The word surrender in the Bible can be a difficult concept to understand. It is even more difficult to practically live a life of surrender. This article will explore Bible verses on surrendering daily to God’s perfect will. At the end of the article there is also a practcal devotional worksheet that guides you through 4 areas of life to surrender to God.
The kind of total surrender in the Bible is about laying the old self down. It is submitting to God’s will completely and trusting God’s plan. This kind of trust is based on the revelation that a new life with Him is better than our own desires because it leads to eternal life! Surrender is the recognition that our own ways are very limited in comparison with what God can do.
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“None of us have anything outside of what we give to the Lord on the cross. Only that will we keep. Everything else, we will lose forever.” – Loren Cunningham
Surrender is defined by the Merriam-Webster Online dictionary as giving over power or possession to someone else. Webster’s dictionary says it is “to yield to any influence, passion, or power”. These definitions are helpful so that we can get the terminology down, but in order to understand how the word surrender is used in the Bible, we need to look at Bible verses.
Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.
James 4:10
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
John 3:30
He must increase, but I must decrease.
1 Peter 5:6-10
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
Surrender in action
James 1:22
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways.
James 4:7
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Romans 12:1-2
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Surrender your plans
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.
Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Psalm 9:10
And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
What kind of things link to surrender in the Bible
Photo by Kelly Sikkema
“We talk about my home, my car, my money, my reputation, my plans, my future, my family, my loved ones… Everything is mine! But things are gone just like that! Relationships don’t last either, other than those in Christ. When you relinquish those things to Him, for the sake of the Gospel, you keep them forever. The money you give to Him is forever. It’s an investment.”
– Loren Cunningham
This quote is from a wonderful sermon on Relinquishing Rights by the founder of YWAM (Youth With A Mission). Basically, he describes the pattern of this world and how true surrender means to let go of control of all those things. Surrender is not so much a spiritual journey as it is a real-life literal surrender of our own plans for every aspect of our lives.
The issue of duality
We are so quick to only surrender our spiritual lives before God. But He wants everything!
The divide between that which is holy and that which is oridnary is too big in our lives nowadays. Surrender is a whole-life-thing! It does not work if we only surrender our Bible study program and let God have the say there. He also cares about how we spend our money, our parenting styles, and even the way we sit in traffic.
At the end of this post, there is a devotional that will guide you through 4 areas of life and practice how to surrender each one of them to God in very ractical ways.
Bible verses about relinquishing our rights
Luke 9:23-24
If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
Hebrews 10:22-23
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
Deuteronomy 6:5
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
The greatest Biblical example of surrender
In the first book of the Bible we find Abraham who prayed for a child for a long time before God gave him Isaac. Now, read what happened next:
Genesis 22:1-3
(God said to Abraham), “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.”
Let’s stand still and consider this for a moment. Abraham’s deepest heart desire was to become a father. Furthermore, God had promised to make Abraham’s children as many as the stars in the sky. So, how could that happen if Isaac died? Yet Abraham did not seem to ask lots of questions. He must have had tears running down his face, but he lowered his head and walked the way God led him. When they have come to the place, the situation became even more intense.
Genesis 22:7-10
And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.
Surrender takes great courage & trust in God’s character
Genesis 22:11-14
But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
Theologians have studied the significance of this ram that God provided for the offering so that Isaac’s life may be spared. They have said that this same pattern is mirrored in another form of true surrender. Humanity is the child on the altar and Christ is the perfect lamb who was offered for our sins.
Bible verses about surrender that relate to the cross
Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Philippians 2:5-7
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in 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. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Now that we have this understanding of the meaning of surrender in the Bible, it’s time to get practical. Our perspective of surrender in the Bible should inform our whole lives!
Areas of life to surrender before God
Photo by Cathryn Lavery
God loves you. He cares deeply about your whole life. He is able to redeem and restore all brokenness and suffering that you face and offer you the fullness of life. To a certain degree, you can experience the Kingdom of Heaven on this side of eternity. That way is through surrender.
John 10:10
I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
Below are 4 areas of life with 10 questions to help you reflect on how far you’ve come in terms of complete surrender to God’s ways.
Identity & walking with the Father
Surrendering this area of life before the Lord looks like finding your identity in Him. Get to know God as your creator and spend lots of time with Him. Bible study and prayer is important, but God desires your full attention. He is speaking to you all day long! Beckoning you with His love! It is only when we slow down and we pay close attention that we can see what God is busy doing in our lives. That is the ultimate way of surrender.
Isaiah 43:1
But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine’
Who am I?
Do I spend enough time with God to feel close to Him?
Am I in tune with who He made me to be?
What ‘name tags’ are on me? Did Jesus place them there?
Are there past hurts and traumas I’ve held onto?
Do I know Scriptural truths about who God says I am?
Am I a member of a local faith community? Why not?
Do I often rush or hurry?
Can I confidently say I trust God’s timing? Would other people say that about me as well?
Am I asking God about His will for my day every day?
Relationships & loving people
Our relationships are a tricky area of life to surrender before God. It is a true pride-killer. However, God often uses other people to show us our own areas of growth. The people in your life is not placed there to make you happy! Unfortunately not! Surrender here means you are to love them, show God’s light and love to them, and learn to live peacibly with them (Romans 12:18). If you do so, you will be blessed (Matthew 5:9).
Mark 12:30-31
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.
How do I treat other people?
Do my family members know God?
Can people see by how I live that I’m a Christian?
Am I witnessing and sharing the Gospel?
Do I serve or volunteer somewhere?
Who do I need to forgive in order to restore the relationship?
Are all my friends like me?
How do people feel after spending time with me?
Is my reaction to interruptions or people needing help glorifying God?
Can I surrender the need to be right all the time?
Work, profession & finances
This is probably the most challenging area of life to surrender to God in the modern world. The kingdom of heaven is upside down and it is not focused on selfish gain. It is by giving that we will receive (Luke 6:38). It is more difficult to be generous when we have little, but God can feed thousands with a few pieces of bread and fishes. He is the God of miracles! Surrender your work, dreams and money to God and watch things change!
Colossians 3:23
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
What are my passions and dreams?
How do I measure success?
Am I responsible with my finances?
Do I practice hospitality with unbelievers?
Have I asked for God’s vision about my dreams?
Do my passions honor God?
Am I tithing at least 10%?
When I have a little extra money, do I ask God what to use it for?
Who can I encourage and bless in my workplace?
Do I know how my specific workplace slots into God’s Missio Dei?
Healthy lifestyle & rest
The last area we have here is the one that is most often overlooked in Western Christianity. We tend to believe that God is only interested in the spiritual stuff, but that is just not the case. We need to surrender our bodies and our health before God just like anything else. Jesus knows what it is like to live as a human and there is nothing that is unknown to your Maker. There is a way to live in the His soft yoke (Matthew 11:30).
1 Corinthians 3:16
Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
How do I measure a successful day?
Do I trust God enough to rest and take a day off?
Can I fast / abstain from what my body wants? Can I limit my digital devices?
Is my lifestyle evidence of God’s kingdom or my own?
Am I prone to burnout and chronic stress?
Do I rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him? (Psalm 37)
When I eat, do I pray for my food?
Am I living at a sustainable pace like a marathon runner? Think about the pace of Jesus…
Do I rely more on doctors and medicine or do I have the faith to pray for healing?
What do I fill my mind with before I go to sleep at night?
Eljoh Hartzer is combining theology and art to nurture faith journeys across generations. She is a Masters-level Practical Theologian with the University of Stellenbosch. She is also a writer and editor in the niche of Christianity and children's content and she illustrates children's books. Eljoh resides in the Swartland area in the Western Cape province of South Africa.
You can follow Eljoh on LinkedIn or Instagram.
