The White Flag of Surrender

The commanding officer evaluates the battle: soldiers, supplies, reinforcements. He evaluates his strategic position and the battlefield. He evaluates the enemy. A message is sent and his superiors agree that the battle cannot be won. With certain defeat and unnecessary loss of life on the horizon, a white flag is raised: surrender.

It might not be a white flag, but surrender is also present in other circumstances. Disheartened competitors recognize that a score that cannot be matched. A runner lets up when he realizes he cannot pass the leader before reaching the finish line. A student is frustrated by an overbearing teacher. An unreasonable boss makes negotiations impossible.

Surrender is most often associated with defeat. It is disheartening. It is the realization that continued effort (fighting or competing or reasoning or negotiating) will not help. The will is crushed and strength is lost. Whether an enemy, a boss, a teacher, a parent, or a competitor; defeat is accepted. “I give up,” is the weak cry.

Those who follow Jesus surrender to God. Yet, something tells us that God is not the same as an opponent who stands against us. He desires our surrender, yet not to defeat us and not to lower our sense of personal value.

Years ago one of my children returned home from a competition where there was no scoreboard. I asked her how the game went. “We won!” she exclaimed. My wife shook her head, “No.” (One of the parents kept a tally.) My daughter saw no defeat because there was no visible standard that arbitrarily assigned a greater value to one team or individual over another.

God removes the arbitrary standard of victory set up in the minds of man. This was seen in the life of the Apostle Paul as he struggled with his thorn in the flesh. He prayed to God to remove his thorn in the flesh on three occasions. When he did not get help, he did not give up, yet he did surrender. He surrendered his will to God, understanding that God was working through him. He recognized that God’s strength worked through his weakness. God did not expect Paul to overcome this weakness, but rather to rely on Him. God expected faith, not personal achievement. So, in his weakness Paul surrendered and received the grace of God. (See 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.)

How can we surrender like Paul?

When confronted with difficulties, pray earnestly and frequently for God’s wisdom, God’s guidance, and God’s intervention. Then, live life, being alert to the opening and closing of doors of opportunity.

Do you have concerns over your job, an investment, college, children, retirement, your soul? Evaluate options and plan to the best of your ability. Ask God for insight and wisdom. Then, follow through with your plan. If God closes a door, give thanks for his gracious answer. (He may be protecting you.) If the door remains open, give thanks for his gracious answer.

Surrender to God first considers the advancement of His kingdom. It also involves a heart that relies on God to supply every need. Surrender is the giving up of one’s own will in submission to God’s will. Where uncertainties exist, kneel in prayer and trust that He will assist. You may be surprised to find freedom from worry when you completely surrender to God.

Raise a white flag of surrender to God’s will, and enjoy peace, security and victory in Him!

His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness. 

 —2 Peter 1:3

Mark Stinnett

March 30, 2025

Running with Her Back to the Lord

His family ran to the mountains for safety. He had been warned by God’s angels that Sodom was to be destroyed almost immediately. His two married daughters were with him; both husbands stayed behind. His name was lot and his wife was also with him...sort of. She was physically moving in the right direction, just as the Lord directed. Yet her heart was still in Sodom.

Perhaps she longed for friendships left behind, her neighborhood, or the shops in the town’s marketplace. Perhaps she longed for her house or the creature comforts she was forced to abandon. Perhaps she thought about their family’s wealth in money, animals, grain, and other belongings that would be forfeited.

Is it possible that she felt a degree of anger? 

Having been uprooted so abruptly and being forced to leave her life behind, she may have been angry at Lot, or even God. Whatever she felt, it was more than she could bear...she turned and looked back.

We remember Lot’s wife...pillar of salt.

When a person turns toward one thing, he must turn away from another. For Lot’s wife, turning toward Sodom meant turning away from her family, from safety, but more importantly, turning away from God himself.

Some Christians walk like Lot’s wife. They think they walk with the Lord. They intend to walk with the Lord. They appear to walk with the Lord. They appear to love fellow Christians. They do religious things and speak religious words. Yet, their hearts are facing a different direction. As a result they naturally walk with their backs to the Lord while facing their heart’s desire, their own personal Sodom.

Lot’s wife may illustrate people in general. A person’s head can turn this way or that, yet eventually, every individual will turn to face the object that is of greatest value in their life. It will become evident in the way that a person spends his time and money, in his conversation, in the places he goes, in his entertainment choices, and in the choices that influence the overall direction of his life. Ultimately, every individual will square his body and turn to directly face his god/God.

A Christian may reflect on his life by looking back from time to time. However, the one whose face is forever turned to Christ turns back only to reflect; only to learn, never to yearn.

To remain faithful to God we must individually make a conscious decision each day to set our gaze on Jesus. We do this by listening to the voice of our God in the scriptures. We do this by talking with Him in prayer, leaving our worries and weaknesses at His feet, and by asking for his assistance to fill the voids in our lives. We do this by associating with His people. We do this by keeping our future expectation (hope) in the forefront of our mind.

Facing our God, our simple and willful cry…

“I surrender all.”

Mark Stinnett
November 12, 2023

(Read the biblical account of Lot and his family and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19.)