19.2 | Surrender Rooted in Faith
Surrender Rooted in Faith
True success is not found in perpetual striving or dogged persistence; it is found in the "Self-Surrender" that occurs after you have given your all. The actual impact of your effort manifests during the period when that effort stops—in the moment you decide to abandon your self-driven struggle.
But what, specifically, is this "surrender"? It is Surrender Rooted in Faith.
We must distinguish between two concepts:
Surrender is NOT the same as Quitting. Quitting is not an abandonment of the Ego. In fact, quitting is often just another "plan"—it’s a new decision made by the Ego to protect itself, a different way of staying in control.
The surrender I am talking about is:
Abandoning your own judgment, your own schemes, your own cleverness, and your own blueprints. Only when we are truly at our wit's end can we enter into Submission.
Simply put: To "Quit" is to stop the action while keeping the Ego's judgment intact. To "Surrender" is to keep the faith while letting the Ego die.
4. What Is True Submission?
Submission is the engine of success. But what does it actually look like?
Submission doesn't mean doing nothing. It means:
We have completely abandoned our reliance on ourselves.
If we say we submit to God but continue to worry about the outcome; if we say we trust the Holy Spirit but keep drafting our own "Plan B"; if we say we have turned to God while our hearts remain riddled with doubt—that is not submission.
True submission is the total absence of the "Self" in the decision-making loop. I no longer "secretly" judge the situation; I no longer trust my past conclusions; I don't even make my own plans. Only after we have run out of options can we briefly enter this state of submission. Exhaustion forces the Ego to stop. And the moment the Ego stops is the moment God intervenes.
Case Study 1: Howard Schultz (Starbucks)
Let’s look at a classic, real-world example. In 2008, following the financial crisis, Starbucks was in freefall. Over-expansion had diluted the brand, and the stock was crashing. Howard Schultz returned as CEO to save the company. He tried every traditional business tactic: closing underperforming stores, layoffs, streamlining processes, and hiring top-tier consultants.
Yet, the problem persisted. In his memoir, he wrote something profound:
"I had no more business judgments left. I didn't know what to do anymore. If I kept pushing, I would just be controlling the company through fear."
This wasn't quitting; it was an admission that his internal judgment system had hit its limit. He didn't stop believing in the company, but he stopped trying to control it through his own limited "Self."
He then did three things that went against every rule in the business playbook:
- He closed every store in America for three hours to retrain staff—sacrificing millions in immediate revenue.
- He stopped talking about "Growth" and started talking about "Dignity" and the reason for our existence. He stepped down as the center of decision-making.
- He told his team frankly: "I don't have the answer, but I believe we are not meant to fail."
This was Self-Surrender based on Faith. The result? Starbucks didn't just survive; the brand was redefined, becoming one of the most resilient consumer icons in the world. Submission isn't "giving up"; it’s giving up the fear-based control of the Ego.
Case Study 2: Dave Ramsey
Another typical case is Dave Ramsey. In his early years, he was incredibly successful—a millionaire real estate mogul by his twenties. He attributed his success entirely to his logic, his leverage, and his models. In reality, that success was also God’s Grace, but his "attribution error" turned success into an illusion. The result: total bankruptcy.
To save his empire, he did everything "right": he hunted for investors, sought legal loopholes, and restructured debt. He gave it his all. Everything failed. Finally, he stopped. He later said:
"I finally stopped trying to prove that I could save the thing."
Notice: He didn't say the situation couldn't be saved. He didn't stop working. He simply stopped being obsessed with the idea that success had to happen through his original methods.
His submission looked like this: he stopped the reckless expansion, accepted the need to start over, and refused to try growth methods he didn't fully understand or control. He launched a new company from that state of surrender, achieving far greater success than he ever had in his "Self-driven" years.
