The Posture That Unlocks Heaven

There are moments in your walk with God that can’t be explained by talent, preparation, or even experience. They are moments where you KNOW, beyond a shadow of a doubt that Heaven stepped into your humanity and carried you to space beyond yourself. This past weekend at The Well, I experienced one of those moments.

            As I stood to minister, something was different. There was a grace that I had not walked in before. There was a confidence and a boldness that was not manufactured. There was an authority that was not forced. I found myself flowing in a way that I had not previously experienced, commanding the room, not because of my personality or my anointing/gifting, but because the presence of God had taken precedence over everything else. The atmosphere had to shift, hearts had to opened, and God moved. When I handed the mic to the next person, I knew one thing and that one thing was THAT WAS NOT ME. It was not the result of trying really hard or being able to perform. It was the fruit of something deeper. It was the fruit of my consecration and the result of a restored surrender.

SURRENDER ISN’T WEAKNESS, IT’S ALIGNMENT

            One of the greatest misconceptions in the body of Christ is that surrender is giving things up. Surrender is actually giving God full access. The blueprint for every believer starts with surrender because God can’t fully build what we refuse to give to Him. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) says “⁵Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding ⁶in all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight.” Notice it is surrender and then the promise of direction. Clarity follows consecration. We ask God for revelation while we are still trying to keep control. Revelation flows freely into hearts that are yielded.

RESTORED SURRENDER UNLOCKS FRESH GRACE

            James 4:6 (AMP) says “But He gives us more and more grace [through the power of the Holy Spirit to defy sin and live an obedient life that reflects both our faith and our gratitude for our salvation]. Therefore, it says, "God is opposed to the proud and haughty but [continually] gives [the gift of] grace to the humble [who turn away from self-righteousness]." Humility is not thinking less of yourself. It is thinking less of your own ability and becoming FULLY dependent on His. That is what I encountered this weekend. I was not operating from a place of striving, trying to prove anything, or performing. I simply yielded to the Holy Spirit and let God be God. In being yielded, He supplied a grace that I had not known before. Grace is more than the idea of forgiveness that comes to mind when we talk about grace. Grace is divine empowerment. It is Heaven enabling you to do what you could never do naturally. This is why Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NLT), “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” Sometimes the new level you have been praying for is waiting on a deeper surrender.

GOD WANTS MORE AVAILABILITY, NOT ABILITY

God chooses surrendered people over impressive people. All throughout scripture, we see God choose the least likely person because of their surrender. Every major move of God began with someone laying down their agenda. Surrender is a language of Heaven.

SURRENDER RESTORES REVERANCE

One of the biggest gifts of this season for me has been a renewed love for God, a deeper longing for His presence, and a reverence for Him that was not present before. There is a difference between loving God Himself and loving what He can do. It is easy for ministry to become familiar when it is a lifestyle. Prayer can be routine. Worship can be another thing on the to-do list. But there is a holy awe and reverence that awakens when your surrender is restored. An encounter with God should bring a response of reverence.

SURRENDER OPENS THE DOOR TO REVELATION

Another great thing that has came from this place of surrender is clarity. Questions I have carried for months now make sense. Things I have been praying about now have answers. Things that were confusing are now clear. Direction became sharper. The Holy Spirit speaks to surrendered hearts. Guidance requires you to be yielded. We pray for answers but resist the very thing that allows us to hear the answers and that is surrender. When surrender is restored, revelation follows.

NEW LEVELS ARE BUILT ON DEEPER YIELDING

People always want more influence, anointing, impact, and gifting but Heaven doesn’t measure elevation the way man does. God isn’t looking at how gifted an individual is. He is looking at how yielded and surrendered they are. The greater the surrender, the greater the capacity to be a glory carrier without taking the credit for it. This weekend showed me that every new level in God is preceded by a deeper yes to Him. It is not a louder yes or an emotional yes. It is the yes that says HE IS ENOUGH no matter how He chooses to use you. A heart postured like that is who He trusts with greater.

REFLECTION

Maybe you have been asking God to take you to a new level. Maybe you have been praying for greater clarity, a fresh anointing, or a deeper impact in the body of Christ or ministry. When surrender is restored, God can trust you with things that you couldn’t carry before because you are now more dependent on Him. The more we empty of ourselves, the more room there is for Christ to fill. Let’s not become so focused on being used by God that we neglect BEING WITH GOD. It is in His presence that surrender is restored, hearts are renewed, and we are transformed into who He has called us to be. Your next level begins with surrender.