We all strive for certainty in our lives. Beginning with aspirations, we chart our course, seeking command over our destinies. And guys especially don’t like to admit we’re lost and need help. That stereotype of the man who doesn’t ask for directions exists for a reason. (I, for one, am glad we have GPS on our phones now). Men are also trained never to give up. Never surrender. Of course, persistence and bravery are important traits, but that masculine emphasis works against us when surrendering to God.
With God, surrendering is good. Learn how to surrender your life to God, through knowing Him, committing yourself to Him and making room for Him in your life.
Learn How to Surrender to God
1. Realize that God has a better way
It’s not easy to surrender your identity, dreams, ambitions and control of your life. The world would tell you that this is all you have. As Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
If you’re a Christian, you’ve realized that God has given you a better way. Your self-worth doesn’t have to be tied to whether you achieve everything you dreamt up. You don’t have to worry about dying because Jesus sacrificed Himself to give you everlasting life.
2. Commit your life to Christ
Jesus doesn’t sugarcoat it. If you want to follow His better way, you have to surrender to Him. In Luke 9:23, He says, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?”
If you haven’t committed yourself to Christ yet, I encourage you to do that today. It will change your life. But the surrendering isn’t over for us believers, just because we’ve committed ourselves to Christ. We must remember to “deny ourselves” daily, surrendering what we want for what really matters.
3. Ask God what you need to surrender to Him
This is a really practical exercise to regularly bring into your prayer time with Jesus—because it’s easy to say and think you’ve surrendered yourself to God without realizing there are things you’re holding onto. Here’s a totally, non-exhaustive list of things that you (and I) might need help surrendering to God.
- Identity and ego
- Bitterness, jealousy, grudges or regret
- Your dreams
- Trust in yourself
- The lies you tell yourself
- Need for control
- Your sin
- You pride
Take this list and pray to God, asking Him to fill you with the Holy Spirit, whose transformative power will help you let go. You’ll be amazed. Sometimes what seems to be the most trivial things can be the clues to pride and need for control.
4. Receive blessings from God
Surrender is not about losing. It’s giving up everything to make room for God to make your life full of meaning and joy. As Paul explains in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
When you surrender, God can work through you, bringing the fruits of the spirit to your life—better relationships and peace. You receive your true identity as a son of God, eliminating the pressure to achieve dreams or be successful. You realize that surrendering is not a vulnerable act. It’s the safest thing you can do.
5. Look to Jesus who surrendered everything to God
Whenever you need support, you can look at the perfect example that Jesus laid out for us during His time as a man on earth. Jesus surrendered His status to God as Philippians 2:6-7 describes: “Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness.”
In the end, He surrendered everything. As verse 8 concludes. “He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” You know the best part? You don’t have to simply study His life and hope. You can pray to Jesus every day and He offers guidance and wisdom as you surrender to God.
Start finding your identity in Christ. It can start with you and a 2-3 deep friends. Download the Playbook for Level 5 Friendship to learn how.
