Recently at church the worship band sang the song The Stand. They did it a little differently than the rest of the songs, because it seemed the Holy Spirit just pressed on Pastor Doug’s heart to keep praising Him with the chorus:
I’ll stand with arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the one who gave it all
I’ll stand my soul Lord to you surrendered
All I am is yours
I’ve really been feeling this song, because for one it takes me back to a time when I had a little 1 bedroom apartment. I was dating my then-future wife, and we were crazy about Jesus and the ridiculously undeserved amount of love he was showing us. We were drunk on the Holy Spirit, and were flooded with his blessings. I remember songs like this often playing in the background while we discussed our faith and our future together. It’s hard for me to describe just how secure it felt to know we were starting our lives out together on the only foundation that has the stability of a rock.
Now, 5 years later, that chorus also personally stands as a statement of commitment and surrender to my wife and my family. I’m nothing without Christ. I’m not special. I’m not that good. On my own I would just be an empty man with a hardened and corrupt heart. That doesn’t make for a very good spouse or parent. I know I can’t do life alone, so I need Jesus to lead me as a husband and as a father. I’ve found that it’s usually a lot easier to give into the world’s compromising belief systems rather than to surrender an area of my life to Christ. But I’m a man whose not playing around with the important things in my life. I’m sold out and surrendered to giving Jesus control of my marriage and my family.
So my commitment to you is that I’m going to stand in surrender to the one who loves you more than I ever can.