When most of us think of surrendering, we think it’s a bad thing. After all, world leaders surrender at the end of wars and end up losing power and paying reparations, But in God’s world, surrender isn’t an option. It’s a requirement. And it’s something we have to choose to do daily.

Every day we have to give over control to God. That sounds easy enough, doesn’t it? But it’s a challenge for most of us because it means that we have to show that we trust Him to work out things in our lives the way He wants them to be, not the way we probably planned. After five decades of pursuing a relationship with God, I have discovered that His plans are always better, usually surprising and seldom the way I would do things.

It is in handing the controls over to God that we can truly have the freedom we need to trust Him. I have a tendency, and probably many of you do the same thing, to think I have handed a situation over to God and then I try to take it back. If that doesn’t work, then I “pray” and in my prayer, I try to explain to God how He should be doing things. I generally present my case logically, in steps that anyone (especially God, of course) can understand. But, also in the last five decades, I have repeatedly discovered that God doesn’t need my help or my advice, as well-meaning as it may be. What He needs is for me to let go so He can do His work in my life. Imagine that you are speeding down the road at 100 mph and discover you have no brakes. You look ahead and there is a big curve with a drop off down a mountain on both sides. That’s what trying to control your own life is like. God knows the big curve is coming. He knows that the mountain drop-off is dangerous. So He wants you to take your hands away from the controls of the car and tell Him that you need Him to do what He does best. Sometimes, He will stop the car and save you from the disaster that is coming at you. But sometimes, He will let you keep going so that He can teach you more about trust and letting go. Perhaps letting go earlier in the journey would have been more beneficial. That’s why surrendering to God is not a suggestion. It’s a requirement for Christian living.

The idea for today’s blog came from the email that I get from Grant daily called “A Miracle Every Day.” A Miracle Every Day

Look carefully at the words linked to surrendering. Intention + awareness + humility = ACTIVE TRUST

You are totally aware of what you are choosing when you surrender to God, you are doing it with intention (you have mentally determined this is your choice) and you are acting with humility before your Creator. The result is a trust that is active, not a passively lying down and waiting for the results. It is an action that is taking place every moment of every day. His will, not yours. His Will, all day. His will, every day. That’s why we surrender. His way is better and ours just isn’t.

I Surrender All-CeCe Winans