Waving the White Flag Before God
Wednesday, February 25, 2026
“Lord, I am Yours, Yours alone. All I am, and all I have, I devote to You. You have bought me with Your blood—let me spend myself and be spent in Your service. In life and in death let me be consecrated to You.” – C.H. Spurgeon
Who: Me, at age 26
What: One of the most monumental and transformative spiritual moments of my life
Where: a campground outside Williamsburg VA
When: September 1986
Now for the “How”…
Deanna and I were camping, sharing a two-man pup tent at a campground near Williamsburg where we were vacationing just 15 months after our wedding. I remember touring Colonial Williamsburg and visiting Busch Gardens while we were there, but my most vivid memory – and the event that changed the trajectory of my entire life – took place in that small campground on a cloudless night.
After doing some crossword puzzles by lantern light, it was time to turn in for the night. However, there was a restlessness in my spirit that I can’t begin to describe… not then and not now. All I could tell Deanna was “I need to talk to God” and so, I left our tent and started walking.
Eventually, I found an isolated place at the edge of the property far removed from the other campers. Peering up at the starlit sky, I poured out my heart to God.
“From this point forward, all I want is what you want for my life,” I told God. “Everything I am or ever hope to be, I surrender it all to you. May your will be done and not mine.”
With those simple words, I unconditionally surrendered to God’s plan for my life… and I meant ever last word. Nine months later, I was leading a Christian softball team into a prison in Leesburg NJ to play against the inmates and share the gospel. Eight men trusted Jesus as their Savior that day and I haven’t looked back since.
My friend, if you have never come to the place where you emptied yourself before God and asked Him to fill you to overflowing with Himself instead, I urge you to do so today. Trust me; you won’t regret it. On the contrary, you will be amazed at what God will do when you completely surrender to Him.
“…nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Luke 22:42b (NKJV)
- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President
