Surrendering to God’s Will

Understanding the Wrestle

This is one of those subjects that doesn’t go away. It follows a man through every season of his life, whether he’s paying attention to it or not. A lot of men talk about surrendering to God’s Will, but if we’re honest, many don’t really understand what that means. We’ll pray for God’s Will, but deep down we’re still hoping it lines up with what we already decided we want. We’ve already shaped the outcome in our minds, already pictured the blessing a certain way. But Jesus Christ never taught us to follow Him on our terms. He calls us to lay those terms down. Because the truth is, God isn’t focused on making us comfortable, He’s focused on making us ready. And if we’re not equipped, we can’t hold what He’s trying to place in our hands. So when He starts leading us in a direction we didn’t expect, something in us pushes back. There’s a tension, a resistance, a wrestle.

We see this clearly in the life of Jacob. From the very beginning, he was reaching, striving, trying to secure something in his own way. And when it came time for the promise of God to unfold, the scripture shows us that he wrestled. That wasn’t just a physical moment, that was a picture of something deeper. It was the wrestle between what God was doing and what Jacob was still holding onto. And every man has to face that same question at some point. What exactly is wrestling in me right now? Because it’s not your spirit fighting God. It’s your soul. It’s your thoughts, your will, your desires trying to stay in control when God is calling you to release it.

What Changed in Us

To understand surrender, we have to understand what happened to us. God created man as spirit, soul, and body, in perfect alignment with Him. Adam walked with God, learned from Him, lived in direct fellowship with Him. There was no confusion, no division, no inner conflict. But the moment sin entered, everything shifted. Genesis 3:7 (NLT) tells us, “At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.” And in that moment, something deeper than behavior changed. It wasn’t just that they did something wrong, it’s that their inner order was broken. The human spirit, which was designed to be led by God, lost that direct connection, and the soul stepped in to lead. That’s where the struggle started.

The soul began to carry what it was never built to carry—fear, shame, self-protection, and control. And from that point on, man started living from the outside in instead of the inside out. That’s why surrender feels like a fight. It’s not just about doing what God says, it’s about undoing a pattern that’s been running deep in the soul for a long time.

Life Through the Spirit, Not the Soul

This is why being born again through Jesus Christ changes everything. It’s not just forgiveness, it’s restoration. Your human spirit is made brand new, reconnected, and now the Holy Spirit dwells within you. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 (NLT) says, “Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.” That order matters. Spirit first. Then soul. Then body. But the reality is, many men are still being led by their soul—by what they feel, what they think, what they want in the moment—rather than being led by the Holy Spirit who now lives within them.

Romans 8:5–6 (NLT) makes it plain, “Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.” That is where the difference shows up in a man’s life. Whatever is leading you is shaping you. If your thoughts are constantly being pulled by fear, pressure, impulse, or the need to control outcomes, that’s the soul trying to stay in charge. But when the Holy Spirit is leading, something different starts to settle in you. There’s clarity. There’s restraint. There’s a steadiness that doesn’t come from circumstances going your way, but from being aligned with God’s Will through Jesus Christ.

The truth is, the part of you that resists surrender isn’t your spirit. Your spirit was made new and is already aligned with God. The resistance comes from the soul, the part that learned to survive without trusting Him. And for many men, that shows up as control, pride, or the need to figure everything out on their own. But Jesus never called us to carry life like that. He showed us another way. John 5:30 (NLT) tells us, “I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will.” If the Son of God walked in that kind of surrender to the Father, then we can’t think we’re supposed to lead ourselves.

Real surrender is not weakness. It’s alignment. It’s a man choosing to come under the leadership of the Holy Spirit and trusting that God knows what He’s doing, even when it doesn’t look like what he expected. And when that shift happens, when a man stops fighting God and starts yielding to Him, something changes. Peace shows up. Direction becomes clearer. Strength becomes steady instead of forced. Because now he’s no longer being driven by the pressure of his soul, he’s being led by the Spirit of God. And that’s where life is found. ■

Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

“Surrendering to God’s Will”, written for Blessing Beads and More© 2026. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.