Contentment and JOY

I was talking with a friend this morning about surrender and it got me to thinking... The older I get and the longer I walk with the Lord the more I have come to realize, that most of life is a repeated surge of waiting and surrender.

I can look back and realize I've always been waiting for something...when I was first married and we were living in an apartment; I was waiting for the day we would start a family and own a home. When our kids were little and in diapers; I was waiting and dreaming of what we would do with that extra money when they were potty trained. As the children got older I was waiting for a time when I would go back to work again what that might look like. And still even today, as an empty nester nearing our golden years we wait to see what God has in store for us.

Waiting...we don't like it, at least I don't

So what do we do in the mean time....in the waiting?

And is there a connection between the blessed life, this "life to the full" (John 10:10) and the secret that Paul had discovered to being content (Philippians 4:11-13)?
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I think there is...and I think it comes in the form of surrender....another word we don't like

Surrender, to what? To whom?

To God and His purposes and plans for my life. It's letting go of my timeline, my ideas of what life "should" look like, and ultimately letting go of the supposed control I think I have.

In that simple (and sometimes excruciating) act I can rest....rest in the Sovereignty of a God who is fully in control of all things, is fully in control of my life and knows what is best for me. I can trust my Father in Heaven and lay down my will and entrust my future to Him.
This is the secret to contentment and joy...