I learned to swim in Muskoka Lake, nestled in the cottage country of Ontario, Canada. My cousin set up a fishing line with foam duckies attached and looped it across two docks, the lake water in the middle. It was the boundary I couldn’t pass until he deemed me ready.
One of the first things my cousin ever taught me was how to float. He forced me to lean my entire body back, head tipped into the water, eyes gazing upwards. I had to trust he wouldn’t let me drown. I had to trust the water would hold me.
It’s one thing to learn to float as a child, when your body weight is light and easy. It’s another thing as an adult.
Floating is apparently supposed to come naturally, but it doesn’t feel that way for me. Hand me a raft, a pool float, or a tube and I’ll happily relax in a body of water all day. But to lean my body back in the water and trust I’ll stay on the surface? I don’t like it. I don’t like how my eyes have to remain on the sky, not on my surroundings. I don’t like how my mind starts imagining how I might sink. When I stop trusting that I can remain buoyant, I start thrashing in the water.
The key to floating is surrender. And the key to surrender is to relax.
I have surrendered a hundred different aspects of my life to Jesus. Or at least, I think I have. My “surrender” has often felt more like gritting my teeth and holding on tight with white knuckles, trying to hand it over to God, while I remain tense and grumpy. But what if true surrender has nothing to do with white knuckles and gritted teeth?
What if surrender looks a lot more like relaxing into an ocean of love? Like leaning your body back and simply floating…
The idea behind the word surrender implies putting your whole weight on someone or something. It requires letting go. It requires trust. We cannot let go of something without having someone we trust to hand it to.
In John 4, Jesus describes the Holy Spirit as Living Water, as a stream or a spring welling up within us. And then we see the same image in Revelation 22, a river of life flowing from the throne of God.
God’s love is like a river, ever flowing; or like an ocean, stretching as far as the eye can see. You are in the water. You are surrounded by the love of God. His love is on every side of you. His Spirit dwells within you. You don’t have to earn it or prove it or pursue it.
When Peter walked on water in Matthew 14, he was practicing this concept of surrender. He saw Jesus in front of him and he trusted Him. But as soon as Peter took his eyes off Jesus, as soon as he put in his own effort to remain afloat, he began to sink.
Psychologist David Benner says, “Our efforts to stay afloat — that is, our efforts to earn God’s love — are always counterproductive. We must simply open our spiritual eyes and see that we are in the river of God’s love and that our staying afloat and moving along are God’s responsibility. All we have to do is surrender.”
It turns out that you don’t have to do anything to float. You trust that the water will hold you. You lean back… and simply relax.
You and I are in the ocean of God’s love. There is nothing that can separate you from Him or His love for you. You are loved by God, and that is — and always will be — the truest thing about you. Whether you see it or not, His love is as close to you as the air you breathe and the skin on your body. His love is a river, and you are in the water.
I’m learning what surrender looks like. I’m learning how to trust. I’m learning that I don’t have to swim or tread water or do laps. The ocean of God’s love surrounds me.
Feel the warmth on your face and the water on your skin.
Tip your head, lean back… and float.
There are so many paradoxes in the Kingdom of God, and surrender is one of them. It feels passive, but it’s active…deliberate. I’m a fellow thrasher who continues to learn and re-learn the beauty of surrender. You’d think by now I’d stop fighting it :). A good word, Aliza <3.
Love to you, my friend!
Praise God!! This is just the encouragement that I needed this morning. Thank you
I am so thankful to hear this, Stephanie! Thank you
Surrender is a daily struggle for me. Thank you for the words of encouragement.
For me too Laurie 🙂
Surrendering is hard. At times I think I am doing just that and then it’s back to trying to control everything. As an older adult who does not swim or float, and is afraid of the water, I might have to embrace an image without water. 🙂
That sounds like a wonderful idea, Madeline! I hope God brings another image to mind specifically for you 🙂
Thank you \0/ Thank you \0/ Thank you\0/
Aliza you have no idea how your words today lifted me, calmed me, filled me…floated me
Thank you \0/
God bless your float sisters in Christ \0/
So grateful to hear this, Janet! Thank you
Dear Aliza……A very eye opening devotion today and very relatable to me. As a 4 year old child,back in the early 1950’s, my parents took me for swim lessons, but they had to go to work. What happened next was a very shattering experience to me. Some crazy man picked me up and threw me into the pool. I sunk to the bottom and did not know what to do. Someone else jumped in to save me; however, this affected me my whole life about water. So many friends in junior and senior high school tried to teach me how to swim.I just couldn’t do it and to this day and I am 77 years old, I do not swim and still fear the water. I have surrendered myself to God, but not by thinking about water or the river. I explained to Him why I felt that way about water and He told me not to think of that negative experience and so I look at it from a different perspective which works for me and God. It is wonderful to surrender and relax in his love. It took me quite awhile to do this, but I trust him explicitly and I have cast my fear to Jesus’s feet and he has given me more love and relaxation. My Holy Spirit also talks to me and is with me all the time and has also given me His support. The facility where I live, so many are churchgoers and by their words “Believers”, but they don’t know who the Holy Spirit is and never speak of Him, yet He is my rock and I am facing so many difficult situations and have nobody else. My husband has violent dementia and tried to kill me. Had to sell our house of 40 years. Very emotional. My 1 son told me I was a liar and there was nothing wrong with his father except old age, yet he had not even seen us for almost a year so he couldn’t know. He called me and told me he no longer considered me his mother, but a liar and I could never see my 1 grandson who was 12 at the time every again or talk to him. It is 2 years now and no communication with him or his grandson. There is much more but I will not bore you. Aliza……Thank you for this wonderful devotion and your story. It will certainly help me. My prayers and thoughts go to you for sharing……….Betsy Basile
Praying for you Betsy. I believe you.
Praying for you right now, Betsy!
Hello dear friend. I also never learned to float as a child. My ability to trust had already been lost. We have similar family relationships. Very abusive and distressing. Thank you for your support here. I will be taking this to God. It’s a learning curve for me after being emotionally rejected by parents to even consider taking my needs to God…
What a great analogy between floating and surrendering to God!
Thank you for sharing. It will encourage others so I shared it on Twitter and Pinterest!
Sending you end-of-summer JOY!
Lisa
Thank you so much, Lisa!
Aliza, what a beautiful devotional. God has used the word picture of a river in my life – sometimes I know that I am just being carried where he wants me to go, and other times I struggle. Right now I am struggling to surrender – thank you for this timely reminder that He will buoy me up.
I love that, Marsha – thinking of how Jesus can carry us along in that current is such a beautiful image. Thank you!
This is so relatable, thank you for sharing and shedding light on this struggle of complete surrender, it is something I wrestle with every day, even knowing how much I am loved by God and how powerful He is. This was an awesome analogy and truly touched my heart, the freedom that he offers when you completely surrender, there is NO better place to!! Thank you and God Bless You!!!
Hi Aliza,
Very lovely post; the imagery is beautiful! I believe that trusting God completely is one of the most common and difficult lessons for Christians. Fortunately, we have His Word to keep reminding and reinforcing how we can keep giving our trust back to Him and letting go.
Enjoy this sunny, weekend. Sandy
Each day is different, and today I am so stressed by insignificant things. Your message brought me directly to let things go and surrender to Jesus. Before finishing to read the text, God’s peace filled my heart. I’m so grateful for His unfailing love!
Aliza,
Love the analogy of God’s love being an ocean. Just spent a week at the beach enjoying & marveling at the ocean. It is wide & deep with waves that come just so far. That is my vision of God’s love for me. We all have to relax & trust that God has our best interests at hand. After all Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you”, declares the Lord. “Plans to prosper you and not for harm. To give you a hope & a future.” His plans are always far better than ours.
Blessings 🙂