Powerful In Surrender

Powerful. That was the title of the song we flowed to at my last yoga class. Out of the blue, the studio director singled me out and asked, “In one word, tell us what makes you feel powerful.” (Hala revaleda ang show.)

That caught me by surprise so I didn’t quite know what to say. I thought about it for a while and the first thing that popped into my head was — “Joy”. I explained that when you have joy in your heart, the hurtful words that people say to or about you lose their power over you. People nodded in agreement and we proceeded with the rest of the class.

As we went through the sequence though, I felt somewhat unsatisfied with my answer. I pressed on through every pose and movement while contemplating the question the entire time. By the end, I was exhausted, out of breath, and drenched in sweat. Then, we were asked to assume Savasana or corpse pose to cool down.

As I rolled back on my mat, trying to relax each muscle and breathe slowly, my heart still pounding in my chest, I still wondered, ‘When have I ever felt powerful?’

All of a sudden, I felt God impressing on my heart the word I had been grasping for – SURRENDER. What? But that’s the opposite of powerful! Who feels powerful in surrender, which is synonymous with giving up, with defeat? Then He reminded me,

“Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

There, flat on my back, eyes closed, palms up, I understood. I recalled all the times in my life when I relied on my own strength/power, on my own understanding; all the times I struggled to hurdle life’s obstacles my own way… It was exhausting and, quite honestly, it beat me down more times than I can count. What made it even more difficult was having to put on a happy face every day like everything was just fine.

And then I remembered how I’ve been able to pull through all of it. It is never of my own willpower or strength but rather it is in complete surrender to God. When I fall on my knees, cast all my cares down at his feet and say, “Jesus, please help me. I can’t do this on my own,” He says…

“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10

I am powerful because my God is all-powerful. He doesn’t promise a life without trials and tribulations, but He’s promised that we never have to go through them alone. All we need to do is trust in Him.

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13

As I was reminded of God’s immense love and faithfulness, I felt tears of gratitude roll down the sides of my face and onto my mat.

The class was instructed to think of what made us feel powerful and use it in the flow. Well, I guess I just did.