Believing in God and not surrendering to God is like having a house but not living in it, or having a car but never drive it. It does not make sense, but for many people, this is how they relate to God. They never fully experience what it means to believe in God. They only need God when they are in need, but if everything is working in their lives, they do not need God. As a result, many people think that God is with them, but in reality, they are very far from God. Jesus said to the people who followed him but were unwilling to surrender their lives to Him, "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." (Matthew 15:8). God always looks at our hearts. If our hearts are not surrendered to the Lord, we have a superficial relationship with Him.
When Jacob was fleeing to his uncle Laban because his brother Esau wanted to kill him, he made a vow to God, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's household, then the Lord will be my God..." (Genesis 28:20-21). Jacob would only accept God in his life if God gave Him everything that he wanted, which was a wrong attitude towards God. Eventually, his attitude towards God changed because he realized that in order for God to bless his life, he must humble and surrender his life completely to God.
The only way for us to enjoy our relationship with God is to surrender our lives to Him entirely without reservation. We will be able then to enjoy living in the house that we have and driving our own car. When we surrender our lives to Him, God blesses and leads our lives in a way that we can never imagine. Let us not bought into a lie that our ways are better than God's ways. If we want to be successful in life, we need to believe in God and surrender our lives to Him because He is our Lord and Savior.
Ask yourself these questions: Am I believing in God, but not surrendering my life to Him? If yes, why am I not willing to surrender my life to God? What can I do if I am struggling to surrender my life to Him?
Write down all the worries that you are facing today and lift them up to God.
Prayer:
Father in Heaven, thank you for teaching me this morning that to believe in you is to surrender my life to you. Please help me to surrender my life to you. Take away my fears and give me the courage to surrender everything to you. Please help me now with (mention your prayer requests). In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.