How do you surrender?

Photo by Fellipe-DitadionUnsplash

 

This adventure began in January 2025. I was impressed by the Spirit of the Lord to surrender.

 

My mother dedicated me to the Lord before I was born and raised me (and my siblings) to know the Lord. There have been times I was closer to God than others, but I have never walked away from him.

 

So, the idea of surrender intrigued me. What is the Lord after that I have not given him?

 

This is why I call it an adventure. The past several weeks have revealed several things, like:

 

• Asking myself if I should be thinking this thought
• Wondering if I needed to pursue this course of action
• Looking at a passage of scripture through a different lens

 

 

I was prompted to write about my adventures, which I don’t typically do, but (in surrendering) I complied.

 

The thought ran through my mind: How do you surrender? I realized this wasn’t my thought and knew it could be helpful for someone reading my adventure.

 

(So, for you, here goes)

 

Let me begin by explaining what surrendering (to God) is not.

 

Surrendering to God is not throwing up your hands because the enemy has captured you, and your life (as you knew it) is over.

 

It is not being tossed into a dank, dark dungeon, being fed moldy bread and dirty water until your will is broken, your hair is long and straggly, and your body is thin and frail.

 

It isn’t becoming a slave to a cruel dictator surviving only as long as you fulfill his selfish desires.

 

 

Surrendering to God is not about getting caught but getting close to him.

 

 

It reminds me of a story a Bible instructor shared when I was in Bible College.

 

One morning, as he dressed for work, he was impressed by the Lord to wear one red and one blue sock. He thought it strange but recognized it as the Lord and dressed accordingly.

 

While driving to work, he noticed a car pulled over on the side of the road. The Lord told him to stop, and he did.

 

When the perplexed man saw him, he began weeping. Are you okay the teacher asked. Through the tears, the man said I pulled over Today intending to take my life, but for some reason, I cried out to God, “If you are real, you will have a man pull over to help me wearing one red and one blue sock,” he said.

 

The man didn’t take his life; he gave himself to the Lord, and a powerful lesson was learned.

 

My Bible instructor was not standing in front of his closet, mumbling, “What am I supposed to wear today, God?”

 

Because of his relationship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, he recognized the voice of the Holy Spirit, saying, “Wear a red sock and a blue sock.”

 

Because of his relationship with the Lord, he did not blow it off as a weird thought. He had no idea why he should alter his attire, but he obeyed because he knew the thought to be from the Lord.

 

The same applied as he approached the car on the side of the road. The Lord said to stop and help the man.

 

Again, without understanding “why,” he complied, and the result was miraculous.

 

Surrendering isn’t about giving up; it is about getting close.

 

The New Testament book of James speaks to Christ-followers about surrendering.

 

“And now I have a word for you who brashly announce, “Today – at the latest, tomorrow – we’re off to such and such a city for the year. We’re going to start a business and make a lot of money.”

You don’t know the first thing about tomorrow. You’re nothing but a wisp of fog, catching a brief bit of sun before disappearing.

Instead, make it a habit to say, “If the Master wills it and we’re still alive, we’ll do this or that.”

James 4:13-15 The Message

 

The passage’s first part addresses those with an unsurrendered heart.

 

They “We are” going to do this and that.

 

However, a surrendered heart says, If it is the Lord’s will, I will do this and that.

 

Notice this: he did not speak negatively about the plans but about the attitude of the heart.

 

I mentioned this in an earlier story: Jesus struggled with surrendering while in the Gethsemane Garden before his suffering.

 

“My Father, if there is any way, get me out of this.”

Matthew 26:39 The Message

 

This is what I said:

 

“Of course, he concludes the request with, “My Father, if there is any way, get me out of this. But please, not what I want. You, what do you want?”

 

In other words, I surrender my will to yours.”

 

Surrendering is the willful act of setting aside your desire to comply with God’s.

 

How do you surrender?

 

You surrender (to God) by willingly setting aside your desires to comply with his. The story of Jesus is powerful because it highlights the power of the human will, yet he set it aside to comply with the plan (that he created with the Godhead).

 

My Bible instructor’s story is powerful because it illustrates that a surrendered life means acknowledging the prompting of God, the Holy Spirit, to do something that (in many cases) makes no sense.

 

You surrender your heart to the one who created it (and you).

 

The journey is exciting and scary, and I am thankful for everyone who is willing to accompany me on it.