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Hi there! Welcome to Well Lit Soul. Where we seek God, face darkness, and shine brighter. This season of the blog is all about learning. So today’s blog is called “Surrender is Learned”.

It’s probably best for me to start plainly with this one. Surrender is one of the most difficult teachings in scripture. Full stop. It requires ongoing learning from some of life’s most challenging lessons to understand.

On the surface, surrender means to give up, let go of, or relinquish. And if you look for the word in scripture, it is largely seen in reference to war such as in Jeremiah 38. But Christians today are not fighting the wars of the Old Testament. Ephesians 6:11-13 says,

“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

So we see here that we are fighting spiritual wars, and while this passage is in reference to fighting the devil and his wicked ways, we are also fighting internal spiritual battles within our own hearts and minds. To surrender and let go of our will and desires and adopt God’s in service of His plan.

There is a lot of power that we gain and develop when it comes to exercising autonomy and agency over our lives. And it can be hard work to develop that power as we move through the world. But when we walk with God, when we approach Him, when we call on Him, we have to be prepared to put every ounce of that to the side. Let go of our power, will, desires, all of it and make ourselves fully available to serve Him. The ultimate example of this would be Christ when He prayed in the garden before His crucifixion. Luke 22:41-44 reads,

“41 And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, ‘Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.’ 43 Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. 44 And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”

We can see there is great agony and weariness in surrender. It is one of the greatest acts of humility we can pursue. To not only let go of your will for what you want, but to release control of your life in general. But it doesn’t quite have the same “Jesus take the wheel” energy. It’s more like “Jesus, here’s the wheel”. It’s not just pulling over to give God the reins when we are ready to let go, but giving up the reins when we think we know the way and have planned out our path through our own instincts and insights but ultimately realize God knows better even when you have zero idea how this is about to work out. 

So why do we need to surrender? Why would God ask us to put His will over our own? Well, as we surrender and fully lean on God, we learn to trust Him rather than lean on our own understanding, Proverbs 3:5. We learn that His strength is far greater than ours and can actually carry us through if we release control.

But again, this is one of the hardest things to do because no matter how many examples you’ve seen, no matter how much encouragement you have, letting go is absolutely terrifying. But in order to fully trust God for yourself, you have to have your own experiences. You have to see His power and providence work directly in your life to have better confidence in Him. It’s beyond the good vibes and optimistic conversations. This is the real deal. And it’s all part of the faith foundation. Where all the pieces come together to build the larger structure. They start to overlap, connect, and settle because they’re all part of the same puzzle. 

At the end of the day, surrender is not forced upon us. We can continue to follow our own ideas and thinking, but it will only take us so far. At the same time, learning to surrender is incredibly difficult. It requires great courage, but it yields great trust. So I pray that you can be strong and of good courage as you learn to do what Jesus did in the garden. “He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying,

“O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” Matthew 26:39.

Connection Question: What experiences in life helped you learn the lessons of surrender? What helped you take courage in those moments? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to connect with you about it.