Complete Surrender to the Will of the Lord
by Fred Schaeffer  (Written before I entered the Secular Franciscan Order)

“O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor are my eyes haughty; I busy not myself with great things, nor with things too sublime for me. Nay, rather, I have stilled and quieted my soul like a weaned child. Like a weaned child on its mother's lap, so is my soul within me. O Israel, hope in the Lord, both now and forever.” See Ps 131.

My sisters and brothers, in the 131st psalm I've just read, we assert that we are free from worldly ambition and that we're living a simple, childlike life in the Lord. A few weeks ago, we spoke to you about the little things, imperfections that caused Jesus’ pain on the cross just as big sins did. This message is meant as much for me as it is for you. We're all trying to learn how to surrender, to break down the walls of resistance, and although it's difficult, don't ever say "I can't", because that usually means "I won't." You don't know what you can do unless you try, and remember, you're not alone... Jesus is right there with you.

Do everything without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world, as you hold on to the word of life, so that my boast for the day of Christ may be that I did not run in vain or labor in vain (Philippians 2:14-16).

Jesus wants us to approach Him with the innocence of children. Sure, we say, but children can be innocent and glad because they don't carry the burden of adulthood and the complexities of life on their shoulders... but you see, my friends, if we offer our trials to Jesus and place our burdens at the foot of the Cross, and surrender totally to Jesus, then the complexities of life will no longer be a wall that separates us from our loving Master. Have you ever noticed that things go smoothly if we do this, but the minute we begin to doubt God's wisdom and try to reengineer the problem, then things go wrong? When we're asked to help a friend with a severe problem, always pray on it first. With discernment, listen to that inner voice that leads us along the way of the Lord, because if you don't, then our counseling would be ineffective, and we would probably do more harm than good. But if we listen to the Word of the Lord, we are brought closer to Jesus through the realization that He loves us deeply, and HE NEVER SAYS NO TO US, when we come to Him in supplication. Prayer works... If you ask anything of the Father in My Name it shall be given you...whatever you ask in My Name, I will do (John 16:23-24, 14:12-14). Prayer works if we believe:  The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way... (John 4:50-51). 

When you approach the Lord, with a simple petition "Jesus, please help me with this problem", or by asking a Prayer Team to pray with you for something, you've already taken that first step. You wouldn't ask Jesus' help if you didn't believe that He could help you. There is no problem so large and complex that Jesus cannot help. He always helps, maybe not in a quantity that is immediately evident, but He does help us. First, He helps us to overcome our doubts about the problem. When we surrender to Him totally, the problem will be resolved. If we have died with him, we shall also live with him; if we persevere, we shall also reign with him. But if we deny him, he will deny us. If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful for he cannot deny himself (2 Timothy 2:11-13). Jesus always remains faithful to us. You can always ask for His help and it will be lovingly provided.

What are imperfections? Well, that's difficult to answer in general because we are all unique in one way or another and most of us know where we're apt to go wrong, but to answer the question, give you an example: I'm a sloppy person because I procrastinate with cleaning. My clothes hamper is always overflowing, and the place has to be pretty bad before I haul the vacuum cleaner out of the closet. It's probably just as well that few ever visit me at home. I can't imagine that poor housekeeping is a sin in the church definition, but it's an imperfection that needs to be sorted out. First you need to identify the problem. A short examination of conscience before retiring is usually a good time to do that. In 2 Chronicles 29:16:  The priests entered the interior of the Lord's house to cleanse it; and whatever they found in the Lord's temple that was unclean they brought out to the court of the Lord's house, where the Levites took it from them and carried it out to the Kidron Valley. But apart from house cleaning, we have an obligation to keep our minds and soul clean. Sloppiness offends God because the Body of Christ is too magnificent to be sloppy! We are all members of the Body of Christ. I am the vine; you are the branches (John 15:5). As members of the Body of Christ, we are the Lord's temple and this temple must be cleansed of everything that offends the Lord, including mere imperfections which we are apt to overlook. When you work at this regularly through a daily spiritual renewal, the big problems will go away because we've surrendered to God the Father, through the redemption of His son on the Cross, with the fire of love that binds us together in the Holy Spirit.

When you feel God's grace at work as some of these imperfections lessen, and your prayer life increases in strength, that's when you must be especially careful about temptation. Sometimes at times when you're in intense prayer or meditation, such temptations appear as if out of nowhere often in the manner of impure thoughts. St. John of the Cross indicates this is normal; we cannot prevent these thoughts from occurring because in feeling joy and peace, all our senses come into play, not just the spiritual sense. The important thing is that you must be on guard so as not to give into such thoughts. I often catch myself daydreaming, even during Holy Mass. St. John of the Cross also says that this time will pass and when the soul matures in this spiritual relationship with Jesus there will come a time that we will be purged from these temptations and imperfections.

My sisters and brothers, it is not wise to rush one's advancement in this spiritual relationship with Jesus. Jesus will set the schedule, we merely obey. One of the biggest enemies of reverence is haste. Do take one step at a time! As you reexamine yourself to see where you might improve, read the Word of the Lord frequently, speak to Jesus many times during the day because He is your friend and allow Him to take charge of you. Surrender your will to Him totally. We promise you: you'll never find cause to regret it!

Note: I wrote this 28 years ago. Many things have changed. I am more 'gung-ho' than I was then, in the practice of our Faith, and especially in my love for God. I am no longer an active Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist. Since 1994 (in fact, later that same year) I was professed in the Secular Franciscan Order, and from 1996-2002, I was a member of two religious’ communities, which I left in 2002 for health reasons. The last community I was with could not afford my health costs as they had no insurance. This is not uncommon. During the time of being a religious, I have matured in my faith. Praise God!

© 1994. Fred S. Schaeffer, Vero Beach, FL

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