Trembling Is Allowed

“Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” — Mark 9:24 (KJV)

Maybe you have prayed something like that already. Maybe you told God at a camp or in your room that you wanted to give him everything. And then you wondered: did I really mean it? Was it absolute? I didn’t feel anything.

Murray says this happens all the time. When you bring God your surrender, he says, it may feel “a thing of great imperfection,” and you may doubt and ask, “Is it absolute?” That is normal.

He reminds us of a desperate father in the Gospels whose son was very ill. Jesus told him that all things are possible to someone who believes. The man burst out: “Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief.” Half faith and half doubt, all honest. And Jesus healed his son.

Murray says your surrender can be like that. Even if you come “with a trembling heart,” feeling no power and no certainty, “it will succeed.” And then:

“Be not afraid, but come just as you are, and even in the midst of your trembling the power of the Holy Spirit will work.”

He points out that this is how the Spirit often works: with real power on God’s side, while on our side everything looks weak. His greatest example is Jesus himself in the garden of Gethsemane, in agony and sorrow, praying as he faced the cross. From the outside you could see no sign of power, but the Spirit of God was there, enabling him to give himself.

So the point is not how you feel. It is where you look. Murray urges: “be occupied with God.” Stop staring at your own heart, checking whether your surrender was strong enough, and look at the God who receives it. He writes that when you quietly say yes to him, there is a God present “who at that very moment takes possession of you. You may not feel it, you may not realize it, but God takes possession if you will trust Him.”

Your feelings are real, but they are not the measure of what God is doing. Trembling is allowed. Doubt is allowed. Come anyway.

One thing to do this week: if you have ever told God you wanted to give him everything, thank him this week that he heard and accepted it, even if you didn’t feel anything. If you haven’t, do it this week, honestly, trembling and all.