Surrender? Never!!!!
Nancy Leigh Demoss writes in her book, “Surrender: The Heart God Controls”, pages 17-18, 2003):

"On March 10, 1975, almost thirty years after the end of World War II, Lt. Hiroo Onoda finally handed over his rusty sword and became the last Japanese soldier to surrender.

Onoda had been sent to the tropical island of Lubang in the Philippines in 1944, with orders to conduct guerrilla warfare and prevent enemy attack on the island. When the war ended, Onoda refused to believe the messages announcing Japan’s surrender.

For twenty-nine years, long after all his fellow soldiers had either surrendered or been killed off, Onoda continued defending the island territory for the defeated Japanese army. He hid in the jungle, living off the land, stealing food and supplies from local citizens, evading one search party after another, and killing at least thirty nationals in the process. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent trying to locate the lone holdout and convince him that the war was over.Leaflets, newspapers, photographs, and letters from friends were dropped in the jungle; announcements were made over loudspeakers, begging Onoda to surrender.

Still he refused to give up his fight.

Some thirteen thousand men had been deployed in the effort before Onoda finally received a personal command from his former commander and was persuaded to give up the futile, solitary war he had waged for so many years.

In his autobiography entitled, “No Surrender: My Thirty-Year War”, Onoda describes the moment that the reality of what had transpired began to sink in:

I felt like a fool...What had I been doing for these years?...For the first time I really understood....This was the end. I pulled back the bolt on my rifle and unloaded the bullets...I eased off the pack that I always carried with me and laid the gun on top of it." (Demoss)

(end of quote)
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The war, for Onodo, was finally over.

But, yet, the war rages on for some of us.

And, that war is raging inside of us because, not unlike Hiroo Onoda, we fight and refuse to surrender. We rebel against God’s authority and we defiantly resist Him.

Why? Because “flesh” is hostile to submitting to God’s authority. The “flesh” attempts to do things its own way. And, the “flesh”, strong and powerful that it is, seeks to live without surrendering to God.

Surprisingly, the Sovereign Lord allows us, in our “flesh”, to do things our own way.

Why? He knows that, sooner or later, we will discover that we can’t accomplish anything of eternal significance in our “flesh”. And, He knows that we will find that, in our “flesh” and in our refusal to submit, we will fail miserably. He loves us too much to force Himself upon us. And, in His compassion and graciousness, He allows us to discover that when we surrender and submit, we find the pathway to freedom and deliverance from the stranglehold and putridness of the “flesh”.

And, so the war rages on ...and on ...and on. No surrender. No submission. No raising of the white flag. No throwing in of the towel. No laying down of the gun like Hiroo Onoda.

No! Absolutely not! The “flesh” shall fight to the end: “I can do it!”

And, so, while we refuse to surrender and refuse to submit, others around us have to endure the agony. Many residents on the island of Lubang suffered and many died at the hands of Hiroo Onoda because of his unwillingness to surrender. Likewise, our spouses, our family members, our friends, our co-workers, other believers, and our ministries, suffer the extreme pain and terrible consequences of our pride and our “flesh” and our refusal to surrender to the almighty hand of God.

Many have surrendered and found their freedom and their joy. Others have raised the white flag of surrender and found their peace.

But, no, not the “flesh”. It seeks to have its own way. It is stubborn, inflexible, immovable, and obstinate. The “flesh” is at war and will fight to the bitter end.

And so, the war rages on...and on...and on...and................................................................................................