Quit Striving and Surrender

Are you tired? Worn out? Unsatisfied with who you are? Constantly criticizing yourself?

Chances are you're striving.

For what? I don't know. Maybe good grades in school. A high paying job. A promotion at work. For a compliment from that one person whose opinion really matters to you. Fame. Finally "making it" in whatever profession it is you're pursuing. Financial stability. A relationship. Marriage. Approval from your parents. Finishing that impossible to do list.

Chances are, if you're anything like me, in whatever area of life it is...you're striving for perfection.

It happens. Here on this earth, the pressure is always on. The stakes high. The expectations higher.

We look at others who have done it, whatever it is, and wonder, why can't I? They do more than me and make it look so easy. What's wrong with me that I can't accomplish this? Why, no matter what I do or how hard I try, is it never enough?

We do and we do and we do. Mind convinced that more is always better, and until we get that more, we'll never be good enough. We strive for perfection. An absolutely unreachable place and concept.

Perfection. Think about the word for just a second. If you are human, then you are obviously flawed. You don't need a theological explanation to be convinced of that. It's common sense. You are a creature of this earth. Where distractions are plenty. Temptations are immense. Obstacles huge. And freedom abundant. You are going to mess up. You're going to fall down. You will fail. By your own standards and the standards of others over and over again. It's the only way life can be on this thing we call earth. You are only human. We are merely human. We aren't programmed to live out perfection. We're programmed to think about and evaluate choices and experiences in hopes of improving our decisions and progressing throughout our life. We're programmed for growth, most definitely. But as humans...we are completely incapable of ever reaching that place we call perfection.

If you ask me, it sounds like a pretty boring place. Why would we want to be perfect? If we were flawless and identical, what could we learn from each other? How could we live out a life of growth?

But the problem isn't that we can't be perfect. It's that knowing perfection is impossible, we constantly strive for it.

If you're thinking, naw, I don't strive to be perfect... I challenge you to evaluate every area of your life. There is a place where you strive for perfection. I promise.

To be the perfect child to your parents. The perfect parent to your kids. The perfect spouse, girlfriend, or boyfriend. The perfect friend. The perfect employee, intern, or volunteer. The perfect leader, role model, or example. The perfect....fill in the blank. But search your life, because it's there somewhere. That place where you strive to be more than you could ever be capable of actually being.

So what's the answer to all this striving?

Surrender.

One word. One concept. That will change every aspect of your life if you let it.

Am I trying to say that I am some expert holding the key to the secret of life? No. Absolutely not. But I do know without a doubt that surrender works. And not just for Christians who believe in surrendering to their savior. For everyone. No matter what they believe in or what they're striving for.

The concept may sound super religious. There's lots of worship songs that focus in on that word. Many sermons dedicated to the concept. Tons of scripture to back it up. Do I come from a perspective of surrender that believes in surrendering to something bigger, stronger, and far more perfect than myself? Yes. That's what makes sense to me. That's where I've learned I can find peace. In surrendering to a God that brings me strength when and where I am weak. Rest when I'm weary. Hope when I'm discouraged. And so much more.

But surrender works for everyone. Whether you believe in God, Jesus, Buddha, Allah, or nothing at all.

Why?

Because the heart of surrender is admitting and coming to peace with the fact that there are things out of your control. Things you are not capable of doing or being.

Surrender is saying, this is where I am, and this is where I cannot be. Who I am and who I cannot be. What I'm doing and what I cannot do.

Surrender is staring down your own weakness and boldly saying, I see you. You exist in me, and that is okay. I am not perfect, but I am also not a failure. We all have weaknesses, and you just happen to be mine.

Surrender is accepting the areas of your life over which you have no control.

Surrender is handing in your insecurities.

Surrender is discovering and trusting that you are enough. Exactly as you are and right where you are. Could there be room for improvement? Sure. But you are already good enough. Already worthy of love. Without doing or being anything more.

Surrender is understanding your humanity. Your existence as a flawed being in a flawed world.

Surrender is saying I can't do everything, and I can't be everything. But you know what? That is okay. That is how it should be.

And when you trade in your striving for surrender...you find freedom. To be who you are. To do what you are capable of doing. To be flawed. To fail. To fall.

To be human.

As for me? I choose to surrender to a God who can do all things. Who is always there and who readily meets me in my very imperfect, quite inadequate, merely human state. Because when I quit striving, and surrender to him, I find an indescribable peace and abundant love. And only then can I look at myself and say, I am good enough just as I am. I am doing enough right now. I am only human. I will never be perfect. And that's not just okay...it's more than enough.

But wherever it is you are striving for perfection...

And however it is you choose to surrender...

Quit striving. Surrender. And you will find freedom.