Surrender to God: 5 Things to Let Go
Surrendering to God is showing complete faith in Him and belief in His promises. Just like a child, we can walk in freedom from worries. We simply must choose to trust God for everything. If we can trust God for our salvation through Jesus Christ, we can trust Him for our daily needs and desires.
“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (NIV)
What to Surrender
Everything. Surrender is literally giving up all control. It is telling God that we are not big enough to deal with our worries, and He must take over. When we finally let go of all of our worries, we give God room to wield His mighty arm in our lives. When our hands are weak and tired, God’s hands are strong and powerful!
“Powerful is your arm! Strong is your hand! Your right hand is lifted high in glorious strength.” (NLT)
How to Surrender
Surrendering control is a daily, moment-by-moment choice. Like every discipline in life, we must learn to surrender and give it to God. The enemy seeks every new day to cloud our mind with worries, doubts, and fears. The devil wants there to be no room left for God in our lives. Surrendering to God becomes a lifestyle of daily giving it all to Him.
Whenever negative thoughts seek to invade our space, we must cut them off and give them to God immediately. God’s mercies are new every morning, so what happened yesterday, last year or a decade ago is completely gone. Carrying the past around will only take up space for God’s goodness, grace, and favor. Renewing our mind in Christ means letting go of all the burdens He died to take from us.
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (ESV)
Letting Go – Control
Control is the hardest thing to give up because without it we feel vulnerable. But we do not need to worry. God is already in control. We need to recognize His authority and move over to let Him lead. He is the Creator of the Universe, so we can trust Him with each day. Letting go is scary at first, but the freedom in our mind and hearts will be worth it.
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (ESV)
Letting Go – Worry
Worry adds not a single day to our lives. In fact, worry oppresses us every second. Worry can literally affect not only our minds and hearts but our bodies too. Worry does absolutely nothing positive. Surrender worry to God and watch your life float in His favor.
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” (NLT)
Letting Go – Money
We tend to hold tightly to our money. However, God wants to take the reins of our money. Money can become an idol if we place it ahead of God. God wants to bless us, so we need to put our finances in the proper place: In God’s Hands. God will take care of us. We simply need to surrender our money and obey His leading.
"Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” (ESV)
Letting Go - Your Relationships
Surrendering to God's sovereign will in our relationships shows that we trust Him with the people we care about. We can't possibly be everyone's savior and hero, but Jesus can. He died because He loves all of us, including the people most precious to us. We can do everything in our power to love and care for those entrusted to us and trust God with the rest.
"And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?" (NLT)
Letting Go – Your Future
We can only change one day at a time. Living in the future robs us from the joy of today. Each day is a gift, and we miss it when we allow our minds to dwell on all the unknowns. We can trust God with our future, so we can focus on today. Trying to control the future is like trying to control the wind. Contentment in today will prevent our eyes from wandering off to tomorrow.
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” (NIV)
Copyright © Alisa Hope Wagner, used with permission.
About The Author
