LIFE Posts - Surrender and Trust, part 2
Last week we started to look at what it means to live a life of surrender to God. We looked at a survey of Scripture that talks of surrender in many ways and then spent time looking at the need for us to trust God with everything. Anything we do not trust God with is something we haven’t surrendered to Him because we either don’t know Him well enough yet, or because He may be asking us to give that item up and we don’t want to. On the path of our ongoing sanctification, we will encounter things which we must make the choice: Will I surrender this to God, or will I hold on to it? While giving God everything by trusting Him can sound scary, let us take encouragement by looking at the other side of the trusting-God-coin. Did you know that God trusts us believers?
Who God trusts
Genesis 1:26–28 (NASB95) 1:26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 1:27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 1:28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” [1]
In the Genesis account, God created man in His image and likeness, which meant that man was given unique attributes that differed from the rest of the life forms God made – mankind was given life and purpose uniquely. God set mankind over (authority over) the earth and everything in it, giving Adam and Eve the charge to fill and subdue/rule it. By being created in His likeness, and given an eternal spirit, man is also given a free will that has the ability to choose. God did not make man a mindless robot. What does this have to do with trust?
In all this, God gave Adam and Eve only one prohibition – that was to not eat of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God of course knew that they could potentially choose to disobey Him, but He trusted them not to. Again, if they had no free will, they wouldn’t be like God – they’d be robots. We know that they broke His trust by disobeying Him and introducing sin into the world.
We’ve covered this before and will continue to do so. When a person accepts Jesus as their Savior, their sins are forgiven, and they’re justified before the Father by the Blood of Jesus. That puts us back in right relationship with God, as Adam and Eve were before they sinned. Like Adam and Eve were, we’re then entrusted with choosing rightly in our relationship with God. Said differently, Jesus died for us, making the first move – and then trusts us to pursue Him in relationship. Many wonder - why would He do that? Doesn’t He know how much I’ve messed up?
Pause for a moment and think about someone you love deeply. Someone you from-the-bottom-of-your-heart want to spend time with, just for the sake of being near them. Someone who you want to do good things for because you love them, not to get anything in return. Thinking about that person, isn’t it important to you that they trust you? Isn’t it also important that you can trust them? In a deep loving relationship, we want the other person to know without any doubt that we love them, and that they can trust us – just as we also want to trust them. We want such relationships and the time we’re with that person to last forever. Even in our not-yet-fully-sanctified state, when the one we love makes mistakes we often can focus on our love for them and not the failures they make. We knowingly take the risk that the other person may do things that hurt us – but we love them so much so that we take that risk because we want to be included in their life.
We see from such reflection that trust is intricately woven into loving relationships. So is choice. Think about it: if two people are together, with one person wanting to be in the relationship but the other does not want to be – but has no choice otherwise – that would not be a true reciprocal relationship, would it?
Jesus demonstrated His love for us by coming to earth, living as a man without sinning, and dying on the cross to pay for our sins. Much more than a loving parent who helps their child out of tough situations, Jesus truly loves us through ours. Because of that love, God trusts and gives us the ability to choose to love Him back. Yet He does not force us to love Him. We’ve all been let down by people we’re in relationship with, and we’ve all let others down too. Our experience with people, including ourselves, is that we aren’t perfect and inevitably disappoint those we’re in relationship with. Our perfect Father God knows this, but He didn’t set us up for failure or Himself up for disappointment. Not only has He trusted us, but He has empowered us to live in a way that doesn’t disappoint Him because we have the Holy Spirit residing in us.
The devil wants us to be confused about how this relationship works. He wants us to focus on our failings, and how those failures make us “untrustworthy.” If we look only at ourselves and our shortcomings, we will be disheartened and buy into the lies of the devil. But if we look at the Word, and what it tells us about ourselves, we realize how Jesus has provided us everything we need to be trusted (2 Peter 1:3-4). His Blood bought our forgiveness. His Holy Spirit living within us gives us the power to live rightly by submitting to Him. His Grace provides us the calls to repentance and the cleansing and forgiveness from every shortcoming. He enables us to be trusted by Him. Just as a loving parent knows that their child isn’t perfect but loves them through their growing – and trusts their love for themselves – our Father in heaven has infinitely more love, grace, and trust than we can imagine.
We need to see our Father in heaven as someone Who deeply loves us and trusts us – taking our understanding of how we may feel deep love for another person and realizing that His love for us is infinitely greater than that.
Application/Questions/Journal your thoughts
- How does knowing that our all-knowing, omniscient, and omnipotent God trusts you because of His Love for you impact your view of Him? Realizing that He trusts you because He’s empowered you to be trustworthy is critically important. Journal your understanding of this as you read through the scriptures below.
- Living in a trustworthy manner – or said differently, living up to the trust that has been placed in us – requires diligence on our part. We must remain aware of how our activities either build or tear down our relationships. With our loved ones, like our spouse, children, parents, etc., we must maintain awareness of how our choices will be impact them. Doing what we’ve said we’re going to do affirms our character and trustworthiness to them. The same is true in building our relationship and ongoing sanctification with the Lord. Said differently, our choices either maintain proper spiritual order or they disturb it. Maintaining awareness of our walk and submission to the Holy Spirit is important. It is wonderful that the Holy Spirit lives in us and will speak to us if we’re truly seeking to hear (and obey) Him. Ask Him for awareness to maintain diligence in whatever area(s) of sanctification He would have you submit to Him. Journal what He reveals; share with another close believer as an accountability partner.
Scripture of the week
2 Peter 1:3–4 (NASB95) 1:3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 1:4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.
1 Peter 1:13–16 (NASB95) 1:13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1:14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, 1:15 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; 1:16 because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
Philippians 2:12–13 (NASB95) 2:12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 2:13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
1 John 3:1–3 (NASB95) 3:1 See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. 3:3 And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
Weekly prayer
Dear Jesus,
I stand amazed that You trust me – the depths of Your Love for me are astounding! I re-dedicate myself to You, to live in spiritual order so that my spirit remains submitted to Your Holy Spirit, so that I live up to the trust You’ve put in me. I thank You that Your Grace and Mercy cover me, and Your power is how I am able to be trusted. Fill me anew today, and may my life be a fragrant offering to You. Amen.
Freedom Facet
In human relationships, we often view trust via a risk vs. reward lens. The process of building trust finds us placing a “little bit” of trust in someone or something, expecting it to be verified as a good choice before we give or place more trust in that person or thing. This is natural. In the case of our relationship with God, He has placed trust in us to draw close to Him and to live as He wants us to after we’ve declared Jesus as our Lord and Savior. He didn't hold back His trust in us, yet we don’t become perfect instantly – we’re justified yet require ongoing sanctification. God still trusts us because He’s given us everything we need in order to be trusted. We need to grab hold of this understanding – the Grace, the Mercy, and the Power all given through the Love of our Father!
Jesus's Freedom is for those who call Him Lord - those who believe in Him. If you’ve not yet accepted Christ Jesus as Your Lord, and would like to, say the following prayer aloud.
Lord Jesus, I confess and realize that I am a sinner, and without You, I am lost and separated from God. Thank You for going to the cross and dying for my sins – I ask for Your forgiveness for my sins, and I thank you and receive the forgiveness of my sins Your Word says is now mine! Holy Spirit, I thank You that You now reside within me. I lay down my will for Yours and ask for Your daily guidance and direction to make me more and more like You. Amen!
The Bible tells us that if we confess Jesus as Lord with our mouth and believe in our hearts that God resurrected Jesus from the dead, we are saved for eternity. If you’ve just accepted Jesus as Lord, know that heaven is celebrating right now (Luke 15:10)! Rejoice because you are a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), and now have begun the process of sanctification becoming like Him. Keep coming back, as we explore Freedom facets and what our Identity in Christ truly is. Share this joyous news with a brother or sister in Christ and get connected in your local church! LIFE is yours!
Small Group Invitations - Week of May 24, 2026
Below are invitations to just a couple of Men's Small Groups that are happening this week, both a part of Celebration Church, Georgetown, Texas. If these don't work for you, or if you're not a Celebration Church, TX attendee - regardless of the church you attend - being a part of small group is immensely important! If you're not involved in one, I pray that you find one that works for your schedule and you get plugged in. Being connected in the local church will bless you immeasurably!
Tuesday Morning Men's Fellowship Group: 6am - 7am at Rudy's BBQ in Round Rock, Texas. Join us for a time of fellowship where we'll discuss the message from the Pastors on Sunday, the newsletter contents, or whatever is going on in the lives of the brothers meeting.
Friday Morning Celebration Men: We're in between on-campus semesters, so we'll be meeting at Rudy's BBQ in Round Rock, Texas from 6:30am - 8:am. We conclude at 8am so people can get to work.
[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.