cannot control . . .”
“ COURAGE TO CHANGE THE THINGS I CAN ”
Surrender is not apathy about what ’ s going on in the world . It ’ s not a lack of prophetic zeal or activism . It is not an excuse for conflict avoidance or escaping difficult conversations . It encompasses very dark truth , suffering , and protest .
It ’ s striking that the vast majority of prayers in Scripture — especially the Psalms — do not look at all like gentle exercises in mindfulness . Quite to the contrary , the great majority of them are protests .
People sometimes struggle with surrender because they think it means becoming a doormat for God . Surrender to God is not an obstacle to firm action ; it is the bedrock of it . It gives us a firm place to stand . It keeps
our determination rooted in what really matters rather than in what we happen to desire .
In surrender , we give up control , but we do not give up agency .
Control is the ability to determine outcomes and circumstances . Agency is the exercise of our God-given , God-directed , Godempowered ability to take action . To use our agency is to initiate and create and take responsibility . In authentic surrender we give up ego and selfishness but not initiative and courage . In pseudo-surrender it ’ s the other way round .
“ THE WISDOM TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE ”
How do we gain the wisdom to know God ’ s will ? To know what we should seek to accept and what we should seek to change ?
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