My mom recently shared with me that the old hymn “I Surrender All” has been on her heart. When she told me, I started thinking about how powerful those three simple words really are.
For a long time, surrender sounded like giving up. I thought being strong meant handling things myself, holding everything together, and trying to control what happened next. But God has been teaching me that surrender is something completely different. It’s trusting Him enough to let go.
There are still things I want to control. There are still times when I want answers before I’m willing to trust. But I’m learning that I don’t have to understand everything God is doing in order to put it in His hands.
Surrender doesn’t mean I stop caring or stop trying. It means I stop trying to carry everything by myself. I can bring God my fears, my plans, my past, my future, and the things I simply cannot change.
Maybe that hymn has been on my mom’s heart for a reason. Maybe sometimes God uses the simplest words to remind us of exactly what we need to do…
Surrender it all.
Here’s the hymn sung a cappella:
“I Surrender All” by Judson W. Van DeVenter,1896.
All to Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.
I surrender all,
I surrender all;
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.
All to Jesus I surrender,
Humbly at His feet I bow;
Worldly pleasures all forsaken,
Take me, Jesus, take me now.
I surrender all,
I surrender all;
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.
All to Jesus I surrender,
Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
Let me feel Thy Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine.
I surrender all,
I surrender all;
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.
All to Jesus I surrender,
Lord