Surrender to God

Create a clean heart in me, O God, and renew in me an upright spirit we pray in psalm 51:12. The psalm is a cry from a heart of anguish, but one that knows all healing comes from God.

Augustine of Hippo makes note that we can wound ourselves, but we cannot heal ourselves. We can stab and wound our flesh whenever we want, but to heal it we look for a doctor; well, in the same way the soul is perfectly able to wound itself, but to heal the hurt it has caused, it implores the helping hand of God.

I have seen times when deep wounds make an individual angry at God, and that individual turns from God and seeks comfort elsewhere. I feel sad when I witness this, because I know that the individual is searching for comfort away from the true source of healing.

To be healed by God sometimes requires surrender. The more we clutch the hurt to ourselves, the greater the pain and anguish we feel. If we can surrender, if we can let go, we can spread our soul like eagle's wings, and fly above our pain.

Surrender implies many things. It may be accepting a situation without having the answers to my many questions. It may be letting go of guilt and and facing the reality of the human condition. Or it may mean realizing that God doesn't save me from death and disaster, but can help me find meaning in the pain.

Acceptance does not come easy. Some times we get comfort from staying angry with God. But we don't get healing. Sometimes we cannot let go of the pain. But clutching wounds only makes them fester. Sometimes it seems easier to stay in darkness than to turn toward light. But we shall never come out of our grief if we do not step forward.

If you know someone in pain and suffering, hold them in your heart and in your prayer. Hold them as you stand before the Divine Being. If they cannot seek comfort from the source, seek it for them.