Give It to God: 5 Ways to Give God Control
A midsummer drought slows the creek to a trickle and darkens it to the color of black tea. I sit by the water with a friend, and we talk about hopes, dreams, and the prayers we desperately want God to answer. We talk about how hard it can be to surrender control—to “give it to God” and trust him with the outcomes in our lives.
I wonder if you can relate.
Maybe you’ve been chasing a dream that hasn’t come to fruition, and you’re not sure how to embrace your calling while trustfully giving it to God at the same time.
Perhaps you’ve been asking God to mend a broken area of your life, restore a relationship, heal a disease, or open a new door. You want to release your white-knuckled grip on the situation and give it to God, but you’re not sure how.
How to Give It to God
I’ve been practicing the discipline of surrender for decades, and exchanging control for surrender rarely comes easily.
I find security in clinging to five-year plans and weekly agendas.
I tend to rely on my own strength instead of showing up in weakness and letting God make his power known.
Practical Ways to Surrender
What does it look like to surrender to God and trust him with the outcomes in our lives? I’m learning a few lessons, and this is what it looks like in my life:
1. We surrender to God by asking him to help us trust him in uncertain times.
Not long ago, a dream I’d been chasing came crashing to the ground. I didn’t understand what God was doing, and I was deeply hurt. I didn’t know how to move forward.
Sitting in the woods on a quiet evening, I realized that I was having a tough time trusting God with the parts of my story that didn’t make sense.
Ever so gently, I sensed the Lord leading me to pray this prayer: “Father, I don’t trust you yet. Please help me to trust you more.”
Proverbs 3:5 reminds us to trust in the Lord with our whole hearts. When trust doesn’t come easily, we don’t need to shame ourselves for our flimsy faith. Instead, we surrender to God by praying, “Lord, help me to trust you more.”
2. We don’t lean on our own understanding.
The second part of Provers 3:5 tells us not to lean on our own understanding.
When my dream fell apart, I didn’t understand what was happening.
What I couldn’t see was that God was protecting me. He had a better plan for me. As I asked him to help me trust him, I was able to give it to God. I was able to surrender my dream, my hopes, and my expectations.
It didn’t happen immediately; however, over time, God worked in my heart and helped me trust him as he brought a bigger and better dream to life. I was able to look back and see that God closed one door because he had a better one waiting for me.
3. We stay close to him—even when we don’t understand his ways.
John 15:4 teaches that we will bear fruit as long as we abide in Christ. We surrender to God in difficult times by staying close to him.
When life is difficult, most of us face the temptation to take offense, turn away from God, and rely on our own strength. Instead, God invites us to draw near to him, soak in his Word, keep praying, worship him, and stay close to him as we wait for him to move.
Are you struggling to trust God?
Keep talking to him.
Stay close. Stay in the word. He will reveal himself to you and carry you through the darkest days.
4. We give it to God daily.
Years ago, we faced a terrifying medical prognosis for our unborn child.
I was paralyzed by fear.
Finally, God showed me how to find freedom from fear. I let myself imagine every worst-case scenario possible. I imagined holding our child’s life in my hands, and I lifted our child to God in an act of surrender. As I surrendered our child to the Lord, I declared his goodness as my mind raced through every worst-case scenario:
Even if our child didn’t survive, God would still be good. He would carry us.
Even if our child had severe limitations in life, God would still be good.
No matter the outcome, our child belonged to God, and God cannot be anything other than good.
This relinquishment process set me free from fear.
I no longer felt like I was running from some awful scenario, and I knew it wasn’t my job to fix the situation. Fear lost its grip on me. I had given it to God.
This relinquishment wasn’t a one-time event.
I had to relinquish my fears many times. However, I eventually found that I was standing on a firm foundation of faith. Repeated relinquishment taught me to trust God.
5. We give it to God by refusing to pick it up again.
Most of us know all about spiraling thoughts.
The doctor calls and requests a biopsy, and our minds run miles ahead with fear and dozens of horrible scenarios.
A friend calls and asks to “talk,” and our minds replay every conversation we can remember as we hope we haven’t been offensive.
How do we “give it to God” in these stressful situations?
We refuse to let our minds spiral ahead of us.
Much of what we worry about never ends up happening. Even when it does happen, the worries were never helpful.
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Regardless of what you need to give to God today, you can trust that is able. He is able to carry this burden for you, and he waits with open arms.
Regardless of what you need to give to God today, you can trust that is able. He is able to carry this burden for you, and he waits with open arms. #Surrender #TrustGod Click To TweetA Free Devotional to Help You Surrender Control and Give It to God
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Attention, all moms and daughters!
Lastly, in addition to writing to adults, I am also passionate about ministering to the next generation.
My 12-year-old daughter Bekah and I wrote a mother-daughter devotional book together. We hope to help moms and daughters connect and grow in faith together. Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith includes 60 devotions with Scripture, commentaries from both of us, conversation starters, and even a shared journaling section.
Our vision is for girls ages 7-17 to enjoy it with their moms, grandmas, or older women they look up to. However, mothers and daughters of all ages are using this book to grow closer together! This book makes a wonderful gift for a mother or daughter you care about!
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