Surrender? Isn’t That for Cowards?

“But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.”
2 Thessalonians 3:3

But the Lord is faithful.

Those five words carry more weight than we sometimes realize.

In our human flesh, we have a tendency to judge God according to standards we have created with our own human minds. We look at a situation, decide what we think should happen, determine when we think it should happen, and sometimes even decide what God's faithfulness should look like.

Then, when things don't unfold according to that plan, we begin to question.

God, where are You?
Why haven't You fixed this?
Why did You allow this to happen?

But there is a problem with trying to measure God by our understanding: our understanding is incredibly small compared to His.

We cannot even begin to wrap our minds around the sovereignty of the Lord. We see one moment. God sees the entire picture. We see what is directly in front of us. He sees where we have been, where we are standing, and everything that lies ahead.

Yet we still try to put Him in a box small enough to fit inside our minds.

It won't work.

God is not limited by what we understand about Him. His faithfulness is not dependent upon whether we understand what He is doing.

He is faithful because that is who He is.

“He will establish you.”

There is something beautiful about the word establish. God doesn't simply want to get us through another day. He wants to strengthen us, steady us, and establish us in Him.

God desires to give His children good things, but following Him requires something that can be incredibly difficult for us: surrender.

We have to accept Him. We have to trust Him. And we have to allow Him to work and rule in our lives.

There is a peace that comes when you finally stop trying to control everything and place a situation completely into God's hands. It is difficult to explain to someone who has never experienced it—the sweet peace of knowing that God is in control even when you are not.

But surrender isn't always easy, even for believers.

We know that firsthand here at Boss.

We pray and ask God to work in a situation. We tell Him, “Lord, we're giving this to You.”

Then five minutes later, we're trying to figure out how to fix it ourselves.

Sound familiar?

We have shared more about our faith lately, but please don't mistake that for us claiming to have everything figured out. We are far from perfect. We struggle. We worry. We become impatient. We sometimes try to take back the very things we just placed in God's hands.

Our faith doesn't mean we never struggle.

It means we know where to return when we do.

Again and again, we come back to Him.

“And guard you against the evil one.”

This part of the verse does not promise that Christians will never experience hardship.

It doesn't mean we won't have bad days.

It doesn't mean tragedy will never strike.

It doesn't mean we won't experience disappointment, heartbreak, uncertainty, temptation, or loss.

Jesus never promised us a life without trouble.

But trouble does not mean God has abandoned us.

There is an enormous difference between experiencing hardship and being defeated by it.

The enemy may discourage us. He may tempt us. He may whisper lies into our weakest moments. He may try to convince us that God has forgotten us, that our circumstances are hopeless, or that there is no reason to keep trusting.

But he does not get the final word.

God does.

When we belong to Christ, the evil one may battle against us, but he will never have complete victory over us. Our circumstances may shake us, but our foundation remains. We may stumble, but God is still there. We may lose sight of Him for a moment, but He never loses sight of us.

That is why the verse begins with the words that matter so much:

“But the Lord is faithful.”

Not we are always faithful.

Not we always make the right decisions.

Not we never doubt.

Not we never become afraid.

The Lord is faithful.

Our confidence is not built on our ability to hold everything together. It is built upon the character of the One who holds us.

So when you don't understand what God is doing, trust that He sees more than you can see.

When you're tempted to take control back into your own hands, give it to Him again.

When you stumble, return to Him.

When the enemy tells you the battle is already lost, remember who ultimately holds the victory.

We are imperfect people serving a perfect God.

And through every uncertainty, every struggle, every disappointment, and every battle, this truth remains unchanged:

The Lord is faithful.