As we enter a new year, we begin making resolutions to change our lives in one way or the other. We generally have a common purpose: to improve our life in some manner over the previous year. We want to make better decisions in one or more area of our lives. As I was thinking about explaining how I made a certain decision this past year, the phrase “I surrendered that decision to God” came to mind. And there it grew into a new way of thinking. No matter what decision it is we have to make, no matter how knowledgeable we are about the subject in question, no matter how much research we have done, only God knows everything, this includes future events and circumstances. So, it only makes sense to surrender EVERY decision we make to God. Let Him be the decision maker in your life and watch how He works.
It then dawned on me that how we make decisions can be an act of worship. Worship happens to be my word of the year; when I made the connection between surrender and worship, something else clicked. We can worship God with every decision by surrendering to Him. Think about the person you need or want to please the most. When you know you will be interacting with this person, you do your best to make sure every decision you make that involves this person will be a decision that meets their approval. You may even run your thoughts and plans by them before taking action. This is how we should be with God. He wants to be part of our everyday lives. If we desire to worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24), we must prioritize making God-approved decisions. What better way to ensure His approval than by simply surrendering decisions to Him?
This doesn’t mean we no longer have responsibility for our decisions and actions. It simply means that we trust God to lead us to the right decisions, but then are responsible for acting according to His will. We also can’t use this for an excuse to take no action by saying, “Well, I surrendered the decision to God so I’m going to sit here and do nothing.” When we surrender a decision to God, we must be willing to say “Yes” to His direction, even if it isn’t the answer we would have preferred.
What do we do if we surrender a decision to God but haven’t heard the answer? We continue to pray and do what we know is right until God shows us our next step. For example, one of my goals is to be healthier this year through regular exercise. If I ask God what type of exercise schedule I need to put into practice but don’t get an immediate answer, that doesn’t give me permission to skip exercising while I’m waiting. It simply means I do what I know to do until God shows me a better way.
My priority goal for 2022 is to learn to worship God by surrendering each decision to Him. No matter what your personal goal is for this year, I would encourage you to include God in your decisions. I believe this simple act of surrender will make a huge difference in your daily life.
God bless and may His light guide your footsteps and illuminate your path.