Okay, that’s great. Thanks Colleen. I can read the passage and see those things, but what does it mean and how do I do it?!? 

If we’re going to truly trust in God, we are going to need to give up the idea of control like we learned about last week. The only way to truly surrender is to FULLY trust God. This is like the chicken and the egg dilemma – which comes first, giving up control or trusting? If we need trust to give up control but I need to give up control to trust, what do I do? Let’s put a pin in that for a minute, and I’ll get back to it.  

We have to give God our WHOLE heart. If you’re anything like me, you know this is an ongoing process. I have learned over time that each time I feel like I’ve given it all up to Him, He shows me a little more that I am holding back. But I truly believe that God honors the heart and that when we sincerely desire to give Him everything, He will see and honor that. And then of course reveal more areas that we are holding back. That’s why it’s a process that will not be complete until we see our Savior face-to-face.  

When you lean into something with your whole body, you want to make sure what you’re leaning on is solid. You don’t want something that’s going to give way just as you put your whole weight on to it so you come crashing down. So, it is with our understanding. We so often lean fully into the world’s understanding about things or even our own jaded understanding of the things around us and then are surprised when we fall with all our weight on disappointment and failure.  

Additionally, leaning mostly on something solid will have the same results. If we have one foot on solid ground and the other in quicksand, we are still unstable and will sink. Therefore, we must lean fully into God’s understanding, or wisdom, which we find in His Word. We have to let go of the habit of letting our feelings drive us. Feelings can be liars, and the master of lies loves to use our feelings to lull us into a false sense of comfort and trust.  

Please hear me in this, I’m not saying your emotions aren’t valid! They are, and they are yours to own, feel, and process through. But we also can’t let our emotions drive our actions. We get to know them, discover where they are coming from, and then deal with them in a healthy way. We have to be watchful that the master of lies doesn’t use our emotions against us. 

Once we do that, we must submit to God in ALL our ways. It’s really a simple choice – we can invite Him into all we do, or we can continue on in our own strength and wisdom. How’s that been working for you so far? For me, not so good. So we can choose to practice the presence of God in the everyday and mundane.  

Remember our pin – let’s revisit that. Do we trust first or do we give up control first? The answer is here in the passage – we submit. We make a conscious effort and choose to submit to all He is calling us into or from. It’s an action that will prove our trust is in the right place and further help us to give up control.  

And finally, after we’ve done the above, God will direct our paths. The One who knows you intimately, even the number of hairs on your head, who knit you together in your mother’s womb, will guide you and comfort you. Now that’s a promise you can hang your whole self on.  

What part of this passage is the hardest for you? To truly trust? To fully submit? To lean into Him instead of the understanding you’ve gained from the world? Whatever it is, choose now to rely on your Heavenly Father with a childlike faith, and He will direct your paths.