How To Surrender To God Completely And Trust Him

What does it look like to fully surrender to God and trust Him with everything you have?

Maybe you’re in a season where you’re struggling to trust in what God has in store for you. Is it in your finances? Your career? Your future? Your relationship with your partner or singleness?

Whatever the case may be, adopting a posture of complete surrender to Christ is not in our human nature.

If anything, our human tendency is to desire control over the tangible things of our lives.

It also doesn’t really help when societal expectations and standards cause us to feel pressured to fit into this mold. But the good news is, we actually were not meant to fit into this “mold.”

I know it’s incredibly hard to believe that. But when you realize that we don’t belong to this world, then the pressure of striving and achieving worldly success…actually doesn’t matter as much.

Obviously this is easier than done.

So how do we actually put this in to practice when we feel fear, anxious, and the desire for control start to creep in?

Let’s jump into what it means to surrender to God.

What does it mean to surrender to god?

First of all, we need to dissect what it means to fully surrender.

The dictionary definition of surrender is to yield to the power, control, or possession of another upon compulsion or demand.

The biblical definition of surrender is to completely rely on God’s wisdom, timing, and direction.

Both definitions state to 100% depend and rely on another!

What both definitions don’t mention is the cost of surrender.

The cost of surrender may require giving up your personal desires, big dreams, and ambitious goals.

God does not want your 90% or even your 98%. He wants your FULL 100% to be completely surrendered to Him.

And to us, that might be terrifying because in a secular world where we desire so much control over certain areas of our lives, giving that up requires a step of faith.

how i finally learned to surrender to god

As someone who has been a control freak for the majority of my life, I had no idea how to practice surrendering to God.

When I look back on my past prayers, much of my prayers would be a request for God to make my ambitious goals come to fruition. For the longest time, I always wanted to be an entrepreneur.

I wanted to work for myself and never saw myself working a traditional 9-5 job. If I’m being so honest, I felt like there was more to my life and that God had big plans for me.

As a result, I was paralyzed by fear when I graduated college because I felt like my major was not tied to what I wanted to do. I felt the weight of my parents pressuring me to go to graduate school.

I didn’t apply for jobs in my field because deep down, I felt inadequate and that this was not the plan God had for me.

I was reluctant to take on opportunities outside of what I wanted for myself out of fear and also stubbornness.

Long story short, I moved to Taiwan for 1.5 years to “rediscover myself” and during the last half of my time there, I experienced the most painful breakup that eventually led me to hit rock bottom.

This breakup happened two months before I was going to fly back home to the States for a wedding. At that point, I was so broken spiritually and emotionally. All I could do was rely on God.

So in my tiny apartment, I rededicated my life to God. Friends, when I tell you God has revealed soo much to me about my heart and desires… oof, like it hit me so hard.

I’ll never forget the verse from Isaiah 41:10 that I held onto during that painful time, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

The Holy Spirit was telling me to surrender my future, my dreams of becoming an entrepreneur, and my fear of man all to God. I had to prioritize God above what my family would think of me. I had to trust that God knew what was best for me and my future.

The strangest thing was I felt so much peace when I surrendered. When I thought about moving home, I felt a strange, indescribable feeling of peace and calm, instead of resistance and fear. Like I just knew everything was going to be okay.

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28

The importance of surrender

Why is it so important to surrender to God? It reveals our heart posture towards Him!

What we’re willing to sacrifice is revealed when God says “no” to a desire, goal, or dream. Are we willing to give up everything, to take up our cross, and follow Him?

The best example is clearly shown when Jesus died on the cross for us out of His love for God. Friends, Jesus was young and still had so many years to live. He was single, and I’m sure Jesus probably had his own preferences and interests.

But Jesus knew His mission here on earth. He surrendered EVERYTHING at the cross.

Wow, that’s so good. So let me ask you, are you willing to surrender everything at the foot of the cross?

God gives us free will – the choice to surrender. He doesn’t force us, but sometimes He might put us in situations that will test our faith.

So whether it’s your finances, education, career, marital status, dreams, or desires, I want to encourage you to take a bold step of faith and surrender them to God.

Here are 5 tips to help you cultivate a posture of surrender to God.

5 tips to surrender to god

1. take time to evaluate your heart

This is a time to reflect on your own heart. Have you really taken the time to look at your heart posture towards God?

Don’t get me wrong, friends! This isn’t to condemn or shame you.

But this is what really helped me learn to surrender to God, and I believe the first step is to see where you’re at.

Are there idols or priorities you need to step away from in order to center God back into your life?

For me, it was fear of man.

This has been an ongoing idol in my life that realistically isn’t going to be removed in a second, but does require constant surrender on my end.

I’ll give an example. Before I came back to the States, I was terrified that my parents would try to convince me to go to graduate school.

But wow, the Holy Spirit was convicting me so much to fear God rather than the approval of my parents.

Yes, the fear might still be there living under their household, but I am to obey and fear God above my parents.

So friends, don’t be afraid to get honest with yourself and allow the Holy Spirit in to your heart. See where the Holy Spirit is convicting you in your life right now.

2. repent in prayer

Once you have identified the idols in your life or the things you need to give to God, you got to repent!

Trust me, friends. Our Father does NOT condemn or shame us for bringing our idols to Him. He LOVES us SO incredibly much that He wants to hear everything you have to say.

He hurts for us when we struggle with the things that torment us. He wants to remove them from your life to experience true freedom in Him.

But that comes from confession and repentance. Maybe you picture repentance as this formal way of prayer that has to be 30 minutes long – nope!

It’s a confession of acknowledging that you need His help to guide you. That you simply can’t do things alone.

You admit that you can’t do life on your own. You need His strength to help you get through the things in your life.

You need Him to step in and intervene in your life. Don’t forget that God’s love for you is so much greater than you can imagine.

Trust that He is good and faithful. Repent and take the time to share your burdens with Him because His yoke is easy.

Because our FATHER is good, I challenge you to confess and let go of the control that you’re holding onto so tightly.

Trust me, friend. Our DAD knows exactly what you need <3

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 hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11

3. immerse Yourself in God’s Word

You simply cannot surrender to God if you don’t know or trust Him. Ouch!

But this also rings true to our relationships with our friends and family. How can we trust someone… if we don’t really know them?

The Bible is God-breathed, meaning that it’s a guide and testament to knowing the nature of God.

Here are some ways to immerse yourself in God’s Word:

Establish a morning/evening daily routine for reading the Bible.
Join a Bible study group to deepen understanding.
Memorize key verses that encourage trust and surrender.

If you’re not sure where to start, I’d recommend starting with the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) to understand who Jesus is and our relationship with Him.

Maybe I can create a Bible study in the future! Please share your thoughts in the comments below if there’s a certain topic you’d like. 🙂

4. Surround Yourself with a Faith Community

I can’t even tell you the power of immersing yourself in a faith-filled community. I really do miss my church back in Taiwan. It was small, but wow, I’ve never met Christians who were SO on fire for God.

Their faith made me want to have this fire for God and dive deeper into my relationship with Him.

How do you find community? Here are some ways:

Engage with a local church or small group.
Seek accountability partners who can support your journey.
Participate in community service to live out your faith.

Right when I came back to the States, my friend invited me to a Bible study and just from the first study, I learned SO much.

Now it’s become a weekly Bible study, so I encourage you friends to either start your own Bible study or say yes to any Bible study (that’s online or in-person).

Chances are, you might just meet your closest Christian friends there!

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Hebrews 10: 24-25

5. See where God is working

When we constantly look to the future or how seemingly amazing other people’s lives are, we lose sight of where God is ALREADY working.

Even if it might not feel like it, take hold of any seemingly small signs of where you see God working in your life.

Maybe it might not be a physical sign, but He could be teaching something in your heart. Is He exposing your heart to certain idols or distractions that are keeping you from going to Him?

Is there someone in your community that needs a helping hand? Has God put anything on your heart lately to give to someone in need?

Look around and you might be surprised to see HOW much He is working in your life. You just have to be open to let the Holy Spirit move within you.

Final thoughts about surrendering to God completely

Full faith requires making adjustments in your life and obeying Him!

Making those adjustments require surrendering your plans for His. As hard as it may be, the only way to fully surrender to God is to let go of any personal ambitions, goals, or dreams.

When we look at our lives from an eternal perspective, we need to be reminded that we belong to Him. What He gives, He can easily take away.

So everything we own here in this world can be easily taken away.

Rather than letting this scare us, let us rejoice us because there is SO much freedom in knowing that we don’t have to keep striving to get that precious “thing.” We can let go of anything that is temporary and fleeting and shift our focus to what IS eternal.

There is already FREEDOM found in Him. Let us surrender and give our Father all the glory He deserves. <3 Amen!