Latest Devotion
Surrender ALL
By: Julie Maschhoff
Tuesday, August 18, 2026
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. Proverbs 3:5-7
I remember watching an old western movie with my dad and seeing a man wave a white flag. My dad explained it was a sign the man was surrendering and didn't want to fight anymore. I remember feeling sorry for the man who surrendered because it seemed like he was the loser.
A pastor once told me a story about someone in his church who struggled to surrender everything to God. He knew she was an excellent quilter, so he told her to imagine making a big quilt and giving it to God. She replied she would, but added she would still need to hold on to one corner of the quilt. But that isn't total surrender! When someone has "control issues" (wanting to control things) it's usually a sign they don't completely trust God.
The scriptures tell us to trust God in all circumstances, which means we must surrender everything to Him. If you think about it, surrendering is trusting. Everything we are, everything we have, and everything we will ever be comes from Christ. It's already His, because WE belong to Him! So, we must willingly hand it over to God and trust Him to manage all of it for us. But problems start when we don't surrender everything to Him. This lack of trust will eventually lead to heartache, pain, and a lack of peace.
For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. Matthew 16:25
This verse from Matthew says complete surrender doesn't make us losers; it makes us winners! So, if we want our lives to be filled with God's peace, we must first surrender everything to Him. That means we must surrender our will, our time, and our plans. When we "wave the white flag" of surrender like the man in that old western, we don't have to fight anymore. Instead, God will fight our battles for us. Complete surrender also means that God will take on our worries, anxieties, and cares. Trust God, surrender everything to Him, and He'll give you His peace!
Lord, I am your humble servant. I want to give you my whole life, so I surrender my thoughts, words, and actions to you. God, help me trust you more, and help my faith grow. Amen