There’s a word I’m hearing all the time. Surrender. In fact, just today I had coffee with a friend and she used that very word in our conversation. We were talking about discerning my vocation other than being a wife and a mother and she was telling me I needed to surrender. Let’s face it, surrender is not a word we hear every day. Sure, you might hear it on the news as we hear of tragedy after tragedy of criminals surrendering to police or even worse a victim surrendering to an attacker. But I’m talking about surrender being used in a positive, spiritual way. As an act of faith. These days, I’m learning why life is all about surrender.
What Does Surrender Really Mean?
When I think of surrender, I think of giving up control and admitting defeat. And I want to do the very opposite. But that’s not what surrender in a spiritual sense is all about.
The Christian concept of surrender isn’t about defeat, it’s about letting go.
It’s a way of living where we turn our entire life (our will, desires, and concerns) – the good and the bad – EVERYTHING – over to God. And, by faith and trust, we let Him do the work.
How is this type of surrender possible?
I certainly don’t have it all figured out. You could say that I’m learning along the way. But one thing that has helped me apply the concept of surrender to my own life is the Surrender Novena.
The Surrender Novena
About a month ago, I was sharing with a dear friend my worries and concerns. Nothing monumental, just the typical stuff we face as women and moms – worries about our kids in school, concern with whether we are living out God’s purpose for our life, and fears of not being a good enough wife and mother. She handed me a piece of paper that brought the concept of surrender to life. It has become my lifeline. It is the Surrender Novena. Written by Italian priest, Fr. Don Dolindo Ruotolo, the Surrender Novena is a nine-day journey of surrendering to Jesus by placing our worries, anxieties, and cares in the hands of our savior. It is based on one simple request – surrendering to Jesus and asking Him to take care of it.
Make no mistake, this novena is powerful and thought-provoking. Furthermore, it has taught me many things about the concept of surrendering to God.
First, there is no magic formula on how to surrender. There’s no button that I can press where my concerns go directly to God and I’m carefree. Instead, it’s a process.
Second, surrendering isn’t easy. It’s against what the world tells us to be which is self-sufficient where we are responsible for our own destiny.
Third, there’s no timetable for surrendering. As much as I’d like it to be, surrendering isn’t on my time frame. It’s on God’s. When I bring my cares to Him, I can’t expect a quick fix or resolution.
Fourth, surrender requires spiritual work – prayer, trust, and faith that God is within me and is in every single detail of my life.
And fifth, that God’s will is perfect and right and that His plan is always better than mine.
Life is All About Surrender
Through this novena, I’m learning that life is all about surrender. Because surrendering to God is essential in every area of our lives from the work we do, to how we raise our children, and how we interact with those around us.
The key is knowing what surrendering is and what it is not.
Surrendering Is:
An act of pure faith. It’s turning away from our cares and worries and placing them and ourselves in God’s hands. It’s letting God take the driver’s seat
Letting go and trusting God so He can work miracles in our life
Experiencing peace that only comes from placing our needs in the hands of our loving Father
Trusting that God is there to meet us and to equip us when we are taken down a path that we didn’t expect
Praying and then thanking God for the work we know he will do on our behalf
Saying to God “Thy will be done”
Surrendering Is Not:
- Being upset, worried, or losing hope
- Replaying our concerns over and over in our mind and having the focus be on ourselves all the time
- Trying to figure everything out and seeking to solve everything on our own instead of turning it over to God
- Asking God to help us and then trying to tell Him what to do or how to do it
- Judging, criticizing, and surrendering to the will and demands of others in our life
I’ve found this novena to be so powerful that when the nine days end, I begin the novena again. Slowly but surely the concept of what it means to surrender is being rooted in my mind and in my soul.
Click here to start praying the Surrender Novena today.
Is there an area of your life that you need to surrender to God? Pray this novena and please share your experience in the comments section below.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” – Matthew 11:28 (NIV)
This novena prayer says it all. We cannot do this alone we have to give it to God, yes surrender. He wants to help us. When a new struggle comes my way, I always ask Him to take whatever it is on with me., even some small things. I have learned through my prayer group that we cannot do it alone, we give it to God. Through prayer we reach out to Him. The answer might not be what we wanted to hear, but his plan for us is divine. Let us remember that.