How to Return to God and Surrender Your Will

To go back to God and allow Him to direct your destiny, you must make an entire, unreserved surrender of your will to Him, choosing to die to self so that Christ may live and reign within youCCh 296.1+2. This journey begins with recognizing your own sinfulness and helplessness, then casting yourself upon the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour7MR 414.1+1.

The Path of Surrender

• Acknowledge Your Need: You must feel your own weakness and sinfulness before you will feel the need for the strength that alone is able to save youPH159 58.1.

• The First Step: The very first step in the path of obedience is to surrender your will to God, a move that makes every subsequent step on the ladder of progress easierBEcho April 6, 1903, par. 1.

• Renounce Self and the World: A genuine return to God requires you to forsake unholy ambitions, worldly attractions, and wrong habits that divert the mind from Him2SM 318.2+2.

• Submit to His Control: You must yield your mind to the mind of Christ and allow Him to submerge your will in His own, so that you have no impulse to use your will independently of HisRH June 23, 1903, Art. A, par. 5+1.

Practical Steps for Restoration

• Search the Scriptures: Study the Word of God with a prayerful heart and a spirit of surrender, as the entrance of His words gives light and understanding to the simple Psalms 119:1302SM 318.2.

• Confess and Repent: True repentance involves a deep conviction of sin and a willingness to confess your faults to God and others, which leads to healing and restoration James 5:162TT 382.1+1.

• Seek Divine Assistance: God does not ask you to do this in your own strength; He provides the Holy Spirit to help in every emergency, illuminate your mind, and purify your heartCCh 99.1.

• Maintain Living Faith: You must have a living faith that appropriates Christ as your personal Saviour and works by love to cleanse the soul temple Galatians 2:201SAT 204.1+1.

Living Under His Guidance

When you surrender self entirely, a new power takes possession of your heart, and your life becomes a fortress that God holds in a revolted worldHLv 215.3. You are to walk in the path of self-denial and sacrifice, lifting the cross daily, which cuts away self from the soul and places you where you can bear Christ’s burdens Luke 9:235BC 1090.8+1. By yielding yourself as an instrument of righteousness, you will find that God's grace co-operates with your efforts, giving you peace, contentment, and a character fashioned after the divine similitude Romans 6:1321MR 369.3+1.

"Seek you the LORD while he may be found, call you on him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon" Isaiah 55:6-7. By linking your arm in His and taking hold of His strength, you will make peace with Him and find rest for your soul Isaiah 27:57MR 414.1+1.