Worry comes about when we feel out of control. That’s scary. Predicting our future is not possible. Who is in charge if we aren’t?
Surrender, on the other hand, is letting go of your need to control. Some things are just unknowable like when will things get back to “normal”? or Will I get the virus? or Will my loved ones get it? It frustrates us because we cannot predict. We can only give our best guess, estimation, our hope. The answers evade us. They are out there somewhere in the future, hidden from our current experience. But can’t that be said for the future in general? We don’t ever know what the future holds, not really. We can plan for it. We can hope and pray. We can move forward with confidence knowing we have prepared well. Then it hits us, nothing in the future is guaranteed. We do our best yet when the time comes we get what we get.
But surrender? That sounds so defeatist, so final, so submissive. I’m not a fatalist you say, why should I surrender? I want to fight! I want to take charge of my future! You can, up to a point, but the final outcome may look different from what you imagined. The actual future may not be what you planned.
We must be flexible with our dreams, our plans, our goals. Having them is a good thing but so is being able to shift when necessary. Maybe you even have to take a different path because of a road block. Some road blocks can be opened up; others are permanent. Be okay with that. Be ready for that. Challenging, but not impossible. Haven’t you ever planned for something big only to have it not show up and then months later been so grateful that it never materialized because what did show up was so much better?
In light of our current world situation, my advice to you is not to worry about what might happen. Surrender your worries to God, the one who is ultimately in charge. May God’s will be done. Not our will. The good news is that sometimes our wills line up and then we get what we want! Woo-hoo!
Surrender your will to the one who knows all. Make a conscious effort not to worry. His plan is far greater than anything you could imagine.
Worry produces nothing good. Surrender will give you freedom to do what’s best for you in the present moment, knowing that God has your back. Try it. Have faith and believe. God bless.