The word surrender has different meanings depending on the situation you are in. If a military force surrenders, it is acknowledging defeat. If a criminal surrenders, they are, in a way, taking accountability for their actions. If  you surrender a property or possession, you are releasing ownership of that object. Surrender takes on a new meaning when you look at it Biblically. By definition, it is somewhat similar, but the connotation is the complete opposite of the way the world views surrender. Let me preface this with a disclosure: this area in my life is a work in progress. This is something the Lord is refining in my life daily. I struggle with surrender. I prefer control. I like predictability. I need to know exactly when, why and how things are going to go. Surrender goes against almost every aspect of my nature. However, God has been showing me I don’t have nearly as much control over my life as I like to think. I have been finding that the more I try to control and work things out for myself, the more everything spirals. I feel so exhausted trying to figure everything out because it is something God never intended for me to do. 

Proverbs 3:5-6 says

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

I used to read this verse and pray for God to direct my steps. Until recently, I thought this meant I have to decide where the steps are going based on my own knowledge. I was praying that God would give me the guidance to control my steps. Which I guess isn’t necessarily “wrong” to pray for, but a friend said something to me that completely flipped this upside down. We were having a conversation about how I was having a hard time figuring out where God was leading me. I explained to her that I would go in directions that I felt like God was leading, but they either didn’t work out or just kind of stopped before turning into anything in my life. That’s when she said to me “It is our job to walk obediently, and God will make our paths straight.” It was like a weight lifted when I heard those words. She was so right. I was putting so much control in my hands to figure out where I was stepping. I had good intentions. I wanted to be in the center of God’s Will. But I was going about it in the wrong way. I was going after it with control, not surrender. Over the next few weeks, this phrase kept coming into my head when I felt like I was spiraling trying to figure things out. Slowly, God is showing me the peace that comes with surrender. Is there anything in your life you are praying about right now that you haven’t surrendered? I challenge you today (along with myself) to fully surrender that area of your life to Christ, and watch Him make your paths straight.