The human heart is so easily moved. We’ve all heard countless times in my life – from movies, books, TV and music – to “just follow your heart” or you will never be completely happy. Unfortunately, I had to discover the hard way that there is a far better path to happiness, which often entailed doing the opposite of following my heart. I was very excited to see this portrayed in Wonder Woman 1984.
Surrendering everything to God is the best practice to achieve happiness and peace. When we surrender, we entrust our lives to Him, understanding when things do not go as we plan, God’s plan is still unfolding, and we still have reason to hope for good things. For this reason, surrendering to God means that we never need to despair or be disappointed again.
Surrendering is the first step in seeking to live out God’s plan because it allows us to let go of what we want in order to make room for what God wants. This sacrifice of your desires will allow for you to show God you put Him first, and gives Him permission to lead you to the peace and joy that He longs to give you.
I was absolutely enthralled when I discovered that the new movie, Wonder Woman 1984, provides great examples of this method. There is so much to gain from giving your life to God and the movie portrays this well in allegory. If you have not seen it yet, I highly recommend it! It’s a fun ride in which the super-heroine goes through various challenges to save the world yet again. I am one who hates having movies spoiled, so I must mention that there are spoilers ahead in case you would rather see the movie before reading this post.
In this installment, Wonder Woman, or Diana, a beautiful woman who has been gifted with Amazonian powers of strength, agility, and intelligence, encounters what is to be called the dreamstone, a piece of rock that has the ability of granting one wish to anyone who touches it. It is through her own encounter with the stone that she is able to bring her first love, Steve, back to life after his death in the first Wonder Woman movie.
Diana’s clumsy, awkward and often-ignored friend Barbara, is also able to make a wish. She wishes to be just like Diana, after living a life basically the opposite, she begins to enjoy her new life very much.
Enter Max Lorde, a TV personality/con man who wants only power, wealth, and admiration from everyone. He has known about the dream stone for a while and has made it a part of his plan for achieving the power and success he believes will make him happy. Upon getting his hands on the stone, he creatively makes his wish that he could be the dreamstone itself; essentially when people touch him and make a wish, he could grant it.
However, we eventually discover the stone was created by an evil god as a trick. People gain what they wish for but lose their prized possessions in place of their wish. Thus, Diana begins to lose her powers and Barbara loses her kindness and selflessness. Max begins losing his health, but as the dream stone incarnate, can take from people whatever he wishes.
This very fun plot allows for a great message. After Max meets with many people and grants numerous wishes, society starts to break down. There is chaos everywhere, and the movie beautifully showcases the truth: sometimes we don’t get what we want because it could ultimately not be good for us.
Many problems come about in WW84 as more and more people get what they want. We also learn, through Diana’s investigation, that the solution to all this is for everyone to renounce their wish. They need to give up what they truly want for peace and order to return to humanity, and to escape a nuclear war on the verge of breaking out.
Diana is faced with having to give up the love of her life, who she wants more than anything, in order to save the world. She must also convince the rest of the world to do the same, which is easier for her than giving up her love. We see people quickly understanding that what they wanted was not as great as what they already had.
Max Lorde himself discovers that he already had everything he could ever want in his son and gladly gives up all his power in order to save him. To see Max realize he had his son’s love and admiration all along and finally being satisfied was my favorite part. Max’s and the rest of the world’s renunciation of their wishes undoes the damages done, including the Nuclear War. Thus, the day is saved.
All of this teaches us the tremendous lesson of surrendering to God’s plan. We may think we have a better plan for our lives, but in reality, God does not give us much of what we ask for if He sees the damage our plan could do. God only wants greater good in our lives, and so only allows that which will bring this about. He lets us make mistakes with our free will, which can cause us pain and suffering, but never without a way to bring good from it if we seek Him again.
We can proactively put ourselves in union with God’s plan by imitating Wonder Woman and let go of the things that we know are not a part of God’s plan, regardless of how much we want them. By doing this, Diana can bring peace to herself and to the world around her. By putting God’s plan before our own, we can do the same.
Not to say that following God’s plan will keep us safe from troubles per se, however, it will keep us at peace within. To discover God’s plan for your life and adhere to it can make you more invincible than Wonder Woman herself.
The best way to live is by continuously surrendering ourselves to God. Here are some steps to keep in mind:
- Don’t Always Seek Comfort. Steve knew the good of the world came before him, and so he came to terms with needing to go away. We too must be open to doing hard things and keep in mind that what is best for us and others is not always the easiest thing to do.
- Put God’s Plan First. Like Diana and the rest of the world, we must be able to sacrifice the things we want, knowing they may not be good for us. Nothing should come before what God wants for us.
- Appreciate What God Is Already Doing For You. Like Max, we must realize and focus on the good things God has already given us. By appreciating what we have, we can spend less time longing for the things that might not be a part of God’s plan for us.
These steps will surely assist you in your effort to surrender your life to God. I hope others can gain as much enjoyment and moral instruction from this movie as I did. If you have anything to add, please share them with us at emailzenithministries@gmail.com.
