What Surrendering to God Really Means (It's Smaller Than You Think)

You’ve heard it in a worship song. You’ve read it in a devotional. “Surrender to God.”

But what does that actually look like on a Tuesday morning when you’re already behind and running on three hours of sleep?

Friend, I want to tell you something that changed how I think about all of it.

Surrendering to God isn’t usually one big, dramatic moment. It’s a thousand small yeses. And it starts with keeping your heart soft enough to hear His voice.

A field of lavender with large text overlay reading: What surrender to God really means (it's smaller than you think)

What Does Surrendering to God Mean?

At its core, surrendering to God means releasing your grip on your own plans, comfort, or control — and choosing to trust Him instead. It means saying, “Not my will, but Yours” and loosening your hands on the things you hold most tightly.

But here’s what surrendering to God is NOT:

It isn’t passive. Surrender is normally harder than you think (even in small things).
It’s not trivial–even tiny instances of surrender matter.
It’s not a one-time event, but rather a daily posture.

Surrender is one of the most countercultural things a woman can do. We’re wired to hustle, to control, to figure it out. But God invites us into something better.

Bible verse about surrender Hebrews 3:15 on background of a beautiful lavender plant

What the Bible Says About Surrendering to God

Scripture has a lot to say about surrender. Here are a few verses worth sitting with:

“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart.” — Hebrews 3:15

This one is personal to me. The call to surrender isn’t usually loud or dramatic. It’s a quiet nudge. A whisper. And our job is to stay tender enough to hear it — and say yes.

“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.” — Proverbs 3:5-6

Surrender is the practical outworking of trust. When we submit our ways to Him, He directs our steps. That’s a promise.

“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” — Galatians 5:25

This verse captures it so well. Keeping in step with the Spirit means staying close, staying attentive, and following His lead — even when it’s inconvenient.

“Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God — this is your true and proper worship.” — Romans 12:1

Surrender isn’t just a moment. It’s a lifestyle of worship. Every small act of obedience is an act of worship.

photo of a woman in a white top opening a glass bottle of coke with overlay : I gave up diet coke for lent and it taught me everything about surrender

The Diet Coke That Started a Conversation About Surrender

This year entering the season of Lent felt quietly uneventful. I am reading through the Bible in a two-year, chronological plan with my church so that isn’t changing. I hadn’t felt a call to really fast from anything (aside from my practice of deleting social apps every weekend). Overall, I felt good about the spiritual rhythms I had in place and wasn’t feeling any burning need to change anything simply because of Lent.

Then I woke up on Ash Wednesday with a strong conviction to give up Diet Coke for Lent. Not even one last crispy, cold one from McDonald’s as a send-off? I still had cans in the basement fridge! Was I just supposed to look at them for 40 days?

But. The Still Small Voice whispered. “Be done with Diet Coke.”

woman with pink nail polish holds a diet coke from Mcdonalds aloft in her mini van in the school pickup line

You see I had found myself swinging through the McDonalds drive through after a stressful morning. Grabbing one at a gas station as a “little treat” for making it through wrangling three kids during a middle school basketball game without losing my mind. I jokingly called them my “fridge cigs” and “emotional support soda”–but the truth was, I reached for them a lot.

Of course, Diet Coke is morally neutral. Like many other things people quit during Lent (red meat, Instagram, Netflix), it’s more about surrender. Am I leaning into this thing for a pleasure or peace I should be reaching to Jesus for? And sometimes it seems silly when the thing is as small as a glass of soda.

But I surrender because tiny obedience to the Spirit’s voice matters.

Anything God calls us to give up or take on is less about the thing and more about our internal posture. Am I clinging to my desires more than my Savior? Hebrews 3:15 reminds us,

“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart…”

I’m not avoiding Diet Coke because of aspartame or self-denial for self-denial’s sake, but because I want to keep my heart soft to the Spirit.

When I feel the tug to send a text checking in on a friend–I want to say yes.
When I’m convicted I need to apologize, even if it’s uncomfortable–I want to humble myself.
When I feel prompted to extend a playdate into a dinner invitation–I don’t want to hesitate.

As I’ve walked longer with the Spirit, I’m becoming more sensitive to the gentle prompts to be more like Jesus. I know when I have an intuition that goes against my natural inclinations, that’s probably the Spirit—and I want to quickly say yes.

photo fo a woman pouring coffee from a canteen on top of a mountain with text overlay 5 ways to practice surrendering to God in real life

How to Practice Surrendering to God (Even When It’s Hard)

So how do you actually do this? Especially when surrender feels scary?

1. Start with awareness.

Notice what you’re white-knuckling. What are you clinging to? Where do you feel resistance when you sense a nudge from God? That’s usually the place to start.

2. Soften your heart before God in prayer.

You don’t have to feel ready. You just have to be willing to be willing. Bring Him your resistance. Tell Him the truth. Ask Him to soften what’s hard.

3. Practice small obedience first.

Don’t wait for a big surrender opportunity. Start with the small prompt you already know you’ve been ignoring. Say yes there. Build the muscle.

4. Return to Scripture.

Hebrews, Romans, Galatians — the Word is full of invitations to surrender and the promises that come with it. Let those truths anchor you when surrender feels risky.

5. Remember: surrender leads to fruitfulness

Galatians 5 doesn’t just tell us to keep in step with the Spirit — it also tells us what grows when we do. Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Gentleness. Faithfulness. Self-control.

That’s what surrender produces. That’s what you’re saying yes to when you surrender.

The little ways we follow Jesus make the big ways easier. It forms a well-worn path of trust in our minds and souls as we “keep step with the Spirit”. (Galatians 5:25) Temporarily giving up the crispy bubbles of a favorite drink is one small step on the path to bigger spiritual leaps—like prayerfully releasing our kids to new adventures or entering a new ministry season or laying down a role we love.

Surrender is more than a forty day fast.

quote about surrendering to God with image of a woman standing in a field of lavender with a bouquet in her hand and a hat on her head.

Lent will end. The cans of Diet Coke will come back out of the basement fridge. (Or maybe they won’t. We’ll see.)But what I don’t want to end is the attentiveness. The soft heart. The quick yes.

Surrendering to God is a permanent heart posture, not a short-term spiritual fix.

It’s attentive listening to the Spirit and then following into deeper love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. It’s placing my hand in Jesus’ — and loosening my grip on everything else.

Even the Diet Coke.

What Surrendering to God Really Means (It’s Smaller Than You Think)

What Does Surrendering to God Mean?

What the Bible Says About Surrendering to God

The Diet Coke That Started a Conversation About Surrender