By Chris Leone, OFS
National Councilor, OFS-USA
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Chris Leone, OFS National Councilor
Surrender is the willing offering of one’s own will, desires, and life to God in trust, obedience, and love. It is an active response of faith—choosing to yield oneself to God’s purposes, following the example of Christ, who entrusted himself completely to the Father (Lumen Gentium, 41).
Acceptance is not the same as giving up. It means acknowledging reality as it is right now, while still placing it in God’s hands and asking for grace, wisdom, and strength. You can have faith and still feel sorrow. You can trust God and still ask questions. Acceptance with faith is often less about feeling peaceful all the time and more about continuing to turn toward God even when life is hard.
To trust God’s wisdom is to believe that God remains good and present, even when life is unclear. To accept your circumstances with faith is to face reality honestly, while continuing to entrust yourself to God with hope. It helps to recall times when God has carried you before—through unexpected peace, strength in grief, or guidance when you were uncertain. Remembering past faithfulness can make present trust more possible.
Ask yourself, in what area of my life is God inviting me to trust him more fully and place my will in his hands?
OFS Rule Article 10:
Uniting themselves to the redemptive obedience of Jesus, who placed his will into the Father’s hands, let them faithfully fulfill the duties proper to their various circumstances of life. Let them also follow the poor and crucified Christ, witness to him even in difficulties and persecutions.
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