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An aged man accidentally fell into the river rapids leading to a high, dangerous waterfall. Bystanders feared for his life. Miraculously, he came out unharmed, downstream at the bottom of the falls. Persons asked him how he managed to survive. "I accommodated myself to the water, not the water to me. Falling into the swirl, I came out with the swirl. This is how I survived."
The above Taoist story reminds us of a sane lesson. The lesson is that nonresistant surrender is key to a spiritually fulfilling life. No one asked us when we were born, “Okay, tell us what life you want to be given you.” Rather, we were plunged into this life, just like the man who fell into the river rapids.
No, I do not think anyone of us is here by mistake. We are here to learn lessons and prepare our souls to leave this earth plane, as well as to help prepare others for whatever God has for them after this brief lifespan. So, I assume in this writing that each of us has a purpose for being here and now; each of us is given a life. This life is in some sense a sharing in the same life as others, however, the life we each are given is a particular, unique version of life.
The contemplative life entails a continuing surrender to the Providence of Love. Again and again we re-surrender to the Spirit of Christ. We plunge back into the flow of the Creating One. We trust that we are called to cooperate with God in the shaping of our lives and outcomes that we often cannot, from our limited human viewpoint, discern. See, God is always doing more in our lives than we can see, at any one time.
However, surrendering to Divine Providence calls forth surrender to the life we are given, now. We may be having an arid time in our spiritual journey. We might think, “Something must be wrong with me.” Or, “God must be punishing me.” Rather, such times might be nothing other than what we are to be experiencing at the time. Okay, let us look at another situation. This situation is when everything in our spiritual walk seems to be going well. We seem to be bathed in the Presence of Christ. We might think, “Well, things are going better, now. All is well, again.” Or, “I am glad to be so close to God, again.”
Both the above situations are equally the life you are given. Therefore, each calls for a nonresistant surrender to the Providence of God.
Recall the words of the man in the Taoist story: “I accommodated myself to the water, not the water to me.” There is that nonresistance to the life you are given. “Falling into the swirl, I came out with the swirl.” There you have it. When we surrender to God, we allow the energy we are experiencing to be what it is. We aim to be nonjudgmental, avoiding getting trapped in either negativity or a self-adulation about what we are undergoing.
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Does this mean we do not try to change anything? We can change things. I am not writing about a passive capitulation, here. Passive capitulation is not the same as active surrender. And, in surrender, we find that through accepting our experience, the life we are given, now, we are better able to work with the situation and see changes arises very naturally.
The process of nonresistant surrender and its consequences are natural, built into the dynamics of creation as reflecting the Will of God. We do not have to think of it as extraordinary or supernatural. This is the way life works. Therefore, to walk in the Spirit, responsive to the life we are given, surrendering to Divine Providence, is nothing other than saying, “Here, now, Lord, may your will be done. I give all and myself into your Care.”
Spiritual Exercise
1. Can you recall a time when you saw a personal situation transformed only after you accepted it as it was, rather than trying to change it?
2. What is the difference between “surrender” and “giving up”?
3. Can you discern this process of nonresistant surrender in the Gospel? Where?
4. How does nonresistant surrender apply to relationships, churches, and groups?
5. What spiritual means do you engage to “re-surrender” to God’s will for your life?
6. Are you facing a situation that is calling you to this nonresistant surrender to Divine Providence? What in you might be resisting such surrender? What in you is encouraging you to this surrender?
Prayer
O Love, that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in Thee;
I give Thee back the life I owe,
That in Thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.
-George Matheson
OneLife Ministries is a pastoral outreach and nurture ministry of the First United Methodist Church, Fort Meade, FL. For Spiritual Direction, Pastoral Counseling, spirtual formation workshops, Christian meditation retreats, or more information about OneLife, call Rev. Dr. Brian K. Wilcox at 863-285-9059 or send a mail to briankwilcox@comcast.net .
Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors
The People of the
United Methodist Church
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