Interview With Author & Podcaster Tara Sun
In the midst of a chaotic world, all we want is some control—control over our lives, our emotions, our circumstances. We desperately want to steer our ship out of the storms of life. But we can’t do it on our own. We need God—we need Him to guide us, to protect us, and to hold us. We need to, in many ways, surrender the story of our life to Him. This is what we’re excited to talk about today with Tara Sun.
Through the Truth Talks with Tara podcast, her Instagram community, her book Surrender Your Story, and other resources, Tara Sun passionately teaches women of all ages how to know, love, and live God’s Word for themselves. She shows how to break down God’s Word into understandable pieces, while also adding an artistic flare through her digital art.
Tara is married to her high school sweetheart, Michael, and is a mom to their newest addition, Hunter. You’ll find them living and serving the Lord in Oregon.
Q: What’s the story behind the inspiration to write your new book, Surrender Your Story?
A: In my opinion, the greatest books are a combination of two things: one being a calling and passion from the Lord to write, and two being someone’s testimony or struggle and how God has been faithful through that. Surrender Your Story: Ditch the Myth of Control and Discover Freedom in Trusting God was inspired by the struggle of my own life and the victory and freedom found in Christ.
There were two major “God-moments” in my life that revealed my death grip on control, my lack of trust in God, and my need to surrender: a surprise diagnosis and a run-in with the audible voice of God. What God showed me is that the desire to control and the need to trust God isn’t just a Tara-story… it’s a human story.
I know surrender and control are two hard things to hear and write about, but my biggest prayer is to help people, through digging into Scripture, realize that there’s more freedom and purpose to life when we surrender and trust instead of control and hold on.
Q: In your experience (in both writing this book and talking with the women around you), what is the reason behind, and the effects of, our deep desire for control?
Control isn’t a new or trendy thing — although, we see it amplified in this culture. It’s actually a problem that’s been around since the dawn of time. Think about Adam and Eve! They were the first people to want control over their life and not trust what God had said was good for them.
So, if you’re reading this, I just want you to know that if you struggle with trusting God, you’re not alone! One of the biggest reasons why we try to control our lives instead of surrendering to God is because we’re afraid of what He might have planned.
Oftentimes, we see God’s plans as too slow, too painful, too obscure, or too hard to walk through. We believe that we have better timing, better methods, and better success. I know in my own life; I’ve tried to control because I want to find purpose in my life.
But the sad thing is that control, although it may offer us a temporary “dopamine hit,” doesn’t give us purpose. It keeps us in bondage. It holds us back from God’s purposes and potential. If we have a problem “letting go and letting God,” we should also ask ourselves if we believe God to truly be good, like He tells us in the Bible. If we don’t believe God is good and loving, then we won’t trust Him to write our stories.
Q: In a chaotic world where so much feels out of control, how have you practically learned how to leave your worries in God’s hands?
In my book, Surrender Your Story, I talk about the Hebrew word for trust and how that helps us stay connected to God. That is one of the best, practical ways to trust God and leave our worries in his hands. The more connected we are to Him in prayer and through time in the Word, the more we can have confidence when everything feels out of control.
We can have hope and assurance that even when life is letting us down, we have a God who holds us up and He’s not shaken. His purposes still prevail. We can also put 1 Peter 5:7 into practice by casting or throwing our cares off ourselves and onto God.
Practically, this looks like praying and asking God to remove our worries and to remind us that He is God, and we are not. Sometimes we try to take on the role of god by bearing all of our burdens, when Jesus said that he came to make our burdens lighter (Matthew 11:28-30).
Q: Here at Wallflower, we always ask our women of note what their favorite book is—what’s yours?
This is such a fun question! How could I ever choose? I have a running list of my top ten, but for the sake of our time, I’ll share one of my favorites. I love Taking God at His Word by Kevin DeYoung. If you want a short but powerful read on the power of God’s Word that doesn’t feel like a textbook, then this is for you.
Q: Tell us what might come next for you—what you’d like to build on and see happen in your story.
Thank you so much for having me on, Wallflower family. I am so grateful for the time spent with you. As far as what’s next — I’d love to see God glorified through my work — through more written words via books and Instagram (@misstarasun), spoken words (my podcast, Truth Talks with Tara), and not missing the incredible moments with my growing family. In this season, I’m truly learning what it means to surrender the results of my life, my work, and my ministry to God, trusting that He will have his way and his will.
