“Our prayers for guidance (or for anything else) really begin here: I trust him. This requires abandonment. We are no longer saying, ‘If I trust him, he’ll give me such and such,’ but ‘I trust him. Let him give me or withhold from me what he chooses” (Elisabeth Elliot, God’s Guidance: A Slow & Certain Light).

That’s where surrender leads us. We come to the point where it’s not “I’ll follow You if” or “Your will be done unless” or “I give You my life as long as You.” Surrender means no ifs or buts. There can be no strings attached to the genuine petition of “Thy will be done.”

At the heart of it is this: do I trust that God is truly good. Do I believe that God’s glory is my greatest good or is there something else that God might be withholding from me that’s better? Is God enough? Can I still worship in the face of silence?

One of my favorite songs from recent years is by MercyMe. It says that I will follow no matter what:

“I know You’re able and I know You can
Save through the fire with Your mighty hand
But even if You don’t
My hope is You alone
I know the sorrow, and I know the hurt
Would all go away if You’d just say the word
But even if You don’t
My hope is You alone” (Bart Millard / Ben Glover / Crystal Lewis / David Garcia / Tim Timmons)