Learning to Surrender

“The greatness of a man’s power is the measure of his surrender.” –William Booth

Learning to surrender control to God has been one of the hardest things to do on my journey since I have become a Jesus follower about ten years ago.

I have felt the need to control, manipulate, and do things under my own strength so life circumstances turn out the way I think they should. This is true in every area of my life including relationships, finances and career.

What it Means to Surrender

Surrender is defined as the action of yielding one’s person or giving up the possession of something to the power of another.

The first principle of Celebrate Recovery, a Christ-centered, 12-step recovery program for anyone struggling with hurt, pain or addiction of any kind, is to realize that I am not God. I am powerless to control my tendency to do the wrong thing and that my life is unmanageable.

This first principle is based on Matthew 5:3 which says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Most of my adult life I have lived independent of God. I have tried to figure things out on my own and have tried to force things to happen. I have been really good at powering through and allowing my ego to take over.

It is an exhausting way to live and not very fulfilling.

What I am learning on my journey is that God is in control and I am not. I am not God even though I try to be.

His Plans are Better than My Plans

The hardest thing for me has been to trust God and believe that His plans are better than my plans even when it doesn’t make sense.

In fact, it can be very painful. I am learning to embrace uncertainty and to surrender.

By humbling myself and recognizing that my worth comes from God alone, it frees me up to live under God’s power and not my own independent effort.

As I go on my entrepreneurial journey the only way this ministry can be successful is to completely surrender to God’s will.

Surrender is hard work. It is an intense battle against our self-centered nature.

Wave the White Flag

We will know we are surrendered to God when we depend on God to work things out instead of trying to manipulate others, force our own agenda and control a situation.

We simply wave the white flag and surrender to Christ.

That is how I want to live my life moving forward. I am sure there will be many times I will want to steer the ship. But as I learn to let go and let God I know God has some pretty amazing plans for my life.

Are you ready to surrender? Let’s wave the white flag and let God be God.

Troy Ismir

Spiritual Warrior

Founder and Creator of Barbells & Brothers