Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 2
Darla describes being “terrified” when she sensed God saying, “Take your hands off of your life… give me your husband and your children… and your emotions,” especially after a background where God was mainly “judgment and… law”—what picture of God makes that surrender reasonable, and what picture of God makes it feel dangerous?
Another way to ask: Darla felt scared when God seemed to ask her to hand over her family and emotions, especially since she grew up thinking of God as mostly judgment and law. What view of God would make that kind of surrender feel safe, and what view would make it feel risky?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Based on the speaker’s teaching, surrender becomes reasonable when God is seen as a loving Father (“Daddy God,” “Abba God”) who redeems emotions rather than merely policing them. Surrender feels dangerous when God is mainly imagined as a judge whose primary posture is “judgment and… law,” so giving Him control feels like inviting harm.
- Darla says Jesus “came to set us free” and “didn’t come to take away your emotions, but… to redeem them,” which makes surrender sound safe and purposeful.
- She describes God as relational: being brought “into a right relationship with Daddy God, with Abba God.”
- She admits surrender is “terrifying,” especially “if you’re coming from… a past where God is a God of judgment and of law.”
- God’s request is personal and total: “give me your heart… your husband and your children… and… your emotions.”
- Her burden and song emphasize Christ’s freeing intent: “He sealed my pardon… He made me free.”