“… whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple” — Luke 14:33

While I was praying, I saw a group of worshipers whose hands were lifted to heaven as they passionately worshiped the Lord. As my spirit within me was saying, “Yes, Lord!” the Holy Spirit spoke to me, “Before their hands are raised in worship to Me, I would that they were raised in surrender to Me.” In response to God’s challenge, I replied, “Lord, what would You have me surrender?” His response was strong and startling, “I will accept nothing less than carte blanche. I require your life to be a blank check that I can fill in as I choose!”

Carte blanche was originally a French term referring to complete and unconditional military surrender. It literally means “blank paper,” representing a blank sheet upon which to write whatever one wishes, particularly one’s own terms for an agreement. Nowadays, carte blanche has a much wider meaning. It implies full discretionary power, free rein to choose whatever course of action you want, authority that needs no further authorization or approval by another. In other words, cart blanche means giving a “blank check” to someone else to get a job done no matter the cost.

If you have ever had a checking account, you know what a “blank check” is. You authorize a check by signing it, but leave the amount blank. A blank check can be a very dangerous thing. Someone can fill in any amount they want. It might be for all the money you have in your account … or more!

Truly surrendering our hearts to Jesus Christ is like making a “blank check” of our lives. We say, “God, You take my whole life. I will do whatever You want me to do. You are completely in charge from now on.” That is real faith … the only type of faith Jesus will accept. Our Lord and Savior gave himself in complete surrender to purchase us for God, and He will accept no less in return. The terms of discipleship are complete and absolute surrender: no conditions, no stipulations, and no limitations. He demands carte blanche, a blank check, with nothing held back.

Holding Some Back
The difficulty is that most Christians surrender only certain parts of their lives to God, but not others. Some believers surrender like the old Cheap Trick song Surrender: “Surrender, Surrender … but don’t give yourself away!” However, the Lord will not accept a partial surrender. We must give it all to Him. We must yield to Him all that we are … all that we could ever be on our own. Christianity is choosing to live an exchanged life. We surrender all we are, and we gain all that Christ has done for us. When you enter into this full surrender with God, you are handing Him the title deed to your life and putting everything in your life — all of your wants, all of your desires, and what you think you should be doing with your life — in His hands.

If we hold something back from the Lord, we are like Ananias and Sapphira (… and look how well things worked out for them). Whenever we want to keep control of an area of our lives, we are denying God’s Lordship over that area. We will soon discover we are trying to serve two masters — God and self. This will result in us being double-minded, which causes us to be unstable and unfruitful in all our ways.

Another problem when we resist complete surrender of everything to God is we partially handcuff Him being able to work in our lives. The Bible says “… with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:38). In other words, if we only give God 50% of our lives and our efforts, then He will only be able to operate in 50% of our lives. On the other hand, if we are willing to give God 100% of our lives and our efforts, then He, in turn, will have 100% access to work in our lives. It must be “our all for His all.”

Charting Our Own Course
Our heavenly Father wants complete and unconditional surrender from each and every one of us so He can guide our lives in the direction He wants them to go … the way He knows is best for us. This decision to let go to God and give Him the reins of our lives is one of the hardest choices for many of us to make. There is something inside each one of us that wants to control our own destinies — to call our own shots and chart our own course. Even if it is God Almighty himself they are serving, many Christians feel that if they make this full surrender to the Lord they will lose their freedom and identity. However, the Bible tells us that “… where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17). In other words, you will have much more freedom, liberty, and independence by serving God than you would if you serve yourself or someone else.

If we choose to run our own lives instead of turning the reins over to God, then we will not be embarking on the real path that God would like us to travel on. Keeping control won’t help us keep our identity; it will cause us to lose our destiny! We only fully discover our destiny when we are in the center of God’s perfect will for our lives. The only way to enter into that place is by giving God a blank check: surrendering our bodies, our souls, our spirits, our entire lives into the hands of God. There is no other way! Jesus Christ deserves our whole lives. With the Psalmist we must say, “But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in Your hand” (Psalm 31:14–15).

Who Is In The Driver’s Seat?
Most of us are not refusing to let the Lord help set the direction of our lives; we just have trouble giving it completely to Him. We want to run our lives like the bumper sticker, “God is my Co-Pilot.” I have always found that bumper sticker to be more sad than funny. No matter how well intentioned the sentiment, Jesus is not our co-pilot. Whenever we are in the driver’s seat of our lives, we have taken our lives out of God’s hands. Jesus is not meant to be just a spiritual “co-pilot” giving directions every now and then. He is meant to be in the driver’s seat at all times — in charge and setting the course. As believers, we are to die to self and live for Christ. Therefore, if you have died and Christ is living in you, He is not your co-pilot. Your joy should be to let Him set the course for your journey, and you can be certain He will take you where you are supposed to go. If you are still sitting at the steering wheel of your life, it is time to let Jesus take the driver’s seat.

The only way to truly “find” our lives is to give them away to God, to fully surrender them to the Lord and yield to His perfect will for what He wants to do with them. The only way to find true fulfillment, true happiness, and a true sense of approval and accomplishment is to live and operate in the center of God’s perfect will for our lives. This can only be done as we completely surrender every aspect of them to the Lord.

When we have yielded “self” to the Lord, all other interests and possessions in our lives will bear the marks of the Lord Jesus. The healthy spiritual life is not so much a procession of sacrifices as living a surrendered life — the all-inclusive surrender that embraces anything and everything that might follow. This is the secret of the Christian life, to give the Lord complete surrender.

Please pray with me: “Heavenly Father, I surrender my entire life completely into Your hands — all that I am … all of my thoughts, my hopes, and my dreams. I desire every day I live and every breath I breathe to be Yours. I give you the reins of my life and ask You to guide me into the center of Your perfect will. From this moment on, I give You carte blanche in my life to do as You know is best for me for all the days of my life. I will allow You to lead and guide my life in the direction You want it to go, and I will gladly, obediently follow. Take my life as a blank check and make out of it what You would have it be. Amen.”