What does a life of full surrender look like?
Do you want to let go of your worries? Are you looking to live a life where you don’t have to be fearful if you’re making the right life decisions or if you can keep doing this on your own strength? Today, I invite you to accept Jesus’ invitation to fully surrender your life to Him (Matt 16:24) and He will help you carry all these burdens and much more (Matt 11:28).
This post is about surrendering to God and trusting in Him.
Our culture advocates heavily for relying on yourself, being independent and doing things on your own strength. We live in a society that seeks to gain control- control of our lives, situations, and circumstances. As much as we may strive to gain control over life’s circumstances, we will always fall short. Life is full of surprises- good and bad, bumps and hurdles, mountains and valleys. Although we can expect the unexpected, we are not called to live in worry but to leave it at our Father’s feet and trust Him to take control of our lives. We must let go and let God- give Him the control.
Lay Your Burdens at His Feet
In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus tells us not to worry about tomorrow. Jesus goes on to say that he takes care of even the sparrows and the lilies, how much more does He care for us?
Trust and surrender in Him to experience a new life dedicated to God. When we lay our worries down and don’t spend time thinking endlessly about our troubles, we have more time to hear God and think of what we can do for Him. The act of worrying never results in anything other than being more worried. Worrying about your life is a result of a lack of trust in God. If we truly know and believe that His will and plans for our lives are perfect (Jer 29:11) and that He is sovereign, we have no reason to worry.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
JEREMIAH 29:11
How to Live a Life of Surrender
Surrendering is not a one-time act but you must surrender daily to transform your life and your thinking habits. Here are 4 practices you can do to surrender your life and worries to God, with open palms.
- Daily Prayer: We must ask for God’s strength daily to renew our minds and to help us surrender our lives and day to God. Invite the Holy Spirit, consecrating your day to Him.
- Journal Reflection: Journal your worries. It often helps us to dump our thoughts onto paper to see visually all the worries running through our minds. After writing this list, surrender each item to God. If your mind wanders back to these worries, again, surrender it back to God.
- Renewing of Your Mind: In addition to asking God to renew your mind, you must also partner with Him during this process. Our minds must shift to “what will bring God the glory versus me”? We must have a servant mindset; to serve Him first and foremost and to serve our neighbours.
- De-clutter: Think about if there is anything you need to get rid of in order to surrender to God. Is it deleting certain shows from your playlist, giving away some of your favourite non-fiction books, or maybe it’s getting rid of some of your clothing that doesn’t reflect what you would choose to wear now? Sanctification and surrendering to God works from the inside out. Once the work internally begins, you must also make necessary changes to your life on the outside as well.
Surrendering your life to God is an act of trust. It’s obeying His calling to pick up our cross and lay our lives down. Jesus is the perfect model in living a life fully surrendered to God and His will. May we follow in His paths to live selflessly through the love and sacrifice He’s shown us.
