Michele Howe shares what the Bible says about yielding to God.
I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to text and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Yielding to God
I have to be honest. After several years of significant personal losses I wanted to say no to God when it became apparent that He was leading us in a different direction than I had desired. Truly, my heart was near to breaking when I saw how this new chapter of our life was starting to unfold as the weeks passed. There wasn’t a day that went by where I was not crying out to God and begging Him to take us on another way. But it wasn’t to be.
So, what did I do? I cried out to God (and cried by myself); I called out to God (and called every dear friend I knew). I prayed and prayed and prayed. But the more I sought a different (more comfortable) route through our pain, the keener I felt the anguish. I could not find any relief. Not from a person, place, or thing. The rest and peace I sought were nowhere to be found. Until, that is, the Holy Spirit began nudging me to surrender it all.
Surrendering It All
Truly, the very last thing I wanted to do was to surrender what I supposed was the cleanest and fastest route out of our current season of pain. But God had a different plan for us. Doesn’t He always? Ever so slowly, I began to talk to God and pray to Him differently. Inch by minuscule inch, I felt the Holy Spirit start to soften my willful, stubborn heart. He began to bend it toward the path God had set before us. Was it painful? Indeed. Did I feel like this new unfamiliar road was yet another loss? Yes. And yet, in the deepest part of my heart and soul, I knew God was in it.
As the days passed, I earnestly prayed that God would shift my heart and make it malleable and that I would accept the place He had brought us. I asked God to help me see the good in these uncomfortable new surroundings, to recognize the blessings, and that I would cultivate a contented and thankful heart. And He did. But it took months to truly take hold. As God continued to work within my heart, He also did quite a bit of pruning, and it was painful…every cut, slice, and trimming bit of it.
Holding Back
The Lord was revealing to me that even though I had given lip service to surrendering my will for His all throughout my Christian walk, I was still holding back. There were pockets in my spiritual attire that I refused to open to remove those barely discernible little idols I wanted to keep hidden. Idols such as how and where I spent my time in service to others, showing how far I was willing to go to forgive another’s offense against me; idols that revealed how much I valued being treated with respect by certain family members. Idols that uncovered how hard I would battle to protect what I deemed were my rights.
Indeed, it was a severe and merciful process the Lord was walking me through. And the hardest part, from my perspective, was that I had already suffered loss upon loss from outside forces and now God was stripping me bare from the inside out. This season was a time of immense (and much needed) spiritual introspection and cleansing. During these months, I learned a lesson I had believed I had mastered decades ago. But I was mistaken.
Romans 12
Romans 12: 1-2 became my daily (hourly) Bible meditation, and it forced me to face all the hidden sins in my heart. I had to ask if I was honestly willing to yield “my all” to God in whatever form He deemed fit. So began my journey from anxiety and unrest to peace and inner calm. Have I arrived yet? No, I have not. However, I am learning day by day that God wants my whole heart. He wants all of me, and that includes surrendering my plans, my preferences, and anything I cling to as precious to me. I must lay it all before His throne. As I obey Him in this calling to be willing to yield, He gives me much more than I can ask or imagine.
My Heart’s Cry
Father, today I am once again battling to relinquish my plans and my preferences into Your hands. I am discovering how deeply the root of my desires tries to rule my heart and mind. Please help me to be willing to yield my all to You. I want nothing more than to obey Your command from Romans 12 and lay my life down in full surrender to You all the days of my life. But I seem to continually fail when I am faced with saying no to my plans and purposes in favor of what You ask of me.
Please have mercy on me, O Lord. Give me the strength, the power, and the grace I require to willingly yield everything into Your care and keeping. As I obey, I find the peace and calm I so long for each day. Create in me a clean heart and sustain in me a willing spirit. Amen.
The Yes That Changes Everything
- Discover perfect peace in God’s past plans and provision. As you spend time alone with God today, ask Him to bring to your mind those past seasons when you felt worried and anxious about your life. Then remember how He led you through that difficult time with goodness and grace. Thank Him for being with you in your storms and reflect on how He challenged and grew and changed you from the inside out as you relinquished your will for His.
- Discover perfect peace in God’s present plans and provision. Today write down anything and everything for which you are experiencing unrest and anxiety. Be specific. Then talk to God about each and every struggle. Ask Him to direct your path. Ask Him to reveal to you if you are choosing your own comfort over His will for you. Then praise Him for His patience and faithful, persistent love toward you and that He will never leave you in a place that will cause you harm because He desires only good for you.
- Discover perfect peace in God’s future plans and provision. As you ponder the unknown future that feels scary and overwhelming, ask the Lord to supersede all your fears with His perfect peace. Give Him all the what ifs and the if onlys. Leave them in God’s powerful hands and look to Him to give you the strength you need to let of your small plans and preferences in favor of His grand and glorious ones.
Meet Michele Howe
Michele Howe is the author of 31 books for women, children, and families. She has published over 3000 articles, reviews, and curricula. Her newest release, Fight for Joy –Discovering Peace in Impossible Circumstances, helps readers in their battle for peace and joy throughout life’s darkest seasons.
Connect With Michele
Facebook author page: Michele Howe Author
Patheos: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/michelehowewrites
Pinterest: 4Michele Howe
Instagram: michelehowewrites
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michele-howe-6104b17/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOZURcmVs1o
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