Does Jesus Really Want You To Surrender To Him?

The answer is no, no He doesn’t but it does depend on how your personality views surrender vs submission.

Does that shock you? No, I am not going against the Bible. I’ll show you that later.

For now, just know that I love God passionately and am so grateful to Him for my life, but …

…. I will not surrender to Him – and He is very ok with that.

However, I will SUBMIT to Him – very happily and willingly.

I do realise what people are trying to say when they talk about surrendering to God but I think it’s the wrong word. Certainly for many it has negative connotations.

Before you click away, let me tell you a story that will explain what I mean. (It’s part of the blog post I wrote here: (“Is God Really In Control – Pt 2”)

I grew up surrounded by very controlling and abusive men. Ever since I wanted God to be a part of my life, I struggled intensely with giving up control, or surrendering to Him. Over the years I consistently heard, “You must give up control of your life to God. You must surrender”. As much as I tried to do that, I kept holding a part of me back as I wasn’t about to put myself back under someone else’s control. I was literally terrified.

Can you relate? Have you ever had someone in your life like that? Maybe you still do.

A few months ago, I completely broke down and told God that I would completely surrender to Him and give Him control of my life but that He would have to take it from me as I just couldn’t seem to give it to Him on my own. Do you know what His response was? “I don’t want control of your life.” What the? Now I was even more confused.

The bottom line is: I am in control of my own life just as you are in control of yours – and God is not in control of either.

The most amazing thing is though, that you and me get to choose to partner alongside God. He’s waiting for you to say, “Yes!” to Him. This is submission.

So, what’s the difference between submission and surrender, I hear you ask.

Next came research

So after God said He didn’t want to have control of my life, I began to research surrender and submission.

Let’s look at the dictionary meaning of each.

Surrender: to yield (something) to the possession or power of another; deliver up possession of on demand or under duress.

Submit: to yield oneself to the power or authority of another: to allow oneself to be subjected to some kind of treatment.

There is a big difference. One is by force, the other is by choice.

There are many uses of the word ‘surrender’ in the Old Testament, mainly to do with being overthrown by an army or a king. It always denotes surrendering by force and/or coming under the power and strength of another.

In my research, I found something very, very interesting. I searched for the word ‘submit’ in an online Bible, King James Version search function and I found that this word is always accompanied by ‘yourself’, ‘yourselves’, ‘themselves’, ‘himself’, etc. This shows that submitting to something or someone is an act that is chosen freely and willingly by the person themselves.

My favourite example of this is in James 4:7,

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

You and me are to submit ourselves to God. It is a choice and an act of your will to come into submission to God’s thoughts and destiny for your life. There is so much joy and freedom here, there is no control.

As a side note, every time you hear someone saying that you should ask Jesus to “take the wheel”, let me now tell you what His response will be every time – “No thanks, that’s not My job. I am sitting in the passenger’s seat and I am very happy to guide you in the best way to go, but you’re still the driver of your own life. I will never force you to go My way.” He still gives everyone the choice to decide the way they want to go but He will guide us all if you and me let Him.

This is submission.

There is never any force by God’s hand. Sometimes it may feel like He is pushing harder but in the end, He will still allow you to make your own choices – right or wrong. He gave you the right to decide to live your own life, right from the very start.

So what now?

Firstly, know that God is your loving, Heavenly Father and He only ever wants the very best for you. He has an end destiny for your life – eternity with Him – with many journeys and destinations along the way. You can choose which way to go all on your own or, you can partner with the One who can see all the paths and who can guide you onto the best ones.

I asked God to give me an example of what this looks like. I know how to waltz pretty well and I can tell you that it’s so much easier to dance with a strong, male partner who knows what they are doing as opposed to someone who is not confident and is not able to guide me around the floor. When my partner is strong and confident, he leads and guides me and it is so easy to stay in step with him. It is fun and amazing and I feel safe. When my partner is not confident and strong, it is almost my nature to step in and lead but that simply won’t work. He will be struggling so I will be struggling and the waltz won’t look anything like a waltz anymore.

God is the strong and confident partner, obviously. As you relax and partner with Him as He guides you in the dance of life, it will be a fun and amazing experience. It won’t matter if you are not great at dancing because He can guide you and help you to feel confident and safe. If you stumble, and even if you fall over, He is right there to pick you back up and continue with you in His arms. He will never force you to do anything or go anywhere you don’t want to. He will stay with you wherever you are. If you don’t want to move forward, He will never pressure you. He will sit right with but you are missing out on the very best that He has for your life.

You can trust your Heavenly Father. He doesn’t want you to surrender and give up control of your life to Him. He wants you to submit and partner with Him as you go throughout your short time here on earth. God has placed you here at this exact moment, in this exact place for a reason. You are here to make a difference in your world, to leave your world better than it was before you came.

A prayer:

My Heavenly Father,
I choose to submit my life to You today. I long to partner with you throughout the years to come, to know You intimately and to make a difference in the world around me. I gladly ‘take the wheel’ and allow you to direct me in the very best way to go. Thank You that You never leave me and that You care so deeply for me. Today is a new day and I am excited at what we can accomplish together. Amen.

Hard times will come but they are so much easier to go through when you know that you are not alone and that you are a child of the One who knows everything.

I leave you with one of my favourite verses, Jeremiah 33:3,

Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.

I pray that this has encouraged you to be able to submit to God and know that He is never out to control you. He wants to fill you with joy, love and peace and tell you great and hidden things that you do not yet know. Ask Him how you can partner with Him. The above verse says that He WILL answer you.

What an exciting life we lead!

I would love to know your thoughts in the comments below. I do realise that this may agitate alternate views but that is not my intention in writing this post. I just ask that your comments be thoughtful and not critical as these are only my own thoughts and revelations. We are all on a journey of learning together.

Many blessings to you,