Surrender is trust
Surrender is hard because it feels like loss, like giving up the thing you wanted. But surrender to God is not handing your life to a stranger who might mishandle it, it is handing it to the One who made you and is more invested in your good than you are. When you finally let go of something you were gripping, you usually find you were not strong enough to keep it anyway, and that His hands were steadier. Look at what you have been refusing to surrender, and ask why you trust your grip more than His. Letting go to a good God is not how you lose your life, it is how you stop carrying it alone.
For whosoever would save his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it.
Matthew 16:25 · ASVJesus says that whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses it for His sake will find it. The saying inverts ordinary logic, making surrender the path to gaining life.
Rest in Jehovah, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way.
Psalm 37:7 · ASVDavid calls for resting in Jehovah and waiting patiently for Him. Resting and waiting function as forms of trust that refuse to force an outcome.
Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
Luke 22:42 · ASVOn the night before the cross, Jesus prays not my will, but thine, be done. The prayer models trust in the Father even in the hardest moment.
Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for Jehovah hath dealt bountifully with thee.
Psalm 116:7 · ASVThe psalmist tells his own soul to return to its rest because Jehovah has dealt bountifully with him. Past goodness from God is given as the reason for present rest.