Surrender Requires Trust

Last week, we learned we serve God, the transformer of hearts, the God we can trust wholeheartedly. It is a truth we need to know as we consider our surrender to Him. When you think of surrendering what comes to mind? For most of us, surrender conjures images of white flags and raised hands – defeat. Yet, interestingly enough, in God’s Word, surrender takes on a whole new meaning, in fact, surrendering our control over our lives is the first step toward real freedom.

In Proverbs 3:5-6, God’s Word tells us, “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.” Did you catch it? A life of surrender and submission to God requires trust. How do we develop trust? Trust is developed in the context of a relationship, which is until we understand someone’s character, we are not likely to trust them. In other words, trust is earned which means in order for us to trust God, we have to believe He is worthy of our trust.

Is He worthy of our trust? Consider what Jesus did for us – left heaven for earth; felt hurt and rejection; was beaten and crucified; conquered death and rose from the grave – to prove His love. Why? He did it all to earn our trust and restore our relationship with Him. How do we get to know Him better? Simply by spending time with Him. As we invite Him into our lives (through prayer, time in His Word, through other believers), He will reveal Himself to us (James 4:8) and we can live the abundant life He desires for us.

The only way to get to the abundant life (John 10:10) He has for us is to fully surrender to Him and follow His way of life. As we get to know Him, we trust Him more which makes it easy to surrender to Him. When we do, God makes our lives smoother by being Lord over all – he takes on all the responsibility for all the things, so we don’t have to take charge. May we learn to surrender, give up to God, and allow Him to meet all our needs better than anything we could have done had we held onto control. He promised in Matthew 6:33, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.” We can trust Him!