Archives by: Gary Hoag

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 1 Peter 5:6

“Pray always in readiness to surrender, and you will receive from it great peace and great rewards, even when I confer on you the grace of immolation, of repentance, and of love. Then what does suffering matter? It seems impossible to you? Close your eyes and say with all your soul, “Jesus, you take care of it.” Do not be afraid, I will take care of things and you will bless my name by humbling yourself. A thousand prayers cannot equal one single act of surrender, remember this well. There is no novena more effective than this.

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!”

Day 9 of 9 of The Surrender Novena by Dolindo Ruotolo (1882-1970).

What a journey! Nine days.

I’ve learned a new centering prayer that fills me with great peace and great rewards: “O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!” I hope it has been a blessing to you.

It’s taught me that the way of humility is the way of peace, the way of surrender is the way of reward. Twice it took me to the peacefulness of fly fishing. That’s ironic as it was a fly fishing friend who recommended the Novena.

What next? Rest then ready yourself. For what? Ash Wednesday and Lent are fast approaching this week.

If you have not read my free devotional, Lent Companion, download it here from the GTP website. It will guide you through the 40 fasting days and 7 feast days leading up to Easter. It’s a time for growing in fasting, praying, and giving.

For now, simply surrender and know that your most generous days will be ahead of you.

How do I know this? The “great peace and great rewards” you receive through surrender are not just for you to enjoy. You get to share them widely and freely.

O Jesus, we surrender ourselves to you, take care of everything!

Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” John 7:38

“Close your eyes and let yourself be carried away on the flowing current of my grace; close your eyes and do not think of the present, turning your thoughts away from the future just as you would from temptation. Repose in me, believing in my goodness, and I promise you by my love that if you say, “You take care of it,” I will take care of it all; I will console you, liberate you and guide you.

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!”

Day 8 of 9 of The Surrender Novena by Dolindo Ruotolo (1882-1970).

As a fly fisherman, this one touched me deeply. I can picture casting a dry fly. Watching it drop, and then letting it be carried by the current.

Then Ruotolo inspires me to believe in God’s goodness, His generosity, to care for everything.

At that point, when we do this, like a seasoned angler knows He will see a rise and hook a nice trout, we find consolation and liberation.

We find the guidance we need for today with no fear of tomorrow because there is no tomorrow.

Surrender paves the way for peace and joy, generosity and abundance, freedom and life. It shows us that trusting Jesus to take care of everything is the only way to live.

O Jesus, we surrender ourselves to you, take care of everything!

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. Romans 12:3

I perform miracles in proportion to your full surrender to me and to your not thinking of yourselves. I sow treasure troves of graces when you are in the deepest poverty. No person of reason, no thinker, has ever performed miracles, not even among the saints. He does divine works whosoever surrenders to God. So don’t think about it any more, because your mind is acute and for you it is very hard to see evil and to trust in me and to not think of yourself. Do this for all your needs, do this, all of you, and you will see great continual silent miracles. I will take care of things, I promise this to you.

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!

Day 7 of 9 of The Surrender Novena by Dolindo Ruotolo (1882-1970).

This reading ministered to my soul.

I located much-needed troves of graces when I read it yesterday. Let me explain. The Spirit reminded me after reading and re-reading this that the place of deepest poverty is a place of need and helplessness.

Too often I find myself in that place. Jesus graciously reminded me that I am there by my own choosing. Ouch! The proportion idea changes everything. God forgive me for thinking to much about myself.

Sit in the implications of this. He cares about delivering us from our our deepest poverty more than we do. When we let him sort impossible situations we experience the continual silent miracles.

O Jesus, we surrender ourselves to you, take care of everything!

You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that He jealously longs for the spirit He has caused to dwell in us? But He gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:4-7

“You are sleepless; you want to judge everything, direct everything and see to everything and you surrender to human strength, or worse—to men themselves, trusting in their intervention—this is what hinders my words and my views. Oh, how much I wish from you this surrender, to help you; and how I suffer when I see you so agitated! Satan tries to do exactly this: to agitate you and to remove you from my protection and to throw you into the jaws of human initiative. So, trust only in me, rest in me, surrender to me in everything.

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!

Day 6 of 9 of The Surrender Novena by Dolindo Ruotolo (1882-1970).

James, the half-brother of Jesus and head of the church in Jerusalem exhorts us to avoid friendship with the world. Or as Ruotolo describes it, trusting in human intervention and initiative.

This relates to generosity because our whole construct for giving must be rooted in trust, rest, and surrender, and not sleeplessly trying to judge and direct everything.

When our lives exhibit this surrender, believing that Jesus can and will take care of everything, we avoid Satan’s distractions, we live unhindered lives, and we sleep good.

How is The Surrender Novena impacting you? What stirs within you from today or the collection of days? I experience some conviction, freedom, grace, and profound peace.

O Jesus, we surrender ourselves to you, take care of everything.

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23

“And when I must lead you on a path different from the one you see, I will prepare you; I will carry you in my arms; I will let you find yourself, like children who have fallen asleep in their mother’s arms, on the other bank of the river. What troubles you and hurts you immensely are your reason, your thoughts and worry, and your desire at all costs to deal with what afflicts you.

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!”

Day 5 of 9 of The Surrender Novena by Dolindo Ruotolo (1882-1970).

Three promises in today’s reading led me to soak in Psalm 23.

“I will prepare you”…”I will carry you in my arms”…I will let you find yourself…on the other bank of the river.” The first two are common expressions. The fact that Jesus prepares us and carries us are not new ideas but refreshing ones.

The third, however, spoke to me as a fly fisherman. One of the most challenging things for an angler often is crossing the river to get the best angle on a drift to catch a fish. Often you feel like the current will wash you away.

I think there’s a lot of people out there who feel like the current of life is washing them away. If that’s you, soak in the fact that your shepherd will take care of everything. Ask him to another 10 times over.

Give Him the river you feel like you can’t cross, the challenge you think you can’t sort, the problem too great for your best efforts. O Jesus, we surrender ourselves to you, take care of everything.

Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.” Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment. Matthew 9:20-22

“You see evil growing instead of weakening? Do not worry. Close your eyes and say to me with faith: “Thy will be done, You take care of it.” I say to you that I will take care of it, and that I will intervene as does a doctor and I will accomplish miracles when they are needed. Do you see that the sick person is getting worse? Do not be upset, but close your eyes and say, “You take care of it.” I say to you that I will take care of it, and that there is no medicine more powerful than my loving intervention. By my love, I promise this to you.

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!

Day 4 of 9 of The Surrender Novena by Dolindo Ruotolo (1882-1970).

There is no medicine more powerful than the loving intervention of Jesus. This idea took me to the woman who just wanted to touch the cloak of Jesus believing it would heal her.

By her actions she took her impossible situation to Jesus and he took care of everything. She’s a model for us. Jesus can do miracles when we take our impossible situations to Him.

Let’s do that right now. Needs of the church or ministry too great? Jesus you take care of it. Health or personal issues overwhelming you? Jesus, you take care of it.

No one wants to need a miracle but everyone wants to see one. I do not think they happen until humble servants surrender their challenges in faith to the loving intervention of Jesus.

This relates to generosity though we see evil growing around us, we need not worry. We need not be overcome by the evil but overcome the evil with good.

O Jesus, we surrender ourselves to you, take care of everything!

“This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’” Matthew 6:9-13

“How many things I do when the soul, in so much spiritual and material need, turns to me, looks at me and says to me, “You take care of it,” then closes its eyes and rests. In pain you pray for me to act, but that I act in the way you want. You do not turn to me, instead, you want me to adapt to your ideas. You are not sick people who ask the doctor to cure you, but rather sick people who tell the doctor how to. So do not act this way, but pray as I taught you in the Our Father: “Hallowed be thy Name,” that is, be glorified in my need. “Thy kingdom come,” that is, let all that is in us and in the world be in accord with your kingdom. “Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven,” that is, in our need, decide as you see fit for our temporal and eternal life. If you say to me truly: “Thy will be done,” which is the same as saying: “You take care of it,” I will intervene with all my omnipotence, and I will resolve the most difficult situations.

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!

Day 3 of 9 of The Surrender Novena by Dolindo Ruotolo (1882-1970).

How wonderful that our Lord will resolve things that we are unable to sort when we just surrender. We must take the posture of the Lord’s prayer.

“Your kingdom come. Your will be done.” But no, we live in a world where we act like we dictate our decisions, we chart our own course.

And no wonder it add “lead me not into temptation” because we are like sick people telling the doctor how to heal us.

Let’s instead today, draw near to God from a place of spiritual and material need and simply trust Him to resolve anything that worries us.

By this way we will experience the peace required to live, give, serve, and love generously from a place of health and hope.

O Jesus, we surrender ourselves to you, take care of everything!

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Isaiah 26:3

“Surrender to me does not mean to fret, to be upset, or to lose hope, nor does it mean offering to me a worried prayer asking me to follow you and change your worry into prayer. It is against this surrender, deeply against it, to worry, to be nervous and to desire to think about the consequences of anything. It is like the confusion that children feel when they ask their mother to see to their needs, and then try to take care of those needs for themselves so that their childlike efforts get in their mother’s way. Surrender means to placidly close the eyes of the soul, to turn away from thoughts of tribulation and to put yourself in my care, so that only I act, saying, “You take care of it.”

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!

Day 2 of 9 of The Surrender Novena by Dolindo Ruotolo (1882-1970).

Do you find yourself placidly closing the eyes of your soul and trust God to take care of your anxieties an worries? I hope The Surrender Novena reminds you that Jesus can take care of everything, whether or big or small, that brings you worry for fear.

Remember, fear is the leading hindrance to generosity. We must root out all fear, surrender all worry and learn to trust in God more and more each day. For me, I am finding on day 2 of the novena that the repetition of the surrender statement does something deep within me.

It gives me an honest look at my inner man. Often, I am like the little child who is getting in the way. So, I am choosing to trust Him more deeply. Though the issues in life seem huge, I can placidly close my eyes, give my cares to God, and live generously because He’s been so good to me.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

“Why do you confuse yourselves by worrying? Leave the care of your affairs to me and everything will be peaceful. I say to you in truth that every act of true, blind, complete surrender to me produces the effect that you desire and resolves all difficult situations.

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!”

Day 1 of 9 of The Surrender Novena by Dolindo Ruotolo (1882-1970).

John Stanley is my friend and a daily reader.

Yesterday morning he wrote me, saying, “I’ve been God-smacked by praying The Surrender Novena. Its simplicity in language is artful. The relevance of each prayer is like it was meant for me…that day and for this time!”

So, I read through the nine days and determined it’d be a great tool for my own journey of surrender, especially to prepare my heart for Lent (starts on 22 February 2023).

I can’t wait to see how it impacts me. I also decided to share with readers. Be blessed. We must learn to surrender ourselves to Jesus and trust Him to take care of everything.

Surrender frees us to live, give, serve, and love generously.

These words stuck with me from day 1: “Leave the care of your affairs to me” and “resolves all difficult situations.” Then, like clouds dispelled by the bright light of the sun, “Jesus…take care of everything” brings me peace.

How is Jesus ministering to you on Day 1 of 9?

When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal. Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you. “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.” Luke 11:37-42

“Two things stand out about the Pharisees and for these two things Jesus condemned them.

The concentrated on externals. So long as the externals of religion were carried out that was all that mattered. Their hearts might be black as hell, they might be utterly lacking in charity, even in justice; but so long as they went through the correct motions at the correct time they considered themselves good in the eyes of God.

A man may be regular in his church attendance; he may be a diligent student of his Bible; he may be a generous giver to the church; but if in his heart there are thoughts of pride and of contempt, if he has no charity in his dealings with his fellow men in the life of the everyday, if he is unjust to his subordinates or dishonest to his employer, he is not a Christian man. No man is a Christian when he meticulously observes the conventions of religion and forgets the realities.

They concentrated on details. Compared with love and kindness, justice, and generosity, the washing of hands and the giving of tithes with mathematical accuracy were unimportant details… How often church courts and church people get lost in totally unimportant details of church government and administration, and even argue and fight about them, and forget the great realities of the Christian life.”

William Barclay in The Gospel of Luke (TDSBS; Philadelphia; Westminster Press, 1975) 156-157.

This convicted me. Perhaps you felt the sting too? Luke, almost certainly, could relate to this as he included it in his Gospel. Think about it. He was a doctor and among the most highly educated in the ancient world. He was paid to discern clues by looking at a person’s externals and likely a master of details.

I recount that Paul was the Pharisee of Pharisees so likely guilty of hyper-vigilant focus on externals and details. Then in Christ, he did not abandon his keen attention to detail and concern for appearances which might cause others to stumble, he merely urged us to focus on the internal and to live for the big picture.

What’s my point? As a Pauline scholar I can recall many times when my gaze has been too fixed on externals and details. Even recently, I have been guilty of this. We who are in Christian ministry must not overlook everyday realities, no matter how important our work is. God forgive me. God forgive us.

Thankfully Luke maps the pathway to grace for us. If we are lacking in charity, there’s good news. If we are “generous to the poor” everything will be clean for us. What’s that mean? We must not talk our game like the Pharisees. Live out love and kindness, justice, and generosity and everything will be all good.