Surrendering Control – Letting Go and Letting God
When I was in high school, I remember thinking to myself: I’m in control of my life and my destiny. With a good education and hard work, I can do anything. I control whom I will marry, where I live, what I do. My life is in my control.
These thoughts were normal for me, but they would always fall short in one area–death. I could not control the inevitableness of death, or what happens to me after I die. This revelation would trigger total panic in me. What control I thought I had was really no control at all.
People like to think they’re in control–control of their lives, their future, their peace. But control is an illusion. Yes, we can affect certain aspects of our lives. Our decisions affect what happens to us. That’s the law of consequences. But our life is not our own, as much as we’d like to think it is.
“Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20a).
The more we attempt to control our life, the more fear and anxiety controls us. This illusion of control makes us feel safe and secure. But, when something happens that is out of our control–a job loss, a doctor’s bad report, a spouse leaves–suddenly, our world becomes very unstable. Our little controllable world becomes more and more fragile.
However, the moment we relinquish all control to God, the fear of being out of control no longer has a place to work its destructive plans. Our minds are released from the need to fix everything, to maintain everything, to control everything.
“A job loss.” Well, God owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalms 50:10). Surely, he can take care of you. He is the Lord who provides (Genesis 22:14).
“A doctor’s bad report.” Well, God purchased you at a high price (1 Corinthians 7:23). If God owns you, then surely he can take care of you. And, Jesus holds the keys to death and the grave (Revelation 1:18). Not man.
“A spouse leaves.” Even if someone abandons you, God will never abandon you. He will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). He is faithful (1 Corinthians 1:9).
I’m going to make a bold statement here, but I believe with all of my heart: There is absolutely nothing that has happened, is happening or will happen to you that you and God can’t handle together. In Jesus, all things are possible (Luke 18:27).
God wants to be first in your life. Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these other things will fall in place (Matthew 6:33). Give him control of your life. Not just a little control. Not just control in your weak areas. Give him all control. Let him carry the burden for you. I can say with all of my heart, it’s well worth it.
Prayer: Father, I give you control of my life. I trust you.
I really believe this issue is HUGE for me regarding my anxiety the past few months–but really, for my entire life! I’m not a control FREAK, per say…but I do like for things to go my way and get antsy when I’m not the one deciding things! The death part is big for me, too…so thank you for this, as I will now be talking to God about surrendering this control and believing–truly believing–that He and I can do anything together!
This is a struggle of mine and always has been. I am at a point that I know I cannot control a certain situation, but the humanly side of me wants to. I googled “scriptures fro letting go of things you can’t control” and ended up here. Thank you and I know it will be a long road to completely turning it over to God, but through your site I believe that I can and one day it will be second nature. I am hoping that day will be soon and that the devil won’t be able to control me with fear, worry and anxiety anymore. How I have been feeling lately is not a good way to be feeling and I pray daily that God will give me the strength and wisdom to give it to him and a feeling of peace will wash over me.
Thanks again!
Many times, I have felt that my panic disorder is a punishment from god for things I have done in the pass. There have been many days and nights that I have prayed for god to rid me from this disorder. Why cant I get rid of this panic and enjoy my life?
Hello Vanessa, I want to encourage you that panic is not punishment from God. That’s a lie from the devil. All of our punishment, according to the Bible, has been taken care of through Jesus on the cross. There is no longer any punishment for those who are “in Christ”. You are free from that. Now, it may feel like punishiment, but that’s not the truth. The truth is that you are free.
You can beat this! I know you can. I’ve been free now almost 10 years, and I no longer experience panic attacks, nor even fear them. They are a thing of the past, and life is good! You can experience the same thing. Freedom is possible. It’s God’s desire for you. He wants you to live in peace, and hope and joy. You’ve got to address the condition in all three areas of your life: body, soul and spirit. I posted some information on my website about how to bring healing to these three areas. It’s a great start. And, keep me posted on how it’s going.
Hi, I googled devotions for depression and anxiety and I came accross this. I had the same thought as Vanessa, infact I was so grateful someone asked that question. I had a difficult Christmas and truly thought God was punishing me from past sins.
My boyfriend has severe ptsd, nightmares, and depression and anxiety. He recently returned from Afghanistan and 3 days ago we have had to post-pone our wedding because of it:( Please pray for us.
Thank you,
Melanie
Melanie, thanks for posting. This lie from the enemy is so strong and so prevalent, but it’s just not true. God is not punishing us. The Bible says that all of our punishment was put on Christ, and that it pleased God to afflict him so that we can be free from all of the punishment we deserve. For me, it took time to realize that God was on my side, fighting for me, helping me, strengthening me to win this battle. And when I realized that, there was great strength and peace knowing that God is for me, not against me. I want you to know the same–God is fighting for you, to help you, strengthen you and give you victory!