Watchman
Nee once told a story from his missionary days in China. The bathing
accommodations were quite rustic in the village where he lived, so most people went
for a daily dip in the river. On one occasion, a man from the village, who was
unable to swim, waded out too far, lost his footing and began sinking fast. Mr.
Nee motioned to one of the other men by the river, who was an excellent
swimmer, to go after the drowning man. To his astonishment, however, the man
did not move. He just stood there and watched the drowning man. Mr. Nee was
agitated, but the swimmer was calm and collected.
Meanwhile,
the voice of the drowning man grew fainter and more desperate. As the drowning
man went under for what looked like the last time, the swimmer hopped in and
was there by the drowning man in a flash. Both were soon safely on shore. After
the rescue, Mr. Nee chewed out the swimmer for waiting till the last moment to
rescue the drowning man. However, the response of the swimmer revealed that he
knew what he was doing. He told Watchman that if he had gone too soon, the
drowning man would have put a death grip on him and they would have both
drowned in the river. He then told Mr. Nee that a drowning man cannot be saved
until he is utterly exhausted and ceases to make the slightest effort to save
himself.[1]
Such is the case with our
salvation. When we stop fighting and wrestling, then the Lord can step in and
save us when we are yielded to Him. As painful as it may be, the Lord must let
us come to end of our own strength before we are ready to submit to His way.
Someone has said, “Surrender is when we come to an end of ourselves and find
that’s where God’s work begins.”
If ever there was on Old
Testament character who epitomized this picture it was Jacob—the schemer and
dreamer. In Genesis 32, on the banks of the Jabbock River, Jacob wrestled with
the Lord. The Bible says, “24 And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of
the day. 25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched
his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.
26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not
let you go unless you bless me.” 27 And he said to him, “What is your name?”
And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called
Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have
prevailed.”
This showdown proved to
Jacob that all along his true conflict has been with God. By crippling Jacob,
the Lord is pushing him to the end of himself. Jacob discovered that he’d spent
his life wrestling and resisting God’s will, and that the only way to victory
was through surrender.
Jacob’s fight with God reminded
of C.S. Lewis’ quote from Mere
Christianity, “Fallen man is not simply
an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down
his arms.”[2]
In a peculiar way, surrender to God is the act of winning by
losing. Surrender to God brings us to the end of ourselves so that we can
have a new beginning with God. In God’s economy, the values of the world are
completely reversed. The way up is down and the way to save your life is to
lose it. God uses our defeat as the turning point which He will use to lead us
to victory.
Are you fighting against God?
If you are then you are fighting against the One who wants to bless you and
your blessing will come only through brokenness (Matt. 5:4). -DM
[1]
Watchman Nee, The Normal Christian Life (Carol
Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 1977), 151-176.
[2]
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (San
Francisco: Harper One, 1952), 56.
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