“Just Throw Your Hands in the Air!”

I am about to date my age.  You remember when the hype man or DJ tried to get everyone hyped at the party?  He would get on the mic and say, “Just throw your hands in the air and wave them like you just don’t care!”  To this day I still really don’t understand what that would look like if everyone did it together.  I would be interested in seeing that happen…Lol.  The point of the hype man was to get people getting excited and moving at the party.  Well, when I think about that encouraging action of throwing your hands in the air, I am not thinking about a party, I am thinking about surrendering.

Life has a way of causing you to surrender.  There are times when you have so much on you and the burden of the weight seems impossible to bear.  You do the best that you can to keep it together.  You fake it day by day just trying to see any light at the end of the tunnel.  You just want to be able to breath and exhale without something else happening.  How many of us are on the verge of surrendering?

The problem with “Throwing your hands in the Air” and surrendering is what are you surrendering to?

On one hand you can surrender to LIFE.  This is not good.  This is where you just give up, give in, throw in the towel and say “forget” it (I’m sure some of you have a more stern choice of words). This is where you have been consumed by the burden and you have no more fight left.  This is not a good place to be.  Most people don’t want to give up, but they are beat down by life and here is the thing: they are not to blame for it!  They are wonderful people who do what is right by the ones they are responsible to.  They work hard and do the best they can to live right, but LIFE has not been all that fair.

The other way to surrender and throw your hands in the air is to surrender to God.  For many this is uncomfortable because we need to have control.  We feel like we need to make the decisions and not be vulnerable or weak in who we are.  We are tough and we don’t want God to think that we can’t handle it.  BUT WE CAN’T!  I can’t tell you how many times I have tried to be tough for God only to find out that I am a wimp!  I can’t take it.  I break down when it gets too tough.  I want to run away and forward my mail to NOWHERE!  What gets me through the tough times is when I throw my hands up in the air and cry out, “Father, I stretch my hands to thee.  No other help I know!” 

God is there waiting to help us.  I almost said rescue us, but God doesn’t always take us out the fire…but he will make His presence known IN THE FIRE!  Let me encourage you with this:

”SOMETIMES YOU MUST HAVE A BREAKDOWN ON YOUR WAY TO A BREAKTHROUGH!”

Stop trying to be hard with God.  Surrender to Him.  Throw your hands in the air!  Lean on God.  Fall into the cradle of His arms.  Watch God catch you and hold you!  He is just that kind of God.

I know many people are hurting on the inside but smiling on the outside.  We are too busy to have a breakdown.  A breakdown doesn’t fit into our schedule right now.  I want to encourage somebody today and say, “Let it go and give it to God!”  We used to sing a hymn growing up that says, “I Surrender All”

The lyrics goes like this:

All to Jesus I surrender

All to Him I freely give

I will ever love and trust Him

In His presence daily live

All to Jesus I surrender

Humbly at His feet I bow

Worldly pleasures all forsaken

Take me Jesus take me now

I surrender all

I surrender all

All to Thee my blessed Saviour

I surrender all

Michael O. Oyedokun II