I’ve been thinking about how easy it is to say we trust God while still trying to help Him work everything out. We pray about it. We tell God we’re giving it to Him. We may even tell somebody else, “I’ve put it in God’s hands.” And then, before we know it, we’ve picked it right back up. We’re thinking about what we can do, who we can call, what we need to change, and how we can make things happen a little faster. I know I’m not the only one.
Sometimes, it’s not that we don’t trust God. We really do. But when something matters deeply to us, surrender can be hard. Especially when God isn’t moving as quickly as we hoped He would. And lately, I’ve been reminded of something simple: Let God do it for you. Not just the big things. Not just the things you have absolutely no control over. Let Him work in every area of your life.
We Don’t Have to Help God Be God
That sounds obvious when you read it, doesn’t it? Of course, God doesn’t need our help being God. But our actions sometimes tell a different story. We ask God for direction, but we already have the route mapped out. We ask Him to open the right door, but we keep pulling on doors He may have intentionally closed. We ask Him to provide, but when the provision doesn’t come when we expected it, panic starts creeping in. We ask Him to work something out with another person, but we’re still rehearsing the conversation in our heads, trying to figure out exactly what we can say to make them respond the way we want.
That’s when I have to ask myself: “Did I really give this to God, or did I just ask Him to bless what I already decided to do?”
Proverbs 3:5–6 tells us: “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” That little word all gets me. In all thy ways. Not just when I’m confused. Not just when I’ve exhausted every option. Not just when the situation is so big that I know there’s nothing I can do about it. God wants to be involved in all of it.
Let God Into Every Room
Think about your life like a house for a minute. We may have given God the keys, but if we’re being truthful, some of us still have a few rooms locked. We trust Him with our spiritual lives, but maybe we’re holding tightly to our finances. We trust Him with our families, but we’ve already decided exactly how our careers should go. We trust Him with our dreams, as long as He fulfills them the way we pictured. We trust Him with our future, but we still want to know what’s going to happen next. And I get it. Surrender sounds beautiful until God starts asking for something we really want to control.
But what if we stopped deciding which parts of our lives need God? What if we invited Him into everything? Our marriages. Our parenting. Our friendships. Our finances. Our businesses. Our careers. Our health. Our decisions. Our ideas. Our plans. Even the little things we assume we can handle on our own. God isn’t only interested in the parts of our lives that feel “spiritual.” He wants all of us.
Do Your Part, Then Let God Do His
Now, letting God do it doesn’t mean doing nothing. That’s important. There are times when God is waiting on us to move. If He told you to apply, apply. If He told you to start, start. If He told you to apologize, apologize. If He told you to prepare, prepare. If He gave you the business idea, do the work required to build it. Faith isn’t passive. But there’s a difference between obedience and control.
Obedience says, “God, I’ll do what You told me to do.” Control says, “And now I need to make sure everything turns out the way I want.” That second part will wear you out. Because some things are simply not ours to manage. We can plant. We can water. We can show up faithfully. We can steward what God has placed in our hands. But we cannot make the increase come. That belongs to God.
Maybe You’re Carrying Something That Isn’t Yours
Sometimes, we’re exhausted because we’re carrying our responsibilities. But sometimes we’re exhausted because we’re carrying God’s responsibilities too. Trying to change somebody’s heart. Trying to make people understand us. Trying to make an opportunity happen. Trying to predict what comes next. Trying to make sure nothing goes wrong. Trying to figure out exactly how God is going to answer a prayer. Trying to control the timing. That is a lot to carry. No wonder we’re tired.
First Peter 5:7 says: “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” Again, there’s that word. All. Not some. God never told us to carry everything until we couldn’t take it anymore and then give it to Him. We can give it to Him now.
Trust Him Even When You Can’t See Him Working
I think this may be one of the hardest parts. Sometimes you’ve prayed. You’ve obeyed. You’ve done everything you know God told you to do. And…nothing. At least, nothing you can see. That’s usually when the temptation to take control gets really strong. Because waiting can make us wonder whether we missed God somewhere. But just because I can’t see God moving doesn’t mean He isn’t moving. I have to remind myself of that too. There are conversations I don’t know about. Doors I can’t see. People God may be preparing. Things He may be protecting me from. Things He may be developing in me before He gives me what I’ve been asking for. And sometimes what feels like God doing nothing may actually be God doing something I don’t understand yet. That’s where trust becomes real. Not when I can see the answer coming. But when I can’t.
Yes, Give Him Your Business Too
For those of us building something, this one can be especially hard. Because when it’s your business, your dream, your money, your idea, and your name attached to it, there can be this pressure to make everything happen. You feel like you always need to be doing more. Creating more. Posting more. Selling more. Learning more. Figuring out the next move. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with working hard and pursuing excellence. But I’ve had to remind myself that if God is truly Lord of my life, that includes my business too. I can pray before I make the decision. I can ask God which opportunity is actually for me. I can ask Him what deserves my attention and what is just a distraction. I can invite Him into my ideas, my finances, my plans, and even my definition of success. Because I don’t want to become so busy trying to build something that I stop listening to the One who gave me the ability to build in the first place. And sometimes God’s answer may not look like the plan we brought to Him. That doesn’t mean He isn’t working. Maybe, He’s doing something better.
You Don’t Have to Have It All Figured Out
Maybe that’s what you need to hear today. You don’t have to have it all figured out. And neither do I. We just need to know what God is asking of us right now. Sometimes I think we want God to give us the entire blueprint when He’s only giving us enough light for the next step. And maybe that’s intentional. Because if we knew every detail, would we still need to trust Him? So maybe today isn’t about figuring out how everything is going to work. Maybe today is about asking: “God, what is mine to do today?” Then do that. And whatever belongs to Him? Leave it there. The outcome. The timing. The people. The doors. The provision. The details you cannot control. Let God handle those. You may have to give it back to Him tomorrow too. And the day after that. That’s okay. Surrender isn’t always a one-time moment. Sometimes it’s a decision we make again and again. God, I still don’t understand this. I still don’t know how You’re going to do it. But I trust You. And then… Let God do it for you.
A Question to Sit With
What area of your life have you been asking God to handle while still trying to control how He handles it? Really think about that. And then ask yourself: What would surrender actually look like in that area this week? Maybe there’s something you need to do. Maybe there’s something you need to stop doing. Maybe you simply need to leave something alone and give God room to work.
Prayer
Father, I trust You, but I also know there are places in my life where I still struggle to let go. There are things I’ve prayed about and then picked right back up. Things I’ve tried to fix, force, rush, or figure out because waiting on You felt uncomfortable. Forgive me. Teach me how to trust You with every area of my life, not just the places where I have no other choice. I give You my family, my relationships, my finances, my career, my business, my dreams, my plans, my unanswered prayers, and my future. Show me what is mine to do, and give me the courage to do it. But Lord, also show me what is not mine to carry. Help me stop trying to control outcomes that belong to You. When I cannot see what You’re doing, remind me that You are still present. When Your timing is different from mine, help me trust that You see what I cannot see. I don’t want to simply ask You to bless my plans. I want my life to be surrendered to Yours. So today, I open every room. Have Your way in all of it. And when I’m tempted to pick it back up again, remind me: I can let You do it for me.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Scriptures to Carry With You
Proverbs 3:5–6 “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
Psalm 37:5 “Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.”
1 Peter 5:7 “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”
Psalm 55:22 “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and He shall sustain thee.”
Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God.” Sometimes faith looks like moving when God says move. And sometimes faith looks like taking your hands off something and saying,
“God, I’ve done what You asked me to do. Now, I’m going to let You do what only You can do.”
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