God’s Power Shows Up When We Surrender

Control feels like safety until it starts costing you peace. We sit with one of the most personal challenges in spiritual growth: surrender to God. Not the vague kind that sounds nice on a coffee mug, but the real kind where you hand over your plans, your “rights,” your need to be understood, and your fear of what might happen if you stop managing everything.

We explore why surrender feels unnatural in a culture shaped by rugged individualism, and why Scripture points us toward covenant trust instead. Along the way we bring in Ecclesiastes and the ache many of us carry when achievement still feels empty. We talk about the kingdom of God as a lived reality marked by righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit and how that shalom peace pushes back on anxiety, pressure, and lack.

Then we go straight at the obstacle that stops most people cold: the fear of prolonged pain. We unpack Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” from 2 Corinthians 12 and the shockingly honest promise that God’s grace is sufficient and that his power is made perfect in weakness. We also share how surrender in suffering can lead to deeper intimacy with Jesus and to a life that can carry real spiritual authority with unity, love, and endurance.

If you have been asking God to take something away and nothing is moving, this will give you language, hope, and a next step. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs strength, and leave a review with the biggest takeaway you heard.

Transcript

Why Surrender Feels So Hard

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It is our sincere hope and prayer that something from this particular podcast episode today is going to touch your life because we're looking at a subject that is familiar to all of us, and it is the subject of surrender. And we all have at different points in our life entered into a time where there was something in our life that we needed to surrender. We need to give over. Sometimes in a relationship, we need to give over some of our previous tendencies to do things the way that we wanted them done. Because we're now living with someone else. We need to share in some of the desires. And so we need to give and take. And sometimes we need to give over or surrender our previous desires so that we can reach a mutual desire and have a desire based upon agreement between two or more people. And the more people that we get involved in agreeing on things, the more potentially complicated it can be. And depending on the topic, what we are looking to agree upon. But there's an issue in all of our lives that at different times we need to surrender things over. And when it comes to our relationship with God, it is perhaps one of the most significant things concerning our relationship. That when we encounter it, it's amazing that it's so difficult at times to surrender over to God, to surrender our lives, to literally give over the control of our lives, our previous tendency to play God, to eat from that tree of the knowledge of good and evil, so that we can be God and not depend upon God, which is a fallacy. It leads to death, it leads to rebellion. It's rebellion that leads to death, the basis of sin. And so we're, though called into a relationship in which we become betrothed, or we are engaged to be married to God. We're engaged to experience a deeper level of relationship with God than any other being has ever experienced between God and themselves. We as people have been given the opportunity to be like God. But it's not by us taking control of our own lives, it's by submitting and surrendering our lives over to our groom, the bridegroom, to the head of the church, to the head of the body of Christ, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. To surrender our lives over to Him is one of the chief things that we are called to do in our experiences with God. And it is truly one of the things that is the most universal and profound paradox in the life of faith. And it is completely normal. Get this, it's completely normal to feel some tension when it comes to things from a human perspective, giving up control. Because giving up control feels like a vulnerability that goes against everything that would teach us about strength and survival. That thing of doing things our own way, rugged individualism. I mean, that's the American way, or the way in the Western world is by being a rugged individual, not by having a collective mindset, which in many other cultures we are strong because we are united. But in other cultures, such as the one in the Western world, we equate strength with being individual and rugged, having our own rights and seeing to it that we are the ones who are in control of our lives. That is not the call that is placed upon us in our relationship with God. He is looking for people that are submitted to him, who are surrendered to him, who trust him, who

Control, Covenant, And Real Trust

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trust him with everything. Because he is entrusting to us in a covenant relationship that he's offering to us, in a covenant relationship. What's mine is yours, what's yours is mine. And it doesn't take too long to see that when we come into a relationship with God, we come out the ones that are victorious, and yet God considers it to be a prize to have us as his possession. Us, you, me. Sometimes I feel so absolutely I feel like a disappointment. I feel at times like a disappointment to God because I'm not achieving things that I think I need to achieve. Doing things that I need to be doing. Building things I need to be building. And all it takes for me is a little look into the scriptures, and I can see in the book of Ecclesiastes that there was a person who did all those things, and in the end he said they're empty. The book of Ecclesiastes, written by Solomon, the wisest man who had ever walked on the planet earth, except for Jesus Christ, said in the end of his experience with trying to get stuff on his own by doing things his own way, by getting things, by doing things, by having things, he said, it's all empty. It's vanity. It's vain. Because it's not what it's all about. It's not about that. It is about relationship. And it's about right relationship. Righteousness, peace, and joy. In that order. Righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit makes up the culture of the kingdom of God. That's the ethos, that's the air, that's the environment that's in the kingdom of God, where relationships are righteous. They are in right order. They're complete. There's a peace. There's a peace that goes beyond understanding. And it focuses our hearts and our minds literally on Jesus. And it is the possession of having everything in your life that you have any

Ecclesiastes And The Empty Chase

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need of. You are completely free from having the needs around you that produce pressure. Peace. The peace, the salon, the solid sense of things being in right order is the peace of God. To have that peace, man, sometimes just even having too many bills and not enough money can produce pressure and anxiety because it seems to squeeze peace out. Because when there's lack, there is no sense of real peace. Because the peace, the shalom of God, has no lack in it. We lack nothing. Hallelujah. And joy. That undercurrent of joy, that knowing that things are going to be okay, that things are okay, not just going to be okay, things are okay, and they're going to be okay. And there's a joy that comes with that. There's a sometimes an overwhelming joy, a laughter that comes with that. But the key to this whole thing of experiencing right relationship with God, but also the power. The power of God and his kingdom. Now I see and hear of things taking place in different parts of the world in which God is demonstrating his kingdom, his power, his glory in different pockets. And I love that. And I believe that we're going to be seeing, and we are seeing, more and more of that taking place all throughout the nations. It's increasing because the level of God's revelation is increasing in the world today. And so is his desire to have his power demonstrated through his people. But there's a condition to the power of God being released. And that is to have a people in complete submission to him and in unity with one another. When there is submission to God and unity in one accord, when we are in one accord with God and with one another, concerning the things of God, his kingdom, his power is released. But there's one thing, one primary thing, there's one primary thing that oftentimes stands in the way of all that, and that is the fear of prolonged pain in our lives. Experiencing prolonged pain. Pain. In 2 Corinthians chapter 12, in fact, I'm going to turn there right now. 2 Corinthians

Righteousness, Peace, And Joy Culture

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chapter 12. I want to read it because it's so, it's, it just, it's, it, it highlights exactly what we're talking about in this particular episode right here. And in 2 Corinthians chapter 12, the Apostle Paul said, he goes, I I he's he's kind of being facetious in his statement. He goes, now I must go on boasting. He was not a person to boast, but he's using that as a term to kind of say, well, since other people are boasting, I might as well boast. So I'm going to boast. I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go to visions. I'm going to go on to visions. You're going to talk about visions. I'm going to go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. I know a man in Christ who 14 years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body, I do not know. God knows. And I know that this man, whether in the body or out or apart from the body, I do not know, but God knows. He experienced, as he was caught up into paradise, he heard inexpressible things that man is not permitted to tell. And he goes on to say that to keep me from boasting and conceited, because of these surpassing great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But the Lord he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you. For my power is made perfect in weakness. And he caps off in verse ten of chapter twelve, he said, For when I am weak, then I'm strong.

Power Requires Submission And Unity

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And it was about seven years ago for me, about seven years ago, that I was lovingly confronted by God in a time of prayer with Him when He revealed to me that I had been living in fear of a particular thing for most of my life. In fact, I had been living in a lot of fear for most of my life. There was a time where I had feared the rejection of men or the approval of men. I just needed to get approved by people. Or I felt like I'd just be I would just crumble if I didn't have the approval of people. And then if I was ever betrayed, if I was ever betrayed in a relationship with a woman, if I was ever betrayed, I just think I could ever bear that. And then the just the the sheer rejection of people. People just saying things about you, whether they're true or not, they're ugly. And that was just I just couldn't the thought of that was just almost too much for me. And then the stuff started happening. I mean, like one thing right after another. A series of events took place that in which I was experiencing rejection, betrayal, being lied about. It was just a lot of things happening all at once. And I asked the Lord on more than one occasion, God, please take this away. And it didn't move. You see, because sometimes, sometimes when we experience things and we address them and they're negative things, such a suffering, and we address it and we rebuke it and renounce it and just declare that it's to leave in the name of Jesus, and it does, well, praise God, that is a valid thing for us to do, is to not accept everything at face value. And God's not put off when we express things concerning things that he's doing, and we're not quite certain as to who is the author of them, and we misapply credits. He'll wait until we get it right. God will. Because sometimes it's not Satan, it's not the powers

The Fear Of Prolonged Pain

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of darkness that are harassing us. Sometimes it's not people that are just being strange. Sometimes it is. Sometimes we just need to confront people. But there's other times where it's God who's allowing these things to take place because he is producing within us an opportunity for us to surrender to him in the face of pain. Woo! Talk about one of the most unnatural things to do is in the face of pain, submit to God and roll that over to him and say, God, I give you this pain. And then let his grace, meaning his supply, what God supplies, the supply of his life, the supply of his life that he provides for us is his grace. It's by grace, it's by his life that we've been saved. Through faith. And that faith, not even from ourselves, it's from God. It's a gift, so that no one can boast. Because God wants us to know that the covenant relationship is secure, but we have things to cooperate with in seeing things take place so that the power of his kingdom can be demonstrated. Because it's the power of the kingdom of God that attracts the most attention. Teaching is great and it does attract attention, but there's nothing like signs and wonders that draw people in as a sign and a wonder, and miracles and healings. The power of God's kingdom, deliverance, demonic deliverance. The power of God's kingdom cripples being just healed, being able to walk. Blind eyes opening up, ears opening that have been deaf. Mouths have been tongue-tied, opened up. Miracles, true miracles. Power. The power of God's kingdom. It not only attracts attention, but

Paul’s Thorn And Grace In Weakness

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it produces some things we oftentimes are not prepared for, and that is opposition. The opposition that comes as a result of God's power being demonstrated. The type of power that God wants to demonstrate can only be demonstrated through a completely surrendered vessel. And He is right now, right now across the nations, searching, calling out to those who are willing to say, I will pay the price for the anointing. Because there are anointings, there are callings, there are mantles that God is releasing across the nations, and for those who are willing to pay the price, there are these wonderful things that are available, but they come with a price. Because to walk like Christ means that we experience things like Christ. Both when he lived and as he is alive now. He's alive making intercession, we experience intercession. He lived to provide healing, we demonstrate healings. We are his body. But being submissive in the face of pain. Being submissive in the face of pain. There is something that takes place when we do that. When we surrender in the face of pain, there is something that takes place and it can only take place. It's a relationship experience that can only be experienced when we experience pain. It's a relationship experience with God that we can only experience when we identify with him and his sufferings. When we identify with the sufferings of Christ, we identify with him in a very intimate level of his life, one of intercession, one of standing in the gap on behalf of us. When we begin to take upon ourselves the thoughts, feelings, and concerns of other people, and not just ourselves, we surrender ourselves over and allow God to fill us with his spirit and to love him and to love one another and to love outside of our own fellowships and the people that don't know relationship with the Lord yet, and to love on people, just so that they will know that Christ is alive because of the love that is demonstrated in our midst. And the power that comes, not just the words that are spoken. Hallelujah. But submission, being submitted in the face of pain. And there is a way in which to do that. I should say there are ways, plural. Just like there are a variety of people, there are a variety of ways, but

A Personal Story Of Facing Rejection

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there's one way that makes it possible, and that way is Jesus. He becomes our focus, he is our primary focus. He is the one in which we are obsessed with. But in the construct of relationship with God, it is a wonderful thing. That opens up a dynamic of relationship that's intimate. There's an intimacy that takes place in the relationship with God when we partake in the fellowship of his sufferings. When we participate, when we partake in the fellowship of the sufferings of Christ, there's an intimacy that we experience with him relationally that can't be experienced any other way. And it's also in that context in which the power of God is released on a level that can't be imitated by any other force, any other power, any other person. And we're going to be looking at the process in which we are led through in order to get to a place of abandonment, a place of submission, a place of surrender, a place of giving over completely to God, especially, or specific, I should say, in the face of pain. And God is allowing pain in some of our lives because he's doing a deep work. And he wants a deep, a deep trust in him. So in the face of pain, when we trust him with that, it produces an intimacy where Jesus said, Not my will but yours be done, Father, where he said, Into my hands I commit my spirit, into your hands, into thy hands I commit my spirit. He expressed himself to the Father. Because it was Jesus, identifying with the pain that was in the Father's heart over the condition of mankind. And he interceded, and it was a sacrifice, and it was acceptable because of the depth in which it was offered. It was offered in its purest, deepest form. No ulterior motives, no ulterior motives whatsoever. It was all for the glory of the Father. Hallelujah. Well, we're called into that call, and we're being given that

Intimacy Through The Fellowship Of Suffering

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opportunity to grow in that depth, and there are ways in which we surrender, and we're going to be taking a couple of episodes and looking at this whole process of surrender and submission to God, especially in the face of pain and sometimes in the face of disappointment. In the face of the death of a vision, in the face of difficulties, learning to surrender.

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And offer up to God our lives in a fresh way.

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Committed to him and his plans. Because if it's coming from him, I want it, even if it's painful. And I remember praying those radical prayers years ago, and then it came time for God to cash in on those. And that was about seven years ago that started. I'm 67 years old now. I will be tomorrow. Happy birthday. Yes, May 24th, 2026. David will turn 67 years old. I was gonna say 27. That's because I feel like 27 sometimes. Hallelujah. Ah, folks, we'll continue on with this topic of surrender, submission, relationship, intimacy, and the power of God in the next two episodes. But for now, let's just take a moment and pray. Father, I thank you, God. Sincerely, I thank you for who you are. You alone are God. I'm not God. There is no other God beside you. And so we worship you. I worship you and adore you. And lay my life before you. And I offer it to you again as a living sacrifice. Lord, help me surrender. Holy Spirit, help me, help us surrender so that we can experience the power of the kingdom for the glory of the Father. Just like Jesus demonstrated. Just like he defeated Satan with the word of God in weakness three times in the wilderness. The Apostle Paul three times asked for this thorn to be removed and it wasn't. Three times Jesus encountered Satan. Lord, you do things in the midst of weakness that are not accomplished in any other in any other setting. And so please, Holy Spirit, even when we say, even when we say we can't do it, please see beyond that and help us overcome our fear of pain, of suffering,

Prayer, Next Steps, And How To Reach Us

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of death, of dying an uncomfortable death. Anything that is negative of that nature, that produces that type of fear and withdrawal and submission, Lord, deal with that deeply. I ask that you'd penetrate our hearts and our minds and purge us and fill us with your word. So we would be people alive in our covenant relationship with you and a demonstration of your kingdom, your glory, your power, because it all belongs to you. And we pray these things standing here in the very name of Jesus, and we say, Amen, amen, amen. Amen. Alright, folks, we love you. And if you have any thoughts, questions, concerns, please feel free to look us up the web. Just type in Life Around the Fire and look us up, or you can type in life around the fire at gmail.com and send us an email. We would love to hear from you. In the meantime, God bless you. Adios, amigos.