By nature, we are control freaks. We pray for divine healing, but only after our physician shakes his head and says, “Well, there’s nothing left to do but pray,” and our medical insurance runs out. We claim Matthew 6:33, where Jesus promises to meet all our needs, but again, only after we max out our credit cards and can’t make the minimum payments. In other words, we try to fix everything our way, in our own strength, and ask no one for advice or help. It’s only when we come up short that we pray and ask the Lord to bless our efforts (emphasis on our) or get us out of the jam we seem to have stumbled into again. This is not a life of surrender. Nor does it acknowledge the sovereignty of God. The fifth step in surrendering your life to the Lord demands trusting completely in His goodness, grace, mercy, and especially— His sovereignty. Remember, He is God (and all that entails), and we are not. And the sooner we learn this truth, the closer we are to fully surrendering, and trusting Him.
Surrendering our lives fully to God requires trusting in His sovereignty— meaning He is in complete control and His plans are always best. But what does it really mean to trust God’s sovereignty? And why is absolute submission to His supreme plan vital for fully yielding our lives to Him? Let’s explore the meaning of God’s sovereignty, some biblical examples of surrender, and the reasons why relinquishing control to His authority brings peace and purpose to our lives.
Trusting in God’s sovereignty means believing He reigns supreme over everything, including you and your circumstances. He has divine plans and purposes far beyond our human comprehension (Isa. 55:8-9). It’s acknowledging that nothing happens without His permission, and He can, and will, use any circumstance, good or bad, to grow us in maturity and glorify Himself.
Surrendering to His sovereignty requires faith that God’s way is perfect, even when life feels random or senseless or anything but perfect. We must believe He cherishes us unconditionally and understands precisely what we need in every situation, even if what He knows we need is not what we have been praying for. We must be fully convinced that God is not only “able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Eph. 3:20), but that He is also willing, as a loving Father who adores His children. And when He moves in His sovereign manner, we must know and rest in the truth that His perspective surpasses our limited human insight, and He knows best— even when we can’t see it or doubt His goodness.
The Scriptures are full of examples of those who faced trials greater than ours, and trusted in God’s sovereignty. Job suffered excruciating losses— his family, fortune, reputation, and health, yet declared in worship, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). Even during unimaginable grief and agony, Job trusted God’s good purposes rather than questioning His supreme authority, even when he didn’t understand what God was doing.
Abraham is another well-known example. God instructed him to do the unthinkable, to sacrifice his promised son Isaac— Abraham’s only hope and future (Gen. 22). Though undoubtedly grieved and confused, Abraham obeyed God’s command by trusting the Lord had a purpose he could not yet grasp. And God, in His sovereignty, honored Abraham’s faith by providing another sacrifice instead of Isaac and blessing him beyond measure.
Even Jesus surrendered to His Father’s sovereign will. When facing the horrific pain of crucifixion, He prayed His will would be aligned with His Father’s sovereign purpose, “Not my will, but yours,...
