Joni Lamb - Surrender All: Your Answer to Living with Peace, Power, and Purpose

Contents

Foreword

J oni Lamb is a remarkable woman! Many of you know this from seeing her on television. But did you know that one of the remarkable things about her is that what you see, is what you get? The way Joni is on television is the way she is at home, at the grocery store, at the service station, and at a ball game, and that is one of her charms. She is genuineand she is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside.

I know because Ive been blessed to be married to her for twenty-five incredible years. And Im more in love with her today than ever. Though at times our journey has been difficult, Joni and I have both learned to surrender. And thats what drove Joni to write this book. You see, it wasnt Jonis idea to write a book, especially about herself. She was asked to do this. After praying, God spoke to her heart: Surrender.

That one word is truly the story of her life. Again, I know because I have been right there with her every step of the way. Joni and I are strong believers in destiny and purpose. If we werent, there wouldnt be a Daystar Television Network reaching millions of people around the world! We know that God does have a plan and a purpose for your life. You have only to surrender to Him to see His best plan fulfilled in your life.

In this book, Joni will give you many examples of how to surrenderexamples from her own life and the lives of the many others shes interviewed on television. (True to her nature, Joni doesnt keep the book just about herself, but allows many other wonderful people to be shared as well.) These are true life stories, and you will identify with many of them. You will laugh and cry and rejoiceand you will be inspired to apply many of the lessons learned to your own life. You also will want to share this book with family and friends and refer back to many of its stories again and again.

For now, sit back, get comfortable, grab a pillow, a cup of coffee, and some tissues and get ready to go on a ride of adventure as Joni Lamb leads you down the road of surrender. At the end of the road, you will find Gods best plan for youand you will not be disappointed!

Marcus D. Lamb, founder and president

Daystar Television Network

Dallas, Texas

Preface

I was six years old when I first became aware of Gods presence. My friend Laurie Pierce and I were playing at her house a few miles from mine in Greenville, South Carolina. We were in her wooded backyard, on the swing set. I dont remember what Laurie said or did that made me angry, but I responded by pushing my best friend off her swing. She fell hard and ran to the house crying. I stood there feeling guilty and afraid until Lauries mother came outside and knelt down beside me.

Did you push Laurie off the swing? she asked.

I stared at the ground where my toe was making little circles in the dirt.

Now, Joni, I wasnt out here to see what happened, but you know what happened. And there is someone else who also knows what happened because He sees everything, she said. So lets just pray and ask Him about it.

Immediately I experienced, for the very first time, an overwhelming sensation and realization of Gods presence. I comprehended His omnipresence and omniscience. And I grasped the fact that I was accountable to Him.

I did it, I said to Lauries motherthen promptly started crying, not so much in fear as in gratitude for the wonderful gift she had given me.

Lauries mother sat on one of the swings and pulled me into a gentle hug. She shared with me the story of Jesus, the Son of God. Best of all, she told me that He loved me. I grew up in a Christian family, so I had heard of Gods love before; but on that day, the truth of those words resonated in my young brain, my consciousness, and my soul.

Lauries mother must have sensed that something spiritual and profound had occurred. Lets pray and ask Jesus to forgive you, she said.

That prayer marked my first step in the lifelong process of surrendering in every aspect of my life to Jesus, the Son of God. I was instilled with a reverential fear of God. I realized that God loved me, but He was also aware of my every action and my every thought. I realized that if I did something hurtful, I not only disappointed Him, I hurt Him.

Surrendering control of my life to my Creator began as an act of reverence, but it resulted in exciting joy and wonderful comfort. From my earliest realization of Gods existence, to my full surrender to God at age twenty, to my continued walk with the Holy Spirit now as a middle-aged woman, I have placed my life in the Lords hands.

I share my story and the stories of others who have surrendered to the Lord in hopes that you will grasp the simple yet profound importance of surrendering your life to the One who created us all. Surrender doesnt guarantee a worry-free life. We are still faced with struggles and trials along with our daily victories and moments of great hope. My desire, most of all, is to help you find your place in a world full of chaos and human suffering. There is a place of peace, power, and purpose in this worldand it begins with one word. Surrender.

Introduction

T he desert surrounding the holy city of Jerusalem seems like a romantic place to get a call from God, but its not as glamorous as it sounds. The ground is hard and unforgiving, full of deep and deadly crevices, as if a giant creature had carved the land with massive fingernails to trap unsuspecting travelersmuch like the Path of Surrender we followed to obey that call. But here is where my husband, Marcus, and I began the journey that brought us through crevices deeper than any we saw in the Sinai Desert as we traveled through Egypt.

We had only been in the Bedouin region for a short time, when Marcus noticed something unusual: a satellite antenna poked up from the top of each tent in this dry and barren landscape. It seemed incongruous, this modern technology in so simple and harsh a land. Marcus realized that God had been planting a vision in his heart and mind, telling him that television is a tool for spreading the Lords teachings to a vast audienceanywhere in the world, day and night.

God had come up with a very tall order for us in the Holy Land. At that point, in March 1983, we were newly married. We were on the road constantly, preaching and ministering with revivals in twenty states. We knew nothing about operating a television station, Christian or otherwise. So when the Lord spoke to Marcus while he was standing on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem about moving to Montgomery, Alabama, he said three things to God.

1. Why would You ask me to stop doing something You were blessingevangelism!in order to go and build a Christian TV station?

2. Lord, I dont know how to build a Christian TV station.

3. Lord, I dont have a million dollars to build a Christian TV station!

You might think that God would respond with a lengthy dialogue to answer all those questions after giving Marcus such a tall order. But all He did was repeat the assignment: Go to Montgomery and build a Christian television station.

Marcus and I were excited by this, but we were also flustered and more than a little clueless about how to get started. We puzzled over it for several months. Then, in the fall of 1983, Marcus decided that we needed to seriously focus on it. He suggested that we go on a three-day fast to make sure we were clear on what the Lord wanted us to do.