together [with Jesus] in the likeness of His death” (Romans 6:5) until nothing ever appeals to you that did not appeal to Him.
And after you surrender— then what? Your entire life should be characterized by an eagerness to maintain unbroken fellowship and oneness with God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
A fanatic is one who entrenches himself in invincible ignorance. Baffled to Fight Better, 59 R