Perfect Peace: Choosing Calm Over Chaos a 5-Day Plan by Maya DawsonSample

The Power of Surrender

I am a recovering workaholic and perfectionist. My tendencies to strive and get everything right come from a need for control. For a long time, I believed I could control the outcomes of my situations and circumstances. Now, don’t get me wrong. I do believe we are to honor God with our thoughts, words, and actions. However, saying, doing, and even thinking the right things does not guarantee the results we desire. We are to do what we know to do and trust God with the results.

On one hand, trusting God can feel crippling. On the other hand, it can be extremely freeing. I often vacillate between the two. It’s those glimpses of absolute freedom and the witnessing of numerous unfathomable miraculous outcomes that help me to try trusting God yet again.

We flippantly say, “God is sovereign” and “He’s in control,” without really acknowledging what that means. If God is truly in control, that means we are NOT in control. We have no control over our lives and how they play out. If we are in Christ, we know our eternal destination and can cling to the promises of God. The “what,” the “how,” and the “when” are often a mystery.

Surrender requires us to admit we have no control. That is Step 1. Step 2 requires us to trust the One who is in control: God, the creator of the universe and the one who holds it all together. Surrender isn’t a one-time decision. Surrender is an ongoing process. Just as we learn to surrender in one area of life, we are then challenged to surrender in yet another area. Surrender tethers us to God. God desires that we depend upon Him daily and cling to Him at all times. Let’s unlock the power of surrender.