Surrender to His Heart

We must first surrender to God’s heart for us, before we can ever surrender to His ways.

Surrender. Waving our white flag, we stand vulnerable in the midst of a very big God. We toss around the word “surrender” like it’s effortless- just something that comes naturally to us. But it’s not, and it doesn’t.

I don’t know about you, but surrendering for me has never come easy at all. I wrestle with the desire to hand over the reigns of my life to the Shepherd. Not because I’m afraid of what He will do, but because I’m afraid of how He will do it. What if He doesn’t do it my way? What if He leads me into the unknown and I can’t rely on my own intuition or instinct at all? What if He chooses to do what only He can do? What if that’s exactly what I need?

God is a gentleman. He won’t force me into submission. Ephesians 3:20(MSG), “God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.” He’s gentle with me. Tender in His ways, He always guides me softly.

But if you don’t know His heart towards you, you will never be able to surrender yours. You’ll clutch control with a tight grip because you’re afraid that God might not be careful with you. True surrender comes after a true encounter with the character of God and His love for us. If we don’t trust His love, we can’t trust His ways.

So when I find myself hanging onto the flag in my hand- afraid to wave it around, I run back to the Word and ask God to show me the side of Him I need to see to trust His plan. Not the parts of His plan I need to see to trust His heart. Jeremiah 29:11(NIV), “‘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 a hope and a future.'” His plans for you are always good. You can trust that.

Once I give into the waves of God’s ways, once I allow the water of His will to take me under, I find myself more secure than I ever was on the shore of my own control. I find myself firmly held. Because when God is free to have His way in our lives, He always does more than we could have ever asked for. He always gives bigger, goes farther, and does better than my plan could have ever been.

So wave that white flag, without knowing it all. Because you don’t have to know all the details of God’s plan, you just need to know the details of God’s heart. God is good. He loves you. You can surrender to that.

Be Blessed!

Jordan Smith