Dear God, thank You for this new week and for the strength I need to face every day ahead. Your Word in Psalm 54:4 says, “Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is with those who uphold my life.” God, when the storms of this life try to take my peace, I’m choosing to stand firm and reach out to You instead of giving up. I may not understand everything I’m going through right now, but I trust that one day I’ll see it clearly. Guide my steps this week, giving me peace where there’s chaos and hope in every situation I face. When I feel exhausted, remind me that You’ve always been faithful. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. -Proverbs 3:6
Proverbs 3:5-6 says,
Trust in the Lord with all your heart.
Never rely on what you think you know.
Remember the Lord in everything you do,
and He will show you the right way.
I love these verses – they have really encouraged me throughout my life. Here are some things that really speak to me from this passage:
- We have to trust God with ALL our heart, not just 90%. Most people I have spoken to happily trust God with most of their heart, but they are holding back something that they struggle to give to God.
- God knows everything and we only know a tiny amount of all there is to know. We shouldn’t be fooled into thinking we know everything, or that we know better than God.
- If we constantly look to God for direction, He will guide us. I ask Him who I should talk to after church, how I should use my free time, what I should say to someone who is hurting, what I should pray for, etc.
- Sometimes there’s not one perfect, right way, but many great options. As long as you Love God and love other people, don’t get too hung up on the small details.
Challenge: Is there part of your life that you are holding back from giving to God?
People often struggle to surrender specific, deeply personal areas of their lives due to a desire for self-reliance, fear of the unknown, or emotional attachment. [1, 2]
Common Areas Held Back
- Finances and Security: Trusting God with income, savings, and financial futures instead of relying strictly on personal planning.
- Relationships and Family: Relinquishing control over spouses, children, dating lives, or the approval of others.
- Future Plans and Career: Holding onto personal ambitions, timelines, or hidden desires rather than accepting unexpected turns.
- Pains and Unforgiveness: Clinging to past hurts, bitterness, or emotional baggage rather than working through or releasing them.
- Daily Habits and Entertainment: Keeping private habits, thought patterns, or media choices shielded from spiritual accountability. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
Why Surrender Feels Difficult
- Fear of Loss: Worrying that surrendering means losing comfort, joy, or autonomy.
- Need for Control: Believing that personal strategies are safer or more reliable than trusting an unseen outcome.
- Distinction Between Giving Up and Handing Over: True surrender is not apathy or resignation (slumping like a passive passenger), but an active decision to trust a capable guide with the steering wheel.
To identify a specific area you are hesitant to let go of, look for physical tension, recurring negative emotions, and situations where familiarity outweighs personal growth. [1, 2]
Signs That Point to an Area You Are Holding Onto
- Physical and bodily tension: Notice if your jaw, neck, or shoulders tighten when you think about a specific job, relationship, or commitment.
- Persistent draining emotions: Track if a specific dynamic consistently brings anxiety, resentment, sadness, or a feeling of depletion.
- Stagnation or lack of growth: Recognize when you are investing heavy energy into a role or project without seeing forward movement or alignment with who you are now.
- The “sunk cost” trap: Notice if you are staying purely because of how much time, money, or emotional history you have already invested.
Questions to Locate the Core Area
- The physical check-in: Pause right now, breathe, and scan your mind across different life domains (work, living space, a specific relationship, a habit). Which mental image causes a sudden knot in your stomach? [1]
- The values test: Does this area still fit your current values, or are you clinging to it out of fear of the unknown and comfort wih the familiar?
- The blank slate test: If this obligation or attachment vanished tomorrow, what kind of relief or new possibility would rush into that space?
God works on us in many ways. He is always changing us making us better Lights for a very dark world. I have had many areas where it took me time to give up total control to God.
As humans, we want to be in control and God did give us freedom of choice. If he hadn’t, we’d all still live in the garden.
I had trouble giving my children, my marriage, my health, my finances, and even my work to God. One by one I give God more control over these areas of my life. I find that as I give more things to God allow Him to tell me how to handle it. Things get better. It is a process which will last all my life. Jeremiah 18 tells us the story of the potter and the clay. As we allow God, he molds us closer to His image.
I would have to say the hardest for me is my health. I thought I was controlling everything, taking my medication, forcing myself to exercise. I was in control of nothing. Each time I got pneumonia, God was telling me to slow down, learn to live life at a slower pace. I would slow down for awhile and then I got better and would be right back at it. This time, I am working on slowing down making life changes. I had to learn God expects us to rest just as much as He expects us to take time to talk to him. Having a conversation doesn’t mean I yap, yap, yapp, and don’t listen. In order to hear God and know His direction for our lives; we have to sit still be quiet and listen.
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