Jeremy Lin, the Toronto Raptors point guard who is not shy about talking about his faith, recently shared his spiritual journey in an email sent to his digital prayer subscribers. In his message, the 30-year-old opened up about surrendering his life to God.

“Recently, I’ve really felt God forcing me to give up trying to control my life. I’ve always found it somewhat ironic and very difficult that as Christians, we are to simultaneously work with our full effort and surrender the results,” he admitted. “Personally, the more I work at something, the more I invest into something, the more I strive for something, the more I want the result to be what I want it to be.”

Lin explored the topic from a Biblical perspective, highlighting the story of Abraham and his son Isaac.

“ But just as (Abraham) waited 25 years for a son, (Isaac), God tested his heart and asked him to sacrifice his own son,” he wrote. “As the story goes, (Abraham) didn’t have to actually sacrifice (Isaac) in the end but God is always asking us to make Him our #1 priority, not our lives, dreams, relationships or wealth.”

According to Lin, God has humbled the basketball player to the point of surrender. In surrendering, he found joy.

“As God has slowly broken and humbled me to further surrender, I’ve begun to feel a deeper sense of joy and contentment in Christ, not contentment in circumstances. This is a lesson I’ve learned many many times in my life but my stubborn self loves re-learning the same lesson smh,” he admitted. “As I fail more, God humbles me more. As I am humbled more, I surrender more.”

In the process of surrendering the Raptors guard is allowing God to work through him.

“As I surrender more, I feel myself opening up more space in my heart and body for God to work through me,” he wrote. “And no better verse sums up our surrender than 2 Corinthians 12:9 — ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

 

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