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Hi friends,

We all want God to work through us.

We want His power.

His direction.

His strength.

His blessing on our homes, our families, our ministries, and our lives.

But sometimes we want the power without the surrender.

We want Pentecost without Calvary.

And Scripture shows us that God’s pattern is different.

Before resurrection came death.

Before the Spirit was poured out at Pentecost, Jesus went to the Cross.

Before power came surrender.

The pattern begins with Jesus

Philippians 2 shows us the humility and obedience of Christ.

Jesus willingly humbled Himself.

He surrendered His will.

He became obedient unto death — even the death of the Cross.

And because of that obedience, the Father highly exalted Him.

There is a pattern here:

Death before resurrection.

Surrender before power.

Calvary before Pentecost.

That pattern did not end with Jesus.

It becomes part of the Christian life too.

Calvary is the place of surrender

Philippians 2:12–13 (KJV) says:

“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”

Notice that Scripture does not tell us to work for our salvation.

Salvation is by grace through faith.

But once God has worked in us, He calls us to work out what He has already placed within us.

That means surrender.

Daily surrender.

Moment-by-moment surrender.

Letting God deal with:

  • our self-will,

  • our self-effort,

  • our desire for recognition,

  • our need for control.

Calvary is the place where self stops ruling.

Christ living through us

Galatians 2:20 (KJV) says:

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me…”

Before we can truly experience the Spirit’s power in our lives, the flesh has to stop demanding control.

That does not happen through trying harder.

It happens through surrender.

The Christian life is not lived by becoming stronger in ourselves.

It is lived by becoming more yielded to Christ.

God works in us before He works through us

Philippians 2:13 reminds us:

“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”

God works in us so that He can work through us.

That is such an important order.

Sometimes we are eager for God to use us publicly while resisting what He wants to change privately.

We pray:

“Lord, use me.”

But He may first say:

“Let Me change you.”

“Let Me humble you.”

“Let Me remove this pride.”

“Let Me teach you dependence.”

“Let Me work in your heart first.”

And that work is not punishment.

It is preparation.

Power came after surrender

Before Jesus ascended, He told His disciples in Luke 24:49 to wait until they were “endued with power from on high.”

Then in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit was poured out at Pentecost.

But Pentecost came after:

Calvary.

The burial.

The resurrection.

The ascension.

The power followed the Cross.

And that same principle speaks to us today.

We often want the results without the surrender.

The fruit without the dying.

The influence without the humility.

But God’s way is deeper.

The seed must die before it bears fruit

Jesus gave us a beautiful picture in John 12:24 (KJV):

“Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone…”

A seed has to go into the ground before it can produce fruit.

In the same way, there are areas of our lives where God may call us to die to self before He produces something greater through us.

That may happen in:

Motherhood.

Marriage.

Singleness.

Ministry.

Friendships.

Work.

Seasons of waiting.

Sometimes the thing that feels like loss is actually preparation for fruitfulness.

What cross are you carrying?

There may be something in your life right now that feels uncomfortable.

Something you would rather avoid.

A difficult season.

A humbling experience.

A responsibility you did not choose.

A prayer that has not been answered the way you hoped.

Could God be using that place of surrender to prepare you?

Not every hard thing is punishment.

Sometimes God uses the Cross-shaped places in our lives to loosen our grip on self and deepen our dependence on Him.

Why do we resist surrender?

Because surrender costs us something.

It means admitting we are not in control.

It means trusting God when we cannot see the outcome.

It means saying:

“Not my will, but Thine.”

And that is not always easy.

But the beautiful thing is this:

God never asks us to surrender alone.

Philippians reminds us that He is the One working in us.

What does Pentecost power look like today?

Sometimes we think spiritual power has to look dramatic.

But often it looks very ordinary.

It looks like:

  • patience with your children when you are exhausted,

  • grace in a difficult marriage,

  • courage when you are afraid,

  • faithfulness when no one notices,

  • forgiveness when you have been hurt,

  • peace in the middle of uncertainty.

That is the Holy Spirit working through a surrendered life.

Reflection

Take a quiet moment today and ask yourself:

  • Where is God asking me to surrender?

  • Am I asking Him to work through me while resisting what He wants to work in me?

  • What “cross” might God be using right now to prepare me for greater fruitfulness?

  • What would daily surrender look like in my life this week?

A Word of Encouragement

Friend, do not despise the places where God is asking you to surrender.

Calvary came before Pentecost.

The Cross came before the power.

The seed went into the ground before it produced fruit.

God may be doing some of His deepest work in the very place you are tempted to resist.

So surrender.

Trust Him.

Let Him work in you.

And then watch what He can do through you.

“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” — Philippians 2:13 (KJV)

This is Part 7 of our 12-week series, What It Means to Be Crucified with Christ. Join us next week for Part 8: The Way of Death.

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