As we approach 2025, I want to present you with a counterintuitive challenge: What if your focus for the new year was NOT on achieving SUCCESS—by any definition–but on embracing SURRENDER?
WHY?
God values surrender over success. Obedience over excellence. Trust over triumph. It’s that simple.
The relentless pursuit of worldly success can drain and enslave our souls. And sustain that chase requires extreme focus on PERFECTION which does not exist.
Surrender is where freedom begins.
Striving for perfection to prove ourselves or achieve approval is exhausting—and impossible. Christ-like perfection belongs to him alone. But pursuing excellence as a way of closing the gap between our lives and his perfect example? That’s an act of surrender in itself.
Early in my faith journey, surrender was far from my mind. I clung tightly to the plans I had for my life: the mansion, the sports car, and the vision of what I thought my purpose was for in life. I thought surrender would mean giving up everything that mattered.
But then God nudged me to consider focusing on surrendering to him instead of achieving success for myself. And without hesitation, I said yes. That’s when God began to transform my life. In a series of short but steady steps, I began to surrender three important things:
• My MIND – Releasing harmful thought patterns and renewing my thinking (Ephesians 4:22-23).
• My BODY – Honoring God by treating it as a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16).
• My WILL – Trusting his plans over my own (Revelation 22:17).
Surrendering my mind, body, and will happened in layers. In the process I learned that God asks us to give up not only the superficial things but the deeper attachments we hold tightly. Pain, struggle, and loss often reveal where we are still clinging to control, and it’s in those moments that surrender strengthens our intimacy with Christ.
It became clear to me that God desires our full surrender, not just the parts we’re comfortable giving up. And he promises that the more we release to him, the more we gain in him.
ONE SHOT, ONE LIFE.
We get one life on this side of eternity to follow Christ with our whole hearts. That’s why, as 2025 peeks above the horizon, I’m choosing “surrender over success”…again. I’m asking God to keep my focus on him, to release the pull of self-centered ambition, and to embrace the freedom that comes from trusting him fully.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
What would your 2025 look like if it centered on surrender instead of success? Here are three questions to ask yourself as you prepare for the new year:
1. What am I holding onto too tightly?
2. Where do I need to trust God more?
3. What would full surrender look like in my daily life?
As you reflect, take encouragement from Christ’s words:
“…whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Mark 8:34
True success doesn’t come from striving—it comes from surrendering. I invite you to join me in choosing “surrender over success” in 2025. Let’s start the new year with open hands, trusting God to write the story of our lives.
