Finding Freedom in Surrender

I don’t think I fully understood what “Freedom in Surrender” meant until just a couple months ago and it has been a game changer.

Having grown up in a Christian home, I’ve heard them my whole life. In one sense, I always thought it was akin to asking Jesus to live in my heart and committing to follow Him.

I’ve since learned, that is a first major step in surrendering. But an even bigger step for me, was actually letting go. In case you didn’t know, I’m very much a type A personality who struggles to give up control! Yeesh!

So after years of following God, listening to Him, spending time in His Word, and talking with Him, I finally surrendered.

I’ve been giving up what I think is best for what He says is best.

I stepped down from a leadership position to allow more time for what God said was more important. It was serving in a good way for a good group and didn’t understand the request, but I’ve come to realize the position required more time than I initially anticipated and the extra time stepping into a major change will be a blessing.

I stopped fighting social media trends and analytics to share the stories and resources God’s asked me to share instead. It’s meant a decline in viewing and audience, but the freedom to write what He’s put on my heart has been a blessing.

I’m choosing to redirect my mind when painful memories, traumas, and anxious thoughts enter my mind. I’m also working to let go of wanting to deep dive into healing to understand how I’ve been affected by such things. In some ways it feels like giving up, but the days that turned into a week, that turned into a couple weeks without thinking about certain things has been a blessing.

The more I’ve stopped shouting over God’s silence, and given Him space to talk, the more He’s revealed.

And while you’d think it’d be painful to work through God ripping off all the Band-Aids, it hasn’t. It’s brought freedom! Sweet, sweet freedom! Freedom in surrender.

In 2 Corinthians 3:16-17, the apostle Paul reminds us,

But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. NIV

Friend, I don’t know what battles you’re facing. I do know the feeling of heaviness, overwhelm, exhaustion, depression, emptiness, and loneliness. I also know how wrong it feels to let go of something we have control over when it seems like we’re fighting a losing battle.

But can I drop a truth bomb?

Those things we think we “have control” over are really just illusions. There is only One with control over everything. And while it may not seem like it at the time, He truly has a better plan for us, wants what’s best for us, and will deliver us. Often times, He’s waiting for us to surrender to heap blessings upon us.

We can take heart in 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

Lord, We thank you for making us into a new creation, for providing a clean heart, for continually forgiving us, pursuing us relentlessly, and knowing what’s best for us. Abba, it can be terrifying to let go and let You take control. Give us super natural faith to trust and obey You each and every time. Help our experiences of freedom in surrender to be so sweet we can’t help but look for other ways to give You control. Amen.