I Surrender
How many of you would consider yourself a control freak? You love to be in control of everything: the way the house is cleaned, how your food is cooked or how the bed is made. Even deeper than that, maybe you like to be in control of the way people act in certain situations, or over your love life. If any part of this relates to you, we are in this together. So, I thought it would be really cool to cover this topic and talk about ways that we can choose surrender over control. So, there are 2 points that I would like to hit on as encouragement and a challenge to every reader: 1. What do our hearts reflect when we neglect to give up control? And 2. What do we receive when we choose to surrender?
First, the reflection of our hearts. Why are we afraid to lose control over the things in our lives? For me, it’s because I know that when I am in control, I will know the outcome. I don’t particularly like not knowing how things are going to turn out. For example, to all my singles ladies out there, (or anyone who remembers what it’s like being single) it’s really tough for us to wait around for “the one” right? That’s one of the worst parts of being single in my opinion. Not knowing who you’re going to marry or when and how you’re going to meet them. It would be really easy for us to take control over this situation, so we wouldn’t have to sit in the dark anymore. But to me, that reflects a lack of trust in the Lord. If I were to try to completely control that part of my life, it would essentially be like me telling God that I don’t want to wait for His best for me and I don’t need his help, so I can take it from here, right? The same goes for any part of our lives that we try to control. When we neglect giving it to God, we’re choosing our plan over His. But guys, we have to remember that His plan is greater. Every single time. Isaiah 55:8-9 tells us, “’For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts your thoughts.’” No matter how great your think your plan is, trust that God’s is greater. He wants the best for you, and he knows the best for you. Look beyond what is right in front of you and surrender.
When we finally do choose to surrender, we find the Lord on the other side. It’s really scary to give up control sometimes. We all have desires of our hearts, and it can be difficult to surrender them to God because we know there’s a risk that He may not answer those prayers in the exact way we would like. But you know what? No, you may not receive exactly what you ask for, but you will receive more of God. We may be giving up something we love or desire, but we are getting God in return. We are pursuing trust in our Heavenly Father which draws us nearer to Him and I would choose that every single time. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” When we put our hope and trust in our Creator, He takes care of us. Like it says in Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” We have nothing to lose when we surrender our control to God. In fact, we have everything to gain.
Lastly, I want to remind you that surrender does not equal weakness. It is not you giving up and throwing in the towel. It takes more strength to surrender than to control. It shows that you are giving up pride and perfection and choosing to put your hope and trust in the Lord above all. Proverbs 23:26 says, “My son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways.” God wants our hearts. And in order to fully give it to Him, we must fully surrender. On the other side is greater than any earthly thing we could ask for…a loving and sovereign God whose ways are greater than ours and who will always prevail.
Challenges:
Choose surrender. This is daily battle. It’s not a one-time decision that will fix everything. I challenge you, and myself, to wake up every day and choose to surrender our control to God in order for Him to be glorified through His perfect plan.
Go to God in prayer. Like I said earlier, giving up control can be hard and scary. But God wants to walk through these difficulties with us. All we have to do is ask Him and He will be right there leading you every step of the way.
Make a list. Write out the things that you are afraid of giving up control of and why. Sometimes it’s helpful for me to understand things better when I see them written out. So, once you have your list, walk through it with God and ask Him to help you fix your eyes on Him and prioritize Him over your desire for control.
Prayer:
Lord, thank you for this beautiful day and for every single person reading this right now. Thank you for your gift of love and kindness for us even when we don’t deserve it. Thank you that we can give up control of things in our lives and trust that you will take perfect care of us. I pray that you would open our eyes to the things we still have control over, even if we don’t recognize it. I pray that we would choose to surrender all of those things to you. That we would choose to trust that your plan in greater than anything we could ever imagine. May we be reminded every day that you are more important than any earthly treasure. That we should willingly give up control over the things in our lives so we can receive you instead. Thank you so much for the many blessings you have given us. We give you all the glory, honor and praise. In Jesus’ name! Amen!