Why Can’t I Surrender?

“…Christ Jesus who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”

Philippians 2:5-7 (ESV)

I was on a conference call when it happened, but I could have easily been on the phone with one of my young adult kids, or in the kitchen when my husband came home, or having lunch with a good friend. Someone made a comment that shattered my peace and filled me with dismay and devastation. The rest of my world stopped while my thoughts started spinning. How can I solve this problem?

My day continued while my thoughts churned. I grasped for solutions, prayed for answers, and tried to trust God to provide a resolution while time marched on and my thoughts continued to march around my mind. I was consumed with solving this unwanted event. Have you ever experienced this? For you, maybe it was the day that your husband dropped a comment that threatened his commitment to your marriage, or the moment that your friend confided that she had an addiction, or when your dearly loved and valued co-worker announced that she needed to step back for health reasons, or the moment that your college student called to let you know he wanted to drop out of school. Don’t get me wrong. God wants us to do our best to help others and ourselves. What he doesn’t want is for those concerns to consume us. There comes a time when it’s clear that our advice and suggestions aren’t wanted, or when our agenda is simply an outcome we cling to because the alternative is too hard to accept. When that time arrives, we need to lay our desires at His feet and trust Him for direction and protection.

I’m not very good at peaceful submission, especially when someone I love is suffering or choosing a decision that they may later regret. I pray, often and fervently, but God many times chooses to be silent, and while He’s silent, I tend to stew.

The other day, I read Philippians 2:5-7, which says, “…Christ Jesus who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” (ESV)

Paul wrote this verse to describe the moment when Jesus learned God wanted Him to leave Perfection, join our fallen society, and die a torturous, undeserved death.

I was drawn to this verse because I noticed Jesus’ reaction when He heard about God’s plan. He emptied Himself. Instead of filling his mind with thoughts that reach, grasp, and frantically search for solutions, Jesus immediately discarded His personal desires and trusted God’s perfect and loving will.

Something in me shifted when the words in Philippians settled in my mind. I may have pure intentions when I plead for God to act, but

maybe the path to peace goes through my pride.

Jesus’ humble agreement to accept his affliction led to humanity’s redemption. Sometimes the road to victory is paved in the valley.

So how do we stop our pleading prayers, our runaway distracting thoughts, and our worries that consume us?  

Like the shortest verse in the Bible, the answer to this question consists of two small words that only use eight letters. We worship. We find something true about God and we focus on it. God turned humanity’s greatest tragedy into His greatest triumph, and He will do it again in our troubling situations.

How do I know that? Because He’s a personal God. The redemption that He worked on behalf of humanity is the same redemption that he wants to do in your life and in mine. He makes a way where there is no way.

We don’t need to stress and plead for God to work. We need to ask and trust that God knows more than we do. Then, we worship. Worship reminds us of God’s faithfulness, His provision, His love, His forgiveness, and His protection. And I’m learning that more problems are solved through our peaceful submission than in our desperate pleas.

Dear Lord, forgive me for trying to find a solution instead of trusting you for a solution to my problem. Help me focus on you and trust you to work in this situation. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Resources to Help:

1.      Write the details of your problem and everything that you want Jesus to do.

2.      Underline words that include specifics about what needs to happen to solve the problem.

3.      Circle words that indicate your surrender and trust in Jesus to handle this.

4.      Re-write your request (if needed) to reflect an emptying of your desires and trust in Jesus to fix the problem

5.      Pray that God will help you trust Him to work.

Songs to Help:

1.      “Do it again” Elevation Worship

2.      “Same God” Elevation worship