The world tells us, “Take charge!” “You are the master of your own destiny,” and “God helps those who help themselves.” This kind of advice flies in the face of the Bible’s urgings to “submit to God,” trusting and yielding ourselves to Him Romans 12:1-2
And so, dear brothers and sisters,* I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.* Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
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;Romans 6:13
Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.
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;James 4:7
So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
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. These commands, then, can seem foreign to us. How do we trust and submit to God? And what keeps us from doing so?
Three obstacles keep us from coming to Christ, and these are the same barriers that keep us from yielding to, trusting in, and submitting to Him on an ongoing basis. These are emotional, intellectual, and volitional barriers.
The Emotional Barrier: Is It Safe to Trust God?
Do you remember when you first yielded your life to Christ? Did you laugh or cry tears of joy? Did you feel released and free?
After our conversion, our inner person matures and grows, but our flesh is neither removed nor improved. It’s always telling us, “You’d better take charge.” So how do we stay yielded to God? This doesn’t happen automatically. The experiential barriers are ongoing, and they can range from broken family relationships that make us reticent to trust or accept love to bad church experiences.
At a camp in North Carolina, the high ropes course has a trapdoor at the end. Climbers think they’ll go down the wire smoothly, but when the lever is pulled, they face a 20-foot freefall. A preacher was once heard yelling, “Oh, [expletive]!” on the way down. What happens when the trapdoor opens in your life?
We overcome the emotional barrier when we believe it is safe to yield to God. The following five assurances help overcome the emotional barrier to yielding to Him — even in your freefall moments:
You can be secure in God’s love, which is a demonstrated, sacrificial, and caring love John 3:16
"For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
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;1 John 4:10-19
This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other* because he loved us first.
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You can be assured of God’s intentions — that He has your best interests at heart Jeremiah 29:11-13
For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.
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;Hebrews 12:10
For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God's discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness.
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You can be confident in God’s ability to handle your problems Job 42:2
"I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you.
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You can be comforted by God’s commitment Psalms 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.
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;Luke 15:11-32
To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: "A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, `I want my share of your estate now before you die.' So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons. "A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything. "When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, `At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! I will go home to my father and say, "Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant."' "So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, `Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.*' "But his father said to the servants, `Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.' So the party began. "Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, and he asked one of the servants what was going on. `Your brother is back,' he was told, `and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.' "The older brother was angry and wouldn't go in. His father came out and begged him, but he replied, `All these years I've slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!' "His father said to him, `Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!'"
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You can count on God’s promise Joshua 1:5
No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you.
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;Deuteronomy 31:6
So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you."
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;1 Chronicles 28:20
Then David continued, "Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don't be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. He will see to it that all the work related to the Temple of the LORD is finished correctly.
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;Hebrews 13:5
Don't love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said,"I will never fail you. I will never abandon you."*
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The Intellectual Barrier: Does It Make Sense to Trust God?
Whereas the emotional barrier says it’s not safe to trust God, the intellectual barrier says it doesn’t make sense to trust God. The emotional barrier deals with bad experiences, but the intellectual barrier deals with bad teaching.
Christian author A.W. Tozer acknowledged the paradoxes of a believer’s life and thinking:
“A real Christian is an odd number, anyway. He feels supreme love for One whom he has never seen, talks familiarly every day to Someone he cannot see, expects to go to heaven on the virtue of Another, empties himself in order to be full, admits he is wrong so he can be declared right, goes down in order to get up, is strongest when he is weakest, richest when he is poorest, and happiest when he feels the worst. He dies so he can live, forsakes in order to have, gives away so he can keep, sees the invisible, hears the inaudible, and knows that which passeth knowledge.”*
Much of the ministry of Jesus was devoted to correcting bad teaching; see, for example,Matthew 5:21
"You have heard that our ancestors were told, `You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.'*
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on murder, 5:27 on adultery, and 5:33 on oaths. Just before those verses, the Beatitudes Matthew 5:1-12
One day as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up on the mountainside and sat down. His disciples gathered around him, and he began to teach them. "God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,* for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth. God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice,* for they will be satisfied. God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy. God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God. God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. "God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you* and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.
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define a path to spiritual happiness and significance totally contrary to what we’re normally taught (blessed are the meek, not the proud). Jesus isn’t appealing to the irrational, but to a higher truth. This is similar to how the higher law of aerodynamics supersedes the “lower” law of gravity for a hang glider.
Here are four reasons it makes sense to trust God, as the holder of this higher reason and truth:
Trusting God gives us a better perspective — a mindset focused on a higher truth Isaiah 55:7-9
Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong.Let them turn to the LORD that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously. "My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the LORD. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
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;Proverbs 14:12
There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.
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Trusting God gives us direction Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
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Trusting God gives us confidence — not a flesh-driven confidence, not confidence in the wrong things (like money/possessions) or with wrong motives, but confidence rooted in God and His Word (exemplified by the Bereans of Acts 17:11
And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul's message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.
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Trusting God gives us true successPsalms 27:3-7
Though a mighty army surrounds me, my heart will not be afraid.Even if I am attacked, I will remain confident. The one thing I ask of the LORD— the thing I seek most—is to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, delighting in the LORD's perfections and meditating in his Temple. For he will conceal me there when troubles come; he will hide me in his sanctuary. He will place me out of reach on a high rock. Then I will hold my head high above my enemies who surround me.At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy, singing and praising the LORD with music. Hear me as I pray, O LORD. Be merciful and answer me!
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;Proverbs 15:22
Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many advisers bring success.
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The Volitional Barrier: Am I Able to Trust God?
If you overcome the emotional and intellectual barriers, one barrier remains: the volitional barrier. With this obstacle, we ask, Is it possible to trust God?
The natural gravity of the flesh pulls us away from grace toward law-based living. This gravity is like a built-in magnet that draws us toward controlling, creating, and manipulating. Have you ever wondered why we get caught in the same sins over and over? In addition to natural gravity, Satan uses the same methods repeatedly — and they work much of the time.
The three tools Satan uses to keep us ineffective on the volitional level are as follows:
The flesh: Human needs for food, security, sex, rest, and the like Romans 7:14
So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin.
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. Examples abound in the Bible where these fleshly needs “took over,” leading to sin: Esau’s hunger Genesis 25:29-34
One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted and hungry. Esau said to Jacob, "I'm starved! Give me some of that red stew!" (This is how Esau got his other name, Edom, which means "red.") "All right," Jacob replied, "but trade me your rights as the firstborn son." "Look, I'm dying of starvation!" said Esau. "What good is my birthright to me now?" But Jacob said, "First you must swear that your birthright is mine." So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn.
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, Saul’s insecurity (1 Samuel 18-31), Samson’s and David’s sexual drives (Judges 14-16 and 2 Samuel 11-12, respectively), and the sluggard’s overindulgence in rest Proverbs 24:30-34
I walked by the field of a lazy person, the vineyard of one with no common sense. I saw that it was overgrown with nettles. It was covered with weeds, and its walls were broken down. Then, as I looked and thought about it, I learned this lesson: A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.
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The world: Referring here to the organized system of temporal values that are opposed to the life of Christ in a believer (such as money or possessions).
The devil: Satan’s three desires for us are to behave as if we’re dead or lost 1 Corinthians 3:3
for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn't that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren't you living like people of the world?
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to think as if we’re blind 2 Corinthians 4:2-3
We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don't try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this. If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing.
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and to live as if we’re captives Romans 7:21-25
I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another power* within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God's law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.
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These three tools work, often interrelatedly Ephesians 2:1-3
Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world.* He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God's anger, just like everyone else.
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, against the life of Christ in us and present the volitional barrier to our trust in Him.
Turning to God
How do we deal with these ongoing barriers in our lives? The answer is simple, but not necessarily easy.
Galatians 5:16
So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves.
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calls us to “walk in the Spirit.” The Greek word for “walk,” peripateo, means “to walk around, to conduct oneself.” Walking is a step-by-step process, a sequencing process of behaving habitually. We’re to make a choice — to make up our mind whether to trust and serve God or not, and then act accordingly.
In our choices, we don’t so much turn to evil as we turn from God. Similarly, repentance is not so much a matter of turning from evil as it is a turning to God.
When the Israelites, out of a desire to “be like all the nations,” insisted on an earthly king, they turned from the will and warning of the One who knew what was best for them — and they got what they asked for, though the results weren’t pleasant 1 Samuel 8:9-20
Do as they ask, but solemnly warn them about the way a king will reign over them." So Samuel passed on the LORD's warning to the people who were asking him for a king. "This is how a king will reign over you," Samuel said. "The king will draft your sons and assign them to his chariots and his charioteers, making them run before his chariots. Some will be generals and captains in his army,* some will be forced to plow in his fields and harvest his crops, and some will make his weapons and chariot equipment. The king will take your daughters from you and force them to cook and bake and make perfumes for him. He will take away the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his own officials. He will take a tenth of your grain and your grape harvest and distribute it among his officers and attendants. He will take your male and female slaves and demand the finest of your cattle* and donkeys for his own use. He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you will be his slaves. When that day comes, you will beg for relief from this king you are demanding, but then the LORD will not help you." But the people refused to listen to Samuel's warning. "Even so, we still want a king," they said. "We want to be like the nations around us. Our king will judge us and lead us into battle."
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Choosing our own way over God’s is always a losing option. Which way are you turned? If you’re not turned toward Him now, will you take a moment right now to yield to His Spirit once again — or maybe even for the first time?
There’s really nowhere else to go, as the apostle Peter said, for true life — eternal life — is with Him alone.
*A.W. Tozer, Root of the Righteous (Harrisburg, PA: Christian Publications, 1955), p. 156.
Ken Boa has been engaged in a ministry of relational evangelism and discipleship, teaching, writing, and speaking for more than 40 years. An author of more than 50 books (from Zondervan, Thomas Nelson, Tyndale House, and NavPress, among others), his titles include Conformed to His Image, Handbook to Prayer, Life in the Presence of God, and Faith Has Its Reasons; he is also an editor or contributor to multiple Bibles and winner of three Gold Medallion Book Awards. View a complete list of books authored by Ken Boa. As founder and president of Reflections Ministries (based in Atlanta), he seeks