I\u2019ve read the verses.
Prayed the prayers.
Bought the planner.
Watched the sermon.
And yet\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The weight didn\u2019t come off.
The habits didn\u2019t stick.
The shame stayed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I knew what I needed to do, or at least, I thought I did. I could quote Scripture about discipline. I understood grace in theory. I even nodded my head when someone said, \u201cYou just need to submit it to God.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But deep down, I didn\u2019t know what that meant. Not really.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If I\u2019m honest, \u201csubmit it to God\u201d always felt like a spiritual clich\u00e9. Like someone was trying to tie a bow around a battle I was still bleeding in. I heard the words, but they didn\u2019t come with a map. No instructions. Just vague hope and silent guilt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You ever been there?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You know what\u2019s right. You agree with Scripture. You want to change.
And yet, for some reason, you\u2019re stuck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maybe it’s your health. Or a secret sin. Or a pattern of people-pleasing. Or an anger that simmers just beneath the surface. Maybe it\u2019s something as ordinary as the way you handle your finances, the way you talk to your kids when you\u2019re tired, or how you carry stress into your workday. Or let\u2019s be honest\u2026 even keeping all your fingers wrapped around the wheel when the guy in front of you clearly forgot how to drive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whatever it is, there\u2019s a frustrating gap between what you know<\/em> and how you live<\/em>. Between your good intentions and your actual obedience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If that\u2019s you, I want to tell you something right up front: You\u2019re not broken beyond repair. And you\u2019re not alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But you might be doing what I keep finding myself doing\u2026confusing agreement with submission. That\u2019s the struggle I\u2019m still trying to understand, and this article is me wrestling with it in real time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For most of my life, I\u2019ve wrestled with my weight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not just the physical weight, but everything underneath it. The shame. The frustration. The failure loop. I\u2019ve tried every angle\u2026discipline, distraction, devotion. I\u2019ve gone from counting macros to crying during worship, hoping this time God would zap the desire for comfort food out of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I\u2019ve heard it all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJust submit it to God.\u201d Some of the advice came from a good place. Some of it came from people who clearly had never fought this battle. But none of it really helped, because none of it told me what submission actually looks like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So I did what most of us do. I tried harder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I tried to white-knuckle my way to change. But at the end of the day, I was still stuck in the same cycle: I didn\u2019t need another verse. I needed clarity. This article isn\u2019t me arriving at an answer. It\u2019s me learning and researching, even as I write, what questions God is inviting me to ask.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That tension, the gap between knowing and living, is exactly the problem James refuses to let believers ignore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.\u201d<\/em> This passage doesn\u2019t tiptoe. James isn\u2019t writing to skeptics. How?<\/p>\n\n\n\n By thinking agreement is enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n James goes on to describe the person who hears truth but doesn\u2019t act on it. He compares it to someone who looks in the mirror, walks away, and immediately forgets what they look like. (v. 23\u201324)<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not that they didn\u2019t see the truth. \u201cBut the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, There it is: This passage draws a clear line between agreement and submission. James isn\u2019t saying obedience earns God\u2019s love. Paul reminds us in Ephesians 2:8-9 that salvation is \u2018by grace through faith\u2026 not a result of works.\u2019 What James is pressing on here is not how we are saved<\/em> but how salvation expresses itself<\/em>. In theological terms, justification (being declared right with God) is once-for-all by faith; sanctification (being formed in Christlikeness) is an ongoing work of God\u2019s Spirit as we submit in obedience. James is not redefining the gospel, but describing the fruit the gospel necessarily produces in a life being transformed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the context of my own story, my health, my habits, my heart, James 1 keeps hitting me hard. Here\u2019s a hard but freeing truth. Biblically speaking, obedience is often the difference between truth actually forming us, and truth merely informing us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We live in a culture that equates understanding with transformation. But biblically? That\u2019s a dangerous deception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf your God never disagrees with you, you might be worshiping an idealized version of yourself.\u201d<\/em> True submission starts where comfort ends. In the New Testament, the word often translated submit<\/em> is hypotass\u014d (\u1f51\u03c0\u03bf\u03c4\u03ac\u03c3\u03c3\u03c9). It\u2019s the posture of someone who trusts that God\u2019s way is not only right, but good<\/em>. That distinction matters, especially for those of us raised on checklists or religious pressure. Paul frames this same truth through the Spirit\u2019s power: \u2018Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh\u2019 (Galatians 5:16). Our obedience is never self-generated willpower; it\u2019s the Spirit working in us as we choose to walk in step with Him (Romans 8:13-14).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The late R.C. Sproul once said: \u201cThe issue of obedience is never neutral. You’re either moving toward God or away from Him.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n That line wrecks me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because for years, I thought I was standing still, stuck in neutral. I keep catching myself in places where I hear the Word but don\u2019t do it, where I agree with truth but still struggle to submit to it. Obedience is not about perfection. And submission is what turns your agreement into movement. But even when we know this in our heads, living it out in daily life feels far harder. Which raises the question, if submission is so essential, why is it so elusive?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why do so many of us nod at God\u2019s truth, feel convicted, even want<\/em> to obey\u2026and still walk away unchanged?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s be honest, most of us don\u2019t resist submission because we\u2019re rebellious. We resist because we\u2019re confused, exhausted, or afraid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We live in a world where we\u2019re constantly told that knowing more will change us. But it rarely does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dallas Willard said, \u201cInformation alone rarely leads to transformation.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We consume sermons, podcasts, devotionals, but spiritual depth isn\u2019t measured by how much we\u2019ve heard. It\u2019s measured by how much we\u2019ve submitted to what we\u2019ve heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ve mistaken agreement for obedience. We say \u201cAmen\u201d in church but never actually change our patterns. We assume that because we believe something, we\u2019re already doing it. James shatters that illusion when he says, \u201cEven the demons believe and shudder.\u201d<\/em> (James 2:19)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Knowing is easy. We confuse awareness with obedience. But there\u2019s another reason submission is so difficult: it feels risky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For many of us, submission sounds like surrendering control. And control, whether over food, emotions, relationships, or outcomes, has been our coping mechanism for years. Giving that up feels like freefall. We fear that if we truly let go, we\u2019ll lose something we love, or worse, fail again\u2026 publicly, painfully, spiritually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s a kind of despair that grows out of repeated failure. When you\u2019ve tried and failed enough times, your soul starts whispering, \u201cDon\u2019t bother\u2026you\u2019ll just blow it again.\u201d<\/em> That\u2019s called learned helplessness, and it doesn\u2019t just numb your will; it shrinks your view of God. You start thinking He\u2019s disappointed in you or done helping you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then there\u2019s the practical layer. I would suppose most of us have been told what<\/em> to do\u2026\u201cSubmit it to God\u201d, without ever being shown how.<\/em> So we guess. We overcomplicate it. We turn surrender into a vague spiritual idea, instead of a real-life, embodied step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Scripture is more grounded than that. Again and again, God asked His people to prepare spiritually before they acted physically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And the beauty is, God doesn\u2019t just stand at a distance demanding your submission. He leans close, walks with you in it, and delights in even your imperfect steps. The Father who calls you to obey is the same Father who cheers when you try again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In God\u2019s economy, battle prep isn\u2019t about sharpening weapons, it\u2019s about readying your heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, even when we do<\/em> try to submit, we carry quiet misconceptions and false definitions that sabotage our efforts before we begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some think submission is blind obedience. That it\u2019s mindless, passive compliance. But biblical submission is anything but robotic. It\u2019s a voluntary act of trust in a good and present Father. Romans 12 calls us to be \u201cliving sacrifices\u201d, surrendering not just behavior, but identity. And it tells us how\u2026<\/em>through the renewing of our minds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Others bank on conviction to do the changing. But conviction stalls without practice. Submission isn\u2019t inspiration\u2014it\u2019s embodiment. It shows up in your calendar, your plate, your budget, your screen time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And still others carry the quiet belief: \u201cIf I can\u2019t do it perfectly, why try?\u201d<\/em> But that\u2019s not the gospel. Grace sustains us in the middle of every stumble. It keeps us moving even when our obedience is messy. Paul begged God to take away his thorn, and God said no, not because Paul failed, but because grace is made perfect in weakness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So if you\u2019ve ever said, \u201cI know what God wants, but I can\u2019t seem to do it\u2026\u201d <\/em>You\u2019re not crazy, and you\u2019re not alone. And most importantly, you\u2019re not disqualified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I hit that precipice, it feels like the edge of real surrender. Maybe that\u2019s where submission actually begins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So if submission really is this central, and this difficult, the question becomes unavoidable: what does it actually look like in real life?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not as a sermon point. Let\u2019s be clear, submission is not<\/em> a personality trait. It\u2019s a spiritual rhythm. It starts in your head\u2026 moves through your heart\u2026 and takes root in your habits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first step is simple but humbling:<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m learning that submission seems to start with admitting I can\u2019t do it on my own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGod will never do what He\u2019s asked you to do. We try to muscle through. We white-knuckle, overthink, and push ourselves into burnout. This is one of those mysteries of faith, God calls us to act, yet it is His Spirit that empowers us to do so. Paul captures this balance in Philippians 2:12-13 when he writes that we are to \u2018work out our salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then comes the hard part: naming what I\u2019m still holding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take time to journal or pray through this question:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat am I still trying to control?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n It might be your image. Whatever it is, name it. God often waits to heal what we stubbornly keep clenched in our hands. Maybe pause right now and pray, \u2018Lord, show me what I\u2019m still gripping. Teach me to trust You with it.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then, and only then, can you begin to align.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Submission isn\u2019t about ignoring your thoughts or feelings. For example, if you\u2019ve struggled with your body, look at what Scripture actually<\/em> says about it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYour body is a temple of the Holy Spirit\u2026 You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.\u201d<\/em> That\u2019s not just a guilt trip. For me, that alignment has shown up most clearly in my health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But for you, it might look different, how you spend your money, how you treat your spouse, or even how you respond when you\u2019re anxious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The details change, but the call is the same: What would it look like to let God\u2019s truth lead our daily decisions instead of our impulses or insecurities? That\u2019s what alignment looks like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But don\u2019t stop there. Because submission isn\u2019t a mood, it\u2019s movement. Think of Jericho.<\/p>\n\n\n\n God told the Israelites to march silently around a walled city once a day for six days, and then seven times on the seventh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thirteen laps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No fireworks. No angelic pep talks. Just obedience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And it wasn\u2019t until after all thirteen that the walls fell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes, obedience feels like walking in circles. Here are the practices I\u2019m trying to put into place as I learn what it means to submit to God:<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Dallas Willard put it, \u201cGrace is not opposed to effort. It is opposed to earning.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We don\u2019t earn God\u2019s love by submitting. Submission isn\u2019t about trying harder. And when you do that, not once, but daily, you won\u2019t just feel different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ll be<\/em> different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And this truth isn\u2019t just visible in Scripture. You can even see its fingerprints in how God wired the world itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For those of us who love both Scripture and science, it\u2019s a beautiful thing when they echo the same truth from different angles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the most powerful examples? Identity-based habits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Atomic Habits<\/em>, James Clear writes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTrue behavior change is identity change.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n He explains that if you want to change your life, you can\u2019t just set goals. Don\u2019t just say, \u201cI want to eat healthier.\u201d Don\u2019t just say, \u201cI want to pray more.\u201d That may sound like pop psychology, but really it echoes what the New Testament has been saying all along. The authority rests in Scripture itself, while the science simply illustrates what God has already revealed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPut on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.\u201d<\/em> The Christian life isn\u2019t behavior modification. Science backs this up in interesting ways. To clarify, science doesn\u2019t validate Scripture here, it simply describes what Scripture has always revealed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Research in neuroscience has shown that repeated behaviors strengthen neural pathways over time, shaping habits long before they feel automatic. Every time you act in alignment with truth, even before you fully believe it, your neural pathways begin to shift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m beginning to see how powerful of a reality that is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m learning I don\u2019t have to feel holy to take steps toward holiness. I don\u2019t have to feel strong to start practicing submission. Your obedience forms the very pathways that will one day feel like instinct. So don\u2019t be afraid to begin clumsily. God\u2019s grace meets you as you act, not just when you understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This isn\u2019t theoretical. Submission is starting to hit home as I shift from asking God to bless my hustle to learning how to let Him lead my obedience. In my case, that\u2019s shown up in my health. For you, maybe it\u2019s finances, or your marriage, or even the way you handle stress at work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like many people, I\u2019ve had a lifelong battle with my health. Even when I prayed<\/em>, I was still calling the shots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGod, help me stick to this plan.\u201d But looking back, I wasn\u2019t inviting Him in. I\u2019m realizing the real turning point for me isn\u2019t just physical, it\u2019s spiritual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I realized my exhaustion wasn\u2019t from lack of effort. It came from carrying the load as if it all depended on me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I had information. God didn\u2019t want to be my silent partner in another health project. So I stopped asking Him to strengthen my grip and started asking Him to soften my heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead of begging Him to fuel my<\/em> plan, I asked for the courage to walk in His<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And the difference?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not just the kind that forgives your failure, but the kind that fuels your next step. That\u2019s where I\u2019m beginning to see effort shift\u2026 less like striving, more like worship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s still a process. Of course, even as I try to walk this out, I stumble. Which raises the question I can\u2019t escape\u2026what happens when I fail again?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Failure doesn\u2019t always feel spiritual. Sometimes it feels final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ve promised before. Prayed before. Cried before. Tried before. If you\u2019re like me, maybe you\u2019ve asked: Here\u2019s why: We don\u2019t wrestle with truth because we hate it, we wrestle because we long to know it matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019re not alone in that wrestling. Even Paul, the apostle who wrote half the New Testament, confessed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI don\u2019t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don\u2019t do it. Instead I do what I hate.\u201d -Romans 7:15 (NLT)<\/p>\n\n\n\n I used to think this verse was giving me permission to stay stuck. Romans 7 builds the tension, but Romans 8 brings the release:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.\u201d (Romans 8:1) That\u2019s the difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I keep noticing that when I fail in my own strength, I spiral. But when I bring my failure to Christ, I begin to experience what it means to be carried.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve seen that in my health, but it\u2019s just as true in other places. Maybe for you it shows up in your finances, or the way you lose patience with your kids, or the way you overspend when you\u2019re stressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The details are different, but the truth is the same\u2026grace doesn\u2019t mock your weakness. So if you\u2019re afraid to try again, here\u2019s your permission slip\u2026You don\u2019t have to be perfect. You just have to keep coming back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We tend to think of submission like it\u2019s a spiritual finish line, something you cross once, maybe tearfully at an altar, and then you’re done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But that\u2019s not how Scripture describes it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Submission isn\u2019t spiritual retirement. It\u2019s saying: And that\u2019s a key shift. Walls don\u2019t fall before<\/em> the march, they fall after<\/em>. Submission isn\u2019t weakness or passivity. I\u2019m finding it looks more like this trembling declaration\u2026 \u2018God, I trust You enough to take the next step\u2026even before I feel strong.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n And this is the very path Jesus walked before us. Paul writes that Christ \u2018humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross\u2019 (Philippians 2:8). Our submission is never a lonely step, it follows in the footsteps of the One who submitted perfectly on our behalf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maybe it\u2019s your health, your habits, your relationships, or your thought life. Maybe for you it\u2019s forgiving someone who hurt you deeply, or showing patience when your kids test every ounce of it. Or maybe it\u2019s how you show up in community, your small group, serving team, or your friendships. Maybe it\u2019s owning your part in a conflict at church, at work, or at home, and making the first move toward reconciliation. Maybe it\u2019s submitting to wise counsel, opening yourself to voices you trust. Or maybe it\u2019s serving when it\u2019s inconvenient, or giving when it stretches you. Or maybe it\u2019s the way you love and submit within your church family, showing up, listening well, and choosing humility over pride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re standing at the edge of a struggle, don\u2019t wait until it\u2019s easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Begin with submission. Let\u2019s not overcomplicate it. You probably already know the thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That one<\/em> area where you\u2019ve clutched control, prayed out of panic, or spiraled through the cycle of trying harder and falling shorter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What I keep coming back to is that strategies alone don\u2019t change me. What I need, what we all need\u2026is surrender.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ask God to carry what you can\u2019t. And then, just start small.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is one<\/em> act of submission you can walk out this week? God is not waiting for your perfection. Let grace carry what grit never could.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is not about shame. It\u2019s about surrender. And because I know my own brain likes handles to hold onto, here\u2019s the simple framework I\u2019m trying to practice for what submission could look like in real life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m finding that submission isn\u2019t a personality type. It\u2019s becoming a spiritual practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Closing Prayer<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Father,<\/p>\n\n\n\n You see the things we\u2019re still trying to control, the parts of our lives we say we\u2019ve surrendered, but keep white-knuckling in silence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We don\u2019t want to just hear Your truth. We want to be changed by it and live it out in obedience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Teach us what submission really means. Show us how to trust You with the parts we\u2019ve tried to fix, hide, or ignore. And when we feel weak, meet us there. Remind us that You\u2019re not waiting for perfection, You\u2019re waiting for permission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For every reader who feels like they\u2019ve failed too many times\u2026 remind them, they\u2019re not disqualified. They\u2019re invited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I ask that You use this article, not because I wrote it, but because You\u2019re<\/em> in it\u2026to bring clarity where there\u2019s confusion, courage where there\u2019s fear, and rest where there\u2019s been striving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Help us take just one obedient step this week. One act of trust. One honest prayer. One surrendered decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We want to live like we believe You’re good. Help our unbelief when we forget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We submit this to You now. Not flawlessly. But honestly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thank You that before we ever submit, You have already loved us fully in Christ. Let that love be the foundation we rest on as we take our next step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amen.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Many of us agree with God long before we actually submit to Him. We know the verses, believe the truth, and want to change, yet remain stuck. This piece is not a how-to guide, but a personal and pastoral wrestling with what biblical submission really looks like when obedience feels costly, slow, or unfinished.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":454,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,35],"tags":[31,23,76,75,22,74,77],"class_list":["post-452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-obedience-surrender","category-leadership-discipleship","tag-discipleship","tag-obedience","tag-sanctification","tag-spiritual-formation","tag-spiritual-growth","tag-submission","tag-surrender"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideasworthwrestlingwith.com\/es-co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideasworthwrestlingwith.com\/es-co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideasworthwrestlingwith.com\/es-co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideasworthwrestlingwith.com\/es-co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideasworthwrestlingwith.com\/es-co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=452"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ideasworthwrestlingwith.com\/es-co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":453,"href":"https:\/\/ideasworthwrestlingwith.com\/es-co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452\/revisions\/453"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideasworthwrestlingwith.com\/es-co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ideasworthwrestlingwith.com\/es-co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideasworthwrestlingwith.com\/es-co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ideasworthwrestlingwith.com\/es-co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\u201cHave you tried fasting?\u201d
\u201cMaybe it\u2019s a spiritual stronghold.\u201d
\u201cGod helps those who help themselves.\u201d (That one\u2019s not even in the Bible, by the way.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
I tried hyper-discipline with no margin for grace.
I tried over-spiritualizing it, expecting God to do what I wouldn\u2019t train for.
I even tried ignoring it, telling myself I was focusing on \u201cmore important spiritual matters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Try. Fail. Shame. Repeat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What does it actually mean to submit something to God?
What does that process look like, not just in my head, but in my habits?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-James 1:22 (ESV)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It doesn\u2019t flatter or ease in with soft language.
It comes straight for the gap between what we know<\/em> and how we live<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\u2019s writing to believers\u2026people who already agree<\/em> with the truth.
And yet, he says they\u2019re deceiving themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s that they didn\u2019t respond to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.\u201d<\/em>
-James 1:25 (ESV)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not blessed in his hearing.<\/em>
Not blessed in his knowing.<\/em>
Blessed in his doing.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It calls us beyond conviction into persevering obedience, especially in the ordinary, hard, or unseen places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\u2019s saying obedience flows from it.
Submission isn\u2019t performance, it\u2019s alignment. It\u2019s trust that takes a step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I realize that I have been informed by truth for years\u2026 but in some areas, I\u2019m still learning what it means to be formed by it. It doesn\u2019t seem to be a lack of belief that keeps me stuck, it\u2019s this ongoing struggle with submission. And by submission, I mean the voluntary alignment of my will to God\u2019s revealed commands, empowered by His Spirit\u2026not passive resignation, but active obedience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We nod at truth, quote it on Instagram, and think agreement equals obedience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-Tim Keller<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It shows up not when you feel affirmed, but when you\u2019re confronted.
Submission begins when we stop negotiating with God and start learning to trust Him. I know that\u2019s a distinction He keeps pressing upon me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It means to willingly place yourself under authority or arrangement<\/em>, not out of force, but by choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s not robotic obedience.
It\u2019s relational surrender.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Submission isn\u2019t legalism dressed up in spiritual language.
It\u2019s not about trying harder to meet a standard.
It\u2019s about trusting the character of the One who gave the command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I wasn\u2019t actively rebelling. I believed all the right things.
But I wasn\u2019t moving forward either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And that gap\u2026that slow drift, is where spiritual stagnation lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s about direction.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Doing is costly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Jesus didn\u2019t say, \u201cBlessed are those who memorize.\u201d
He said, \u201cBlessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.\u201d<\/em> (Luke 11:28)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not as a Christian clich\u00e9.
But as a daily, lived-out, Monday-morning kind of thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And like any rhythm, it forms one small beat at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But He won\u2019t let you do it without Him.\u201d<\/em>
-Tony Evans<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But submission starts by acknowledging your limits, and God\u2019s presence within them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your food.
Your future.
Your kids.
Your pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s about bringing them under God\u2019s truth. It\u2019s saying, \u201cEven if I feel this\u2026 I\u2019ll act on what He says.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-1 Corinthians 6:19\u201320 (ESV)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s an invitation: Your body isn\u2019t a punishment. It\u2019s a place of worship.
So what actions would honor that truth? And what habits would resist it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You obey before you feel like it. You obey even when you don\u2019t see immediate results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But every lap matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
But by submitting, we learn how deeply He already loves us. Submission isn’t what saves us. Christ already has. But it’s one of the ways He keeps shaping us as His own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s about leaning deeper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You have to ask: \u201cWho am I becoming?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Say, \u201cI\u2019m the kind of person who treats my body with honor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Say, \u201cI\u2019m a person who walks with God.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-Ephesians 4:24 (ESV)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s identity transformation.
Not an identity we construct for ourselves, but one we receive in Christ and then learn to live out.
God doesn\u2019t just call you to act different\u2026 He makes you new.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
We simply begin, one step at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not because you faked it.
But because God formed it in you over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The sacred and the scientific agree: consistency beats intensity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve tried diets, workout plans, supplements, apps.
Some worked\u2026briefly. Most didn\u2019t.
And all of them had one thing in common: I was in control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGod, bless this next round of willpower.\u201d
\u201cGod, please help me not hate myself if I mess up again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was hiring Him as my motivational coach, while I stayed in charge of the game plan. And that\u2019s not submission. That\u2019s spiritualized self-help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I had conviction.
What I didn\u2019t have was alignment.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
He wanted to lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The grace that carries you, not just corrects you. It gives courage where willpower runs out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But now, it\u2019s no longer about proving something.
It\u2019s about following Someone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So what happens when you hit the wall again?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhy would God want me to try again when I keep failing?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Failure isn\u2019t your disqualification, it\u2019s your invitation.
\u201cA righteous man falls seven times and rises again.\u201d<\/em> (Proverbs 24:16)
Righteousness isn\u2019t proven by how rarely you fall. It\u2019s proven by what you do next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it\u2019s not a license, it\u2019s a lamppost.
Paul isn\u2019t saying, \u201cThis is how you\u2019ll always live.\u201d<\/em>
He\u2019s saying, \u201cThis is what it feels like when I try to do this in my own strength.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Spirit helps us in our weakness\u2026\u201d (Romans 8:26)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It meets you in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s not throwing up your hands in defeat.
It\u2019s active trust.<\/em> Daily. Sometimes hourly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGod, I\u2019m willing to take the next step, even if I don\u2019t feel it yet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because we often ask God to stir our emotions before we take action.
But in Scripture, obedience often comes first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Red Sea didn\u2019t part before<\/em> Moses raised his staff, it parted after<\/em> he obeyed.
And healing often didn\u2019t come until people took that first trembling step toward Jesus. Scripture shows us a consistent pattern. God often chooses to move in the space that obedience creates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s not the end of your effort.
It\u2019s the beginning of your alignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ask Him to meet you in the gap between what you believe and what you\u2019ve been able to live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not a huge gesture. Not a full transformation overnight.
Just one honest, obedient step in the direction of trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\u2019s inviting your participation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
God\u2019s strength meets you in your weakness, not your performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n