Surrendering Being to Let Go

In one of the addresses recorded in The Overcoming Life, Watchman Nee vividly describes what it means to surrender in terms of the Lord Jesus living our lives. The entire book is available online at:

http://www.ministrybooks.org/watchman-nee-books.cfm

This is from the section subtitled "Surrendering Being to Let Go":

"Brothers and sisters, what happens when we see the Lord's death for us on the cross, and what happens when we believe? We immediately stop trying to do good. As soon as we believe, we are saved. Similarly, when we see that the Lord has brought us to the cross and crucified us there, we will cease fighting and stop improving ourselves. Once we believe that the Lord is living within us and overcoming for us, we will stop our own work and allow God to rescue us. We will say, 'Lord, I will never improve, and I do not intend to improve. From now on I will not do anything, I will not manage anything, and I will not be concerned about anything. From now on I will let go, and problems will no longer be my problems.' Brothers and sisters, this is surrendering. This is letting go.

"Some have said that it is very difficult to let go. When temptation comes, they have to put up a fight, and when their temper rises up, they have to wrestle with it. When they resolve to stop doing something and fail, it only means that they make a stronger resolution next time. However, one more resolution only means one more failure, and one more promise only means one more broken promise. The more resolutions one makes, the more he fails. If the first resolution is not strong enough, the second resolution will not work even when it is stronger. Romans 7 describes this well: To will is present with us, but to work out the good is not (v. 18)! No promise that is made is appropriate because we have not let go. We are still managing our own affairs, and we cannot say that we are crucified with Christ and that it is no longer we who live. Dying is letting go, resigning. It is giving up our efforts to take control and ignoring it. When we are no longer able, God will become able. Hence, the first thing is letting go.

"There was a brother by the name of Lee in Tientsin who once asked me how he could resign and let go. He said that he could not resign or let go. What should he do? I asked what he did in his company, and he told me that he was the manager of the textile department. I asked, 'If the general manager of the company told you that you were no longer needed by the company the following month and that you were fired, what would you do?' He said that the only thing he could do would be to resign. Then I asked, 'Suppose the next month came, the new manager arrived, and you transferred everything to him. What would you do if a buyer came to you and asked, "Manager, what kind of new fabric do you have? What is its price? How much do you think this price will go up in two days?"' The brother answered, 'If it happened a few days before the new manager arrived, I would make some calculations and find out what the company had in stock and how much it needed to stock up. But if I had already transferred everything to the new manager, I would have nothing more to do. All I could do would be to watch others work.' This is letting go and surrendering. This is what it means to be crucified with Christ. We have to say to the Lord, 'I am not resigning because I am capable. I am resigning because I cannot stand it any longer. I am not capable of doing anything. I cannot manage anything any longer. This is why I have to resign. My temper is still present. My pride is still present. My stubbornness and jealousy are all still present. I can do nothing about them. I can only make a transfer and resign. I can only say that everything is in Your hand from now on.' However, when 'the buyers from the street' show up, we must not be alarmed. There are many 'buyers' who come every day to solicit business. All we have to do is commit everything to the Lord's hand. We do not have to care for or manage anything. This is the meaning of overcoming. This is the meaning of surrendering."