A Life of Surrender is a Life of Happiness

This week I have been reading a book called The Surrender Experiment. It shares a story of a man that started paying attention to what the inner voice was guiding him to do, then he did it. He shares many seemingly miraculous stories of how things just began to magically happen in his life as he followed this inner guidance.

Last night, after I had been sitting in front of the television for awhile, I felt drawn to go outside. It was still 90 degrees, but as I stepped outside, there was a bit of a breeze blowing. I was led to sit in this beautiful space in my backyard and listen to this book mentioned above. As I sat listening, every now and then I would have an insight from that inner voice about an action I needed to take. Most were as small as sending a quick message. When an impression to do something would occur, I would go do whatever thing I had felt impressed to do and then go back to listening to my book. A few times I made an attempt to get up and go back inside, but each time I felt that inner voice say it wasn’t time yet. I would sit back down until finally about 9:30, it occurred to me that it was time to get up and get ready for bed. I did so and ended up having a wonderfully peaceful night of rest. In the past few weeks, this was one of the most peaceful nights I have experienced. 

I had an insight: Happiness is letting go, just surrendering and enjoying the ride of life–the highs, the lows, and everything in between.

What has that inner voice been trying to lead you to do?

I know it doesn’t always feel this way, but Heavenly Father really does know what is best for you, and he desires you to be happy. He is going to lead you down the best possible path for you.

Imagine that you have decided to really begin to trust Heavenly Father’s guidance, and you ask him what he wants from you. He reaches out his hand and says, “Come, follow me.” You are hesitant, but you have that momentary faith to put out your hand and say, “Lead me. Guide me. Help me find my path in this life.”

He takes your hand and begins to lead you. Your vision is such that you can only see a few feet in front of you, but you trust him and let him lead you. After walking a little bit, you come to a gate with cold steel bars. You think to yourself, “Oh my goodness! Heavenly Father is leading me into a prison.” You rip your hand from his grasp and instantly start screaming at the top of your lungs, “NO! NO! NO! DON’T MAKE ME GO IN THERE… I TRUSTED YOU!”

The loving father kneels down to your level, looks in your eyes, and says, “What is it my child?” 

Through sobs and screams, you are able to get out of your mouth, “I trusted you. I don’t want to be stuck in prison. I want to be free to live my life. I don’t care if you think this is the best path for me. Any path is better than this!” 

The loving father wipes away your tears and says, “My child, I know this may look like a prison, but if you will just trust me and walk with me a little farther, I will show you that this is truly a magical path. He stretches out his hand and lovingly beckons you to take it. You are scared, yet the love in his eyes makes you feel safe, so you take his hand again and walk forward with him. The first step feels hard, but each step you continue to take feels lighter, easier, and just right! After about 30 steps, you notice an object in front of you that is black, white, and oddly shaped. You take one step closer and realize that you are not in prison. It is the face of Mickey Mouse and you are in Disneyland.

That is how life works. When we truly begin to trust our Heavenly Father and walk the path that he has for us, it is not a prison. It is Disneyland. We may kick and scream thinking we are losing freedom or being sent down another path. However, once we realize how great it is, we may wish that we had allowed ourselves to be guided much earlier.

I really do know that we have a loving Heavenly Father that leads and guides our lives. I know the times that I have followed, even when I had no idea what I was doing, he has led me to extraordinary lessons, people, and experiences.

I think back to a time I felt like I was being put in prison. When I was a Sophomore in high school, my dad told me that I had to take choir for one year. At the time, singing was NOT my thing at all, nor did I have any desire to sing. To make matters worse, as a Sophomore you had to take men’s chorus and there weren’t any girls. I ranted and raved, but my dad held firm and I ended up taking choir. The funny thing was I loved it!

Looking back now with almost 20 years of hindsight, taking choir opened up COUNTLESS doors in my life! It led me to begin acting in musicals. I now love to sing songs and watch musicals! Not only did I take choir, I ended up taking private voice. This led me to be able to serve in a very special performing mission for my church almost ten years later. I performed in a few different plays almost every day for 3 ½  months in a city called Nauvoo that feels like home to me. Also, I performed for two summers in a little city called Council Bluffs, just across the river from Omaha, Nebraska. This experience led to someone accepting the gospel into their life, which is something I love to do. None of these would have happened if my dad hadn’t listened to his still small voice.

Another thing I didn’t originally want to do was be a cast member in the Hill Cumorah Pageant. It wasn’t necessarily that I didn’t want to participate, it was the fact that my friend had rented a beach house that same week. I would have rather been with him in California on the beach with girls than in the pageant. However, I quickly was able to feel the Spirit and that really good feeling. I ended up loving it– and even met some awesome girls! It was so much better than the beach house I had given up. I have now been in the pageant seven years and have loved each time. Not to mention, I have had countless incredible spiritual experiences in my life while there. My testimony and my faith was built on Cumorah’s Hill and wouldn’t be the same without it. 

I could write countless articles from each of these experiences, but want to emphasize they all came because my dad was able to follow the guidance he felt from the still small voice to help me. I feel so blessed to have a dad who encouraged me and listened to that voice!

Rarely will your life look like what you planned back in high school or college. Your life is meant to become so much more than you can imagine if you will surrender and listen to that inner voice.

I want to close this article by quoting “The Music of the Night” from The Phantom of the Opera. I’m going to slightly alter the first line.

Close your eyes and SURRENDER, to your inner voice

Purge your thoughts of the life you knew before

Close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar

And you’ll live as you’ve never lived before.

Surrender your life to the inner voice. It will lead you down roads of peace and joy, instead of chaos and confusion.

I know this sounds challenging, but I can’t remember a single experience that Heavenly Father lead me towards that I would ever take away from my life. However, I can tell you countless experiences and roads I have traveled on my own which haven’t worked out.

Trust and take time to listen to that inner voice. If you take three minutes to close your eyes and ask your inner voice a question, you will get fresh new thoughts and insight.

 A life of surrender is really not one of sacrifice, but one of eternal joy and happiness. 

Just start now, because it’s always better now than never! When you start, you make the impossible, possible! Remember You’re okay. Start doing what’s possible in Your life and you will create miracles!

-The “It’s Possible” Guy

Joseph

P.S. If this article has blessed your life, please share it! It may be just what someone else needs to hear, and they will thank you for it!