Start With Surrender
Tired of starting each year with big resolutions and the same old anxiety? In this New Year’s episode, learn why beginning with surrender to God’s lead is better than any plan you could write on your own.
Tired of starting each year with big resolutions and the same old anxiety? In this New Year’s episode, learn why beginning with surrender to God’s lead is better than any plan you could write on your own.
Do you ever feel pressure to map out the whole year, set goals, fix yourself, and make sure nothing goes “off plan”?
We rush into January depending on our own understanding: detailed five‑year plans, tight control, and a quiet fear that if we don’t get everything right, we’ll miss God’s will. Then life shifts, plans change, and we’re left anxious, wondering if we’ve blown it before the year even gets going.
In this New Year’s Day episode, you’ll hear how Hudson Taylor walked away from a stable medical career plan to follow God’s call to China, trusting Proverbs 3:5–6 more than his own script for success. You’ll see that the best way to begin the year isn’t with “Here’s what I’ll do for You, God,” but with “Lord, I’m Yours. Show me which path to take.” Starting with surrender doesn’t make the year predictable, but it does make it anchored—in God’s wisdom, not just your own.
BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU’LL LEARN:
- Why resolutions built only on your own understanding leave you stressed when plans change
- How Proverbs 3:5–6 invites you to trust God’s character more than your ability to control the future
- A simple way to start this year with open‑handed surrender, asking God to direct your steps day by day
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A young medical student in England has his life all
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mapped out. Hudson Taylor is training for a stable career
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with every reason to stay where it's safe and respectable. Then
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he starts reading about China, millions who've never heard the
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gospel, and senses God tugging his heart in a completely
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different direction. Leaving means walking away from security
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and family expectations, and even his own understanding of
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what a successful life should look like. At the start of a new
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year, why would someone scrap a solid five-year plan to follow a
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path that looks risky and confusing and totally uncertain?
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Welcome to Daily Devotions for Busy Lives. I am Bart Leger, and
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on this New Year's Day, we're talking about how to begin a
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year, not just with resolutions and goals, but with a
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surrendered heart. Proverbs 3: 5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord
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with all your heart, and do not depend on your own understanding.
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Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to
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take." Proverbs 3: 6-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your
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heart, and give you the best." Most of us come into a new year
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with some sort of plan. Maybe it's written down or maybe it's
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just in your head. Things like get healthier, save more, fix
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that relationship, finally deal with that habit, or move forward
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in my work or ministry. Proverbs 3: 5-6 says, "Goals are good and
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planning is wise." Proverbs 3: 5 reminds us there's something
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even more important than a good plan, and that is: a surrendered
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heart. Trust in the Lord with all your heart is an invitation
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to lean your full weight on who God is, not just on what you can
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figure out. Proverbs 3: 5.6 says, "Do not depend on your own
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understanding" It means, "Don't treat your limited perspective
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as the final word. Seek his will in all you do" means bringing
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him into the middle of your decisions, your calendar, and
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also, all your desires. And he will show you which path to take.
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5.6 says, "That's the promise. When you start with
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trust and surrender, God himself takes responsibility for
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directing your steps. New Year's resolutions often start with,
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"Here's what I'm going to do this year." Surrender starts
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with, "Lord, here's my life. Here's my year. Show me what you
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want." And there's a big difference between those two.
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When we depend on our own understanding, we feel safe as
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long as the plan holds. But the moment something changes, maybe
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a job shifts, or an illness hits, we feel anxious. Maybe even
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angry with God. This wasn't the plan. When we start with
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surrender, oh, we still plan, and we still work hard, but
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underneath it all is a different posture. God, you see more than
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I see. You love me more than I love myself, even. I'm trusting
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you to lead, even when the path doesn't look like what I
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expected. Now, back to Hudson Taylor. Instead of leaning on
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his own understanding, he chose surrender, trusting that if God
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was calling, God would also lead. What he did was he sailed to
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China in 1853 and endured sickness, poverty, delay, and
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still kept saying,
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Out of that yielded life came the China Inland Mission, now
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OMF, hundreds of missionaries and gospel impact far beyond
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anything his original career could have touched. When you
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trust the Lord with all your heart and seek His will in what
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you do, He really does direct your steps, off and down roads
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you never would have chosen, but you wouldn't trade in the end.
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You may not be called to sail to another continent, but you are
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called to begin this year the way Hudson did, with a heart
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that says, "Lord, I'm yours. My plans come second." So let me
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ask you, on this New Year's Day, what would it look like to start
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with surrender instead of just start with resolutions? It might
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sound like this, "Lord, here's my health, my work, my family,
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my dreams, my fears. I don't want to run ahead of you or drag
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behind you. I want to walk with you. Show me which path to take
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this year and give me the courage to follow, even when it
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doesn't match my understanding." That kind of surrender doesn't
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make the year easy, but it does make it anchored. You're not
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just trying to get God to bless your plan. You're asking Him to
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lead you into His. Here's today's New Year's challenge.
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Sometime today, take a few minutes, no phone, no TV and do
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two simple things. First, read Proverbs 3: 5-6 slowly, a couple
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of times. Let each phrase sink in. Second, open your hands,
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literally, if you can, and pray, "Lord, I trust you with this
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year. I don't want to depend on my own understanding. Show me
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which path to take, and help me follow you step by step." And if
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you are a journaler, you might write down one area where you
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especially need to surrender. It might be a decision, it could be
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a relationship, or maybe a fear about the future. And then place
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that by name into His hands. Lord, on this New Year's Day, we
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bring you into our hopes, our plans, and our unknowns. Teach
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us to trust you with all our heart and lean not on our own
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understanding. And as we seek your will in what we do, would
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you show us which path to take? Help us start this year, not
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just with resolutions, but with surrender. In Jesus' name, amen.
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If this New Year's episode has encouraged you, would you please
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consider sharing with someone who's thinking about their year
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ahead? Just send them the link from the show notes. They may
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need this reminder to start with surrender, not just strategy.
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Thanks for joining me today on Daily Devotions for Busy Lives.
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Remember, the best way to begin the year is with a heart yielded
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to God. Trust in the Lord, seek His will, and then let Him
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direct your steps. Come back next time for more encouragement
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to help you live grounded in God's truth. Until then, God
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bless, and a Happy New Year! Happy New Year!
