In January, I said that my word of the year was surrender. Now, there are probably some other words I might use that can’t be included in a Christian blog😊 All kidding aside, it’s November and, if I’m honest, I’m still not doing that well with surrendering to God.
So, what does it mean to surrender to God? It is showing complete faith in Him and belief in His promises. When we were little children, we trusted our parents to take care of everything for us. Just like a child, we can be free from worries and our need to control. We simply must choose to trust God for everything. Sounds easy, right? Not for me, I am stubborn and still trying to get in there and control people and situations.
I WANT to give it all over to God. And I try to cast my cares at the foot of the cross, but find myself running back to pick up some of the things I laid down. What if he doesn’t take care of things the way I want him to? What if I can impact the situation by doing a thing or two? My daughter is at a crossroads in her life. She is 25 and I know I should surrender her life to God and quit involving myself. Plus I want her to be self-sufficient and financially independent. But it’s looking like He might have to pry her out of my cold dead hands. I think about what strong faith Abraham had to surrender his son, Isaac. I’m definitely not there yet.
What can we do to surrender to God? To surrender to Him, we have to trust Him! Just as we build trust with other people, we have to build a relationship with Him. We can do this by praying, spending time with Him, and reading His Word.
It’s important to understand that surrender is a daily decision. Unfortunately, we can’t just do it once and be done with it. Every day we have the opportunity to make a choice. We can say, “not my will, but yours be done” or we can choose the kingdom of self. And I know that my kingdom of self will likely crumble but I keep choosing it anyway. Mark 8:35 gives us some insight into what happens if we choose our kingdom over his and, spoiler alert, it’s not good.
If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.
In Galatians 2:20, Paul provides a great example of what it means to surrender to God.
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
I am trying to get better at surrendering one day and one thing at a time. If you too struggle, reflect on the following:
What do I need to surrender to God?
What will I do to build trust in God so that I can choose surrender over the kingdom of self?
