You prayed about it.
Really prayed about it.
Maybe there were tears. Maybe there was the whole hands-open, Okay God, I’m giving this to You moment.
And for a minute, you meant it.
Then you got up...
and started building a backup plan.
And maybe a backup for the backup.
Just in case.
Because surrender is beautiful in prayer.
It gets a little more complicated when you wake up the next morning and the situation is still unresolved.
Now what?
Do you wait?
Do you act?
Do you prepare?
Do you trust?
Can you trust God and make a plan?
Because obviously we still have lives to live here.
I used to get tangled up in this.
I could pray, genuinely believe I was giving something over to God, and then immediately start mentally rearranging every variable I could still reach.
If this happens, I’ll do that.
If they don’t respond, I’ll reach out here.
If this doesn’t work by Friday, I’ll pivot.
Very surrendered.
Clearly.
And I don’t think making a plan is the problem.
Planning can be wise.
Preparation can be wise.
Taking action can be wise.
The part I’ve had to pay attention to is what happens inside me when I don’t know how something is going to turn out.
Because there’s planning...
and then there’s trying to make uncertainty go away.
Those can look almost identical from the outside.
For me, the difference usually shows up in the grip.
Can I make a plan and still let it change?
Can I take the next step without needing God to promise me exactly where it leads?
Can I pray for one outcome and still believe He is present if the answer looks different than the one I wanted?
That last one is harder.
Because sometimes when we say, “God, I trust You,” what we really mean is:
I trust You to do the thing I’m hoping You’ll do.
I mean...
fair.
We’re human.
Of course we have preferences.
Of course we pray for specific things.
Of course there are outcomes we desperately want.
Trust doesn’t require pretending we don’t care how something turns out.
I think it asks something different.
Can I care deeply without believing I have to control every step between here and there?
Can I be disappointed and still trust?
Can I not understand what God is doing and still believe I haven’t been abandoned in the middle of it?
That feels much closer to faith as I’ve actually lived it.
Less like never worrying.
Less like reaching some spiritual level where the what ifs magically disappear.
More like noticing when I’ve picked the thing back up again.
Because I do.
Still.
I’ll pray about something and feel peaceful.
Then three hours later I’m running scenarios again like God somehow missed the afternoon shift.
Ahem.
And sometimes all I need is to notice:
Oh. I’m holding this really tightly again.
Not shame myself for it.
Not pretend I don’t care.
Just loosen my hands a little.
Maybe surrender isn’t one dramatic moment where you finally release something forever.
Maybe with the things that matter most, you release them...
and then realize you picked them back up...
and release them again.
I think faith can look like that too.
Not perfect certainty.
Not passive waiting.
Just continuing to make room for the possibility that God may be working in ways you cannot manage from where you’re standing.
And maybe the question isn’t whether you’ve surrendered this perfectly.
Maybe it’s simpler.
What are you still trying to guarantee after you’ve already asked God to lead?
You don’t have to stop caring about the answer.
Maybe you just don’t have to carry responsibility for controlling it.
Want to keep going with this conversation?
🎧 Listen to Episode 6: Faith Over Fear: Letting Go and Trusting the Plan →