Surrendered: Trained for the Natural but called to the Spiritual

There comes a moment in your walk with God where you realize something uncomfortable:

“I’ve spent years training for a world I’m not actually in control of.”

Most of us don’t start our journey with the word surrender.

We start with:

• Get educated.

  
  
  
  

• Get trained.

  
  
  
  

• Get strong.

  
  
  
  

• Get sharp.

  
  
  
  

• Get ahead.

  
  
  
  

None of that is wrong. The problem is when all that training in the natural quietly convinces us that we are the ones running the show — that if we just do everything right, we can make life behave.

I know this personally.

My Life: Strong in the Natural, Weak in Surrender

In the natural, I was well prepared.

I invested years into training:

• Eight years of post-secondary education – degrees, diplomas, certificates. I learned to analyze, argue, defend, and solve.

  
  
  
  

• Brown belt in jiu-jitsu – hours on the mat, learning to stay calm under pressure, to think clearly when uncomfortable.

  
  
  
  

• Marksman with handguns and rifles – focus, breathing, precision, small adjustments that change everything.

  
  
  
  

• Above-average IQ – the ability to process quickly, connect ideas, and often “figure it out.”

  
  
  
  

Put all that together and you get someone who is:

capable, strategic, disciplined, mentally and physically equipped.

So my instinct became:

“If there’s a problem, I can think it through, plan it out, and push it into place.”

My default setting was competent self-reliance.

The dangerous thing about this is the quiet message under it:

“If you work hard enough and plan well enough, you can make life work.”

You don’t say it out loud, but your heart starts to trust:

• your education more than God’s wisdom,

  
  
  
  

• your discipline more than God’s grace,

  
  
  
  

• your intelligence more than God’s leading,

  
  
  
  

• your instincts more than God’s voice.

  
  
  
  

And then life stops cooperating with your script.

When Life Refuses to Follow Your Script

We all carry an internal script:

• “By this age, I’ll be here.”

  
  
  
  

• “If I sow well, this is the harvest I’ll see.”

  
  
  
  

• “If I walk in integrity, people will treat me fairly.”

  
  
  
  

Then reality happens.

• The job you counted on disappears.

  
  
  
  

• The relationship you thought was solid fractures.

  
  
  
  

• A door you were sure God would open stays shut.

  
  
  
  

• A health crisis or unexpected loss hits.

  
  
  
  

• People you trusted walk away or betray you.

  
  
  
  

Suddenly, your intelligence, training, discipline, and focus don’t produce the outcome you expected.

You think:

“I prepared. I prayed. I did what I knew to do.

Why is this not working?”

That’s where the Holy Spirit began to deal with me.

Doors I expected to open didn’t.

Seasons I thought were “breakthrough” turned into pruning.

Plans I was sure were God’s will suddenly shifted.

And into that frustration, I began to hear a phrase:

“Stop trying to make it work.”

“Stop Trying to Make It Work”

When God says, “Stop trying to make it work,” He’s not saying:

• “Stop caring.”

  
  
  
  

• “Stop being responsible.”

  
  
  
  

• “Stop planning.”

  
  
  
  

He is saying:

“Stop believing your effort holds everything together.”

“Stop assuming you can push hard enough to force My will, My timing, or My outcomes.”

“Stop carrying weight you were never designed to carry.”

There’s a big difference between:

• Obedient effort and controlling striving.

  
  
  
  

Obedient effort:

• hears God,

  
  
  
  

• responds in faith,

  
  
  
  

• works diligently,

  
  
  
  

• leaves outcomes to Him.

  
  
  
  

Controlling striving:

• assumes God must bless my plan,

  
  
  
  

• pushes harder when He closes a door,

  
  
  
  

• panics when the timeline slips,

  
  
  
  

• feels responsible to “fix” everything.

  
  
  
  

God’s whisper to me was:

“Peter, your training taught you to control pressure.

My Kingdom teaches you to trust Me under pressure.

Your mind and discipline are good servants but terrible masters.

Let Me be what you keep trying to be.”

The Revelation: You Have Almost Zero Real Control

Scripture doesn’t flatter our illusion of control. James writes:

“You who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town… and make a profit’—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring… Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’” (James 4:13–15)

God isn’t rebuking planning. He’s rebuking presumption.

We can:

• make choices,

  
  
  
  

• sow seeds,

  
  
  
  

• obey God,

  
  
  
  

• walk in wisdom.

  
  
  
  

But we cannot control:

• other people,

  
  
  
  

• outcomes,

  
  
  
  

• timing,

  
  
  
  

• which doors open or close,

  
  
  
  

• which storms come.

  
  
  
  

When that illusion finally breaks, you hit a crossroads:

• Become bitter, fearful, and more controlling, or

  
  
  
  

• Become surrendered.

  
  
  
  

Surrender doesn’t mean apathy. It sounds like:

“Lord, You are God and I am not.

I will still plan and prepare, but with open hands.

I will do what You ask, but I won’t worship my own outcomes.”

When His Ways Really Are Higher

Isaiah says:

“My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways… as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways.” (Isaiah 55:8–9)

That’s beautiful on a wall… and sharp in real life.

Higher ways can look like:

• God saying no to something obviously “good.”

  
  
  
  

• God delaying something you feel ready for.

  
  
  
  

• God moving you in ways that don’t make human sense.

  
  
  
  

• God asking you to love someone who hasn’t loved you well.

  
  
  
  

Your natural training says:

“Fix it. Prove it. Push it. Make it work.”

A surrendered heart says:

“Father, if Your ways are higher, my understanding must bow.

I don’t have to enjoy this yet, but I choose to trust You.”

That’s where the supernatural starts to open up.

Ordered Steps, Not Random Chaos

Psalm 37:23 says:

“The steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord.”

When you walk with God, even detours, delays, and disappointments are not random. They’re woven into His ordering.

I can look back and say:

“My life hasn’t gone the way I expected,

but it has led me into a realm where God moves, leads, provides, and reveals Himself.”

I can now see:

• times He blocked what would have destroyed me,

  
  
  
  

• times He allowed weakness so I’d lean on His strength,

  
  
  
  

• times a painful “no” made room for a far better “yes.”

  
  
  
  

When you really grasp that your steps are ordered, surrender becomes less terrifying and more freeing.

What a Biblically Surrendered Lifestyle Actually Looks Like

So what does a surrendered life actually look like?

Not just “I surrender all” in a song, but Monday morning, real life.

Here’s a simple definition:

A biblically surrendered lifestyle is a way of living where my beliefs, values, decisions, and actions are intentionally submitted to God’s will as revealed in Scripture, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and aimed at honoring Jesus in every area of life.

That touches:

• what you think,

  
  
  
  

• how you respond,

  
  
  
  

• what you pursue,

  
  
  
  

• what you refuse,

  
  
  
  

• what you do with your time, money, relationships, and calling.

  
  
  
  

Below are the core pillars — summarized and tightened.

1. Faith in God: The Doorway to Everything Else

You can’t surrender to a God you don’t trust.

Surrender begins with a settled conviction:

“God is good. God is wise. God is in charge — even when I don’t understand.”

Faith isn’t just mental agreement. It’s what you lean on when life hurts:

• “God, even if this path is painful, You are still good.”

  
  
  
  

• “Even when doors close, You are not abandoning me.”

  
  
  
  

• “Even when I lose what I thought I needed, You are still my Provider.”

  
  
  
  

Real faith will always be tested. Like Abraham, you’ll be asked to walk without full details and to place treasured things on the altar. But surrendered faith says:

“I don’t need all the answers if I’m sure of Your character.”

2. Obedience to Scripture: Letting God’s Word Overrule My Opinion

We live in a world of:

“I feel like God is saying…”

“I don’t really see it that way…”

A surrendered life is anchored in something more solid than feelings: the written Word of God.

Jesus said:

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

Obedience means:

• When Scripture confronts my attitude, I don’t dodge it.

  
  
  
  

• When it collides with culture, I don’t edit it.

  
  
  
  

• When it calls me to forgive, give, or change, I don’t endlessly delay.

  
  
  
  

It touches forgiveness, purity, money, speech, bitterness, relationships — all of it. A surrendered heart moves from “Bible as suggestion” to “Bible as authority.”

3. Dependence on the Holy Spirit: You Can’t Do This Alone

If surrender were just “try harder” and “be better,” we’d all collapse.

God didn’t call us to live surrendered and then leave us with willpower. He gave us the Holy Spirit — Helper, Comforter, Counselor, Advocate.

He:

• convicts when we’re off,

  
  
  
  

• leads when we’re unsure,

  
  
  
  

• strengthens when we’re weak,

  
  
  
  

• reminds us of what God has said.

  
  
  
  

Walking by the Spirit looks like simple, constant dependence:

“Holy Spirit, I don’t have patience for this — love through me.”

“My mind is spinning — be my peace.”

“I want to react in anger — help me respond like Jesus.”

You don’t clean yourself up and then invite the Spirit; you invite Him in and He begins to transform you from the inside out.

4. Surrendering Personal Desires: When God Touches What You Want Most

At some point God will put His hand on something specific:

• a relationship,

  
  
  
  

• a city,

  
  
  
  

• a ministry dream,

  
  
  
  

• a timeline,

  
  
  
  

• a financial or personal goal.

  
  
  
  

And He will whisper:

“Will you give Me this?”

Jesus said:

“If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”

Denying self doesn’t mean you stop having desires. It means your desires stop sitting on the throne.

Surrendered prayer sounds like:

“Lord, this is what I deeply want…

but I want Your will more than my own way.

If this desire is from You, fulfill it in Your time.

If it’s not, purify or remove it. I trust You with my heart.”

5. A Life of Worship: Your Whole Life as an Altar

Worship is more than songs and atmospheres. Romans 12:1 calls us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice — this is our spiritual worship.

That means worship happens when you:

• choose honesty over compromise,

  
  
  
  

• show patience instead of snapping,

  
  
  
  

• give generously when no one sees,

  
  
  
  

• refuse gossip,

  
  
  
  

• get alone with God when you could scroll or escape.

  
  
  
  

God is listening to our songs, but He’s watching our choices.

True worship will cost you something — time, comfort, money, reputation — and God receives every hidden “yes” as worship.

6. Loving Others: The Most Visible Test of Surrender

Jesus said the world would recognize His disciples by their love, not their platform.

Some of your hardest surrender tests will involve people:

• those who misunderstand you,

  
  
  
  

• those who take and don’t give,

  
  
  
  

• those who walk away,

  
  
  
  

• those who wound you.

  
  
  
  

Your flesh wants to punish, withdraw, and harden. Surrender asks:

“Lord, how do You want me to love here?

Where are the boundaries You want, and where is the grace You want me to extend?”

Loving enemies — praying for them, refusing to curse them, releasing them to God — is one of the clearest marks of a surrendered heart.

7. Stewardship: It Was Never Really Yours

Jesus’ parable of the talents shows us that everything we “have” is entrusted, not owned.

That includes:

• your money,

  
  
  
  

• your time,

  
  
  
  

• your gifts,

  
  
  
  

• your training,

  
  
  
  

• your ministry,

  
  
  
  

• your story.

  
  
  
  

Even my natural training — education, jiu-jitsu, marksmanship, mental capacity — is not a trophy display. It’s a toolset for the Kingdom.

Stewardship shifts the question from:

“What do I want to do with this?”

to:

“Lord, what do You want done with what’s in my hands?”

8. Sacrificial Living: When Jesus Becomes Worth More Than “Everything”

Paul said:

“Whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ… because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” (Philippians 3:7–8)

Sacrificial living is not chasing suffering or feeling guilty when you enjoy God’s gifts. It’s simply this:

When comfort, applause, or safety collide with obedience — you choose obedience.

That may cost you:

• reputation,

  
  
  
  

• opportunities,

  
  
  
  

• comfort,

  
  
  
  

• certain relationships,

  
  
  
  

• a sense of human “security.”

  
  
  
  

On the front end, the flesh always asks, “Is it worth it?” On the other side of obedience, you find grace, peace, and deeper intimacy with Jesus — and your spirit answers, “Yes. You are worth it.”

9. Prayerful Dependence: Surrender in Conversation

Without prayer, surrender turns into dry duty. With prayer, surrender becomes relationship.

Philippians 4:6–7 invites us to bring everything to God, not just crises. Prayerful dependence sounds like:

• “Lord, I don’t know what to do here; I bring it to You.”

  
  
  
  

• “Jesus, my emotions are all over; help me see through Your eyes.”

  
  
  
  

• “Father, I keep grabbing control; I choose to release this again.”

  
  
  
  

“Pray without ceasing” simply means living turned toward God — checking in with Him through the day, not just visiting Him on Sundays.

Surrender in the Lives of Abraham, Peter, Paul, and Jesus

Scripture doesn’t just give us concepts; it gives us people.

Abraham – Trusting God with the Unknown and the Dearest

• God calls him to leave his country with no map: “Go to the land I will show you.”

  
  
  
  

• Later, God asks him to place Isaac, the promised son, on the altar.

  
  
  
  

Everything in the natural screams, “This makes no sense.”

Abraham obeys anyway.

He learns — and we learn through him — that God is not a cruel taker but a faithful Tester and Provider. Surrender doesn’t end in loss; it ends in deeper revelation of who God is.

Peter – From Self-Confidence to Spirit-Led Surrender

Bold Peter promises:

“Even if all fall away, I will not.”

And then denies Jesus three times.

His self-confidence collapses. But the risen Jesus restores him:

“Do you love Me? … Feed My sheep.”

Peter goes from “I will never fail You” to a man who knows his own weakness and leans on the Spirit. In Acts, that surrendered Peter preaches boldly, obeys under pressure, and walks in supernatural power — no longer powered by ego, but by the Spirit.

Paul – From Zealous Control to “Not I, but Christ”

Paul is highly educated, zealous, persuaded he’s serving God — while persecuting Christians.

On the road to Damascus, Jesus confronts him:

“Why are you persecuting Me?”

Paul’s entire framework collapses. Later he writes:

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20)

The persecutor becomes the apostle. His brilliance and training don’t disappear — they get surrendered and repurposed.

Jesus – The Ultimate Surrendered Life

Philippians 2 shows us the pattern:

• Equal with God,

  
  
  
  

• yet He empties Himself,

  
  
  
  

• becomes a servant,

  
  
  
  

• becomes obedient to death — even death on a cross.

  
  
  
  

In Gethsemane, we hear the most costly prayer of surrender in history:

“Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

Because He surrendered, we are saved. Now He invites us into that same posture: “Follow Me.”

Pressing On: Philippians 3:13–14 as a Surrendered Mindset

Paul writes:

“I do not consider that I have made it my own; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal…” (Philippians 3:13–14)

This gives us the inner posture of a surrendered life:

• Humility – “I haven’t arrived.” No matter how mature you are, you’re still a learner.

  
  
  
  

• Releasing the past – refusing to be defined by old shame or old success.

  
  
  
  

• Leaning forward – not passively drifting, but intentionally pursuing God’s call.

  
  
  
  

• Redefined success – the “prize” isn’t a bigger platform; it’s Christ Himself.

  
  
  
  

Surrender shifts the question from:

“Did life work out like I planned?”

to:

“Did I follow Him and obey Him in this?”

Walking This Out: Practical Rhythms of Surrender

Here are simple, concrete ways to live this daily.

Daily Rhythms

1. Morning Surrender

Pray something like:

“Jesus, today I surrender afresh.

My plans, conversations, reactions — they’re Yours.

Interrupt my agenda if You want.

Lead me by Your Spirit.”

2. Scripture First

Let God’s Word shape you before the world does. Read slowly. When something convicts you, don’t skip it. Say:

“Lord, change whatever in me doesn’t agree with this.”

3. Holy Spirit Check-Ins

Throughout the day:

• “Holy Spirit, how did I just respond?”

  
  
  
  

• “Was that You or my flesh?”

  
  
  
  

• “Do I need to apologize to anyone?”

  
  
  
  

These 10-second prayers keep your heart soft.

4. Evening Review

At night:

• Where did I cooperate with God today?

  
  
  
  

• Where did I resist Him?

  
  
  
  

• Is there anyone I need to forgive or anything to confess?

  
  
  
  

Receive His forgiveness and go to sleep under grace, not condemnation.

Weekly / Ongoing Practices

• Sabbath: Take a day to stop producing and remember: “The world runs on God, not on me.”

  
  
  
  

• Fasting: Say “no” to something legitimate to say a deeper “yes” to God.

  
  
  
  

• Solitude: Turn off the noise and listen.

  
  
  
  

• Honest community: Have a couple of people who can lovingly challenge and pray with you.

  
  
  
  

When You Blow It

You will have days where:

• you grab control again,

  
  
  
  

• you react in the flesh,

  
  
  
  

• you ignore the Spirit’s nudge.

  
  
  
  

Don’t run from God. Run to Him:

“Lord, I resisted You there. I’m sorry.”

Receive forgiveness. Realign. Move forward. Surrender is a direction, not a perfection score.

A Short Reflection and Prayer of Surrender

Let these questions linger with you:

• Where am I trying hardest to “make it work” in my own strength?

  
  
  
  

• What might surrender look like specifically in that area?

  
  
  
  

• Which pillar is weakest right now: faith, obedience, dependence, desire-surrender, worship, love, stewardship, sacrifice, or prayer?

  
  
  
  

• What is one practical change I can make this week to walk more surrendered?

  
  
  
  

And here’s a shortened prayer you can pray aloud:

Lord Jesus,

You see my whole life — my past, my present, and my future.

You see my training, my gifts, my strengths, and my weaknesses.

Today, I choose surrender.

I confess that I am not in control — You are.

I lay down the illusion that I can make everything work by effort alone.

I surrender my mind: renew it by Your Word.

I surrender my heart: heal and purify it by Your Spirit.

I surrender my will: align it with Yours.

I surrender my desires: refine, redirect, or resurrect them as You choose.

Teach me to trust Your goodness, obey Your Word,

depend on the Holy Spirit, and worship with my whole life.

Let my love, my stewardship, my sacrifices, and my prayers

all reflect that You are truly Lord.

Like Paul, I admit I haven’t arrived,

but I choose to forget what lies behind and press on toward You.

My life hasn’t gone the way I imagined,

but as I surrender, lead me into the realm of the supernatural

where You move, You lead, and You receive all the glory.

I stop trying to make it work in my strength.

Jesus, be Lord in every part of me.

Amen. Much love!