Have you ever noticed yourself trying to control things you don’t even truly want to control? I know I have. I catch myself steering conversations, pushing my point of view, over-explaining, or forcing clarity where none is needed. It’s almost like an automatic reflex—trying to manage everything and everyone around me.
To borrow a modern phrase, “You’re doing too much.”
And when I’m honest with myself, that’s exactly what it is.
Doing too much… pushing too hard… inserting myself where God hasn’t asked me to step.
At its root, control is often fear dressed up as certainty.
It’s insecurity pretending to be leadership.
It’s the ego trying to protect itself.
And if I peel back the layers even more, I find something uncomfortable:
Trying to control every detail—big or small—is a subtle way of trying to play God. We don’t call it that, and we don’t think of it that way, but the impulse is the same:
“Let me fix it.”
“Let me shape it.”
“Let me make it go my way.”
But control is the opposite of faith.
Every day in prayer, I ask God to help me accept what is… to let go of what isn’t mine… and to trust His timing, His order, and His wisdom. I ask Him to remove the temptation to rewrite what He has already authored. I ask Him to free me from insecurity and remind me that confidence doesn’t come from controlling outcomes—it comes from knowing I don’t have to.
Real peace is learning to release what never belonged to me in the first place.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”
— Proverbs 3:5–6
Surrender doesn’t mean weakness.
It means wisdom.
It means trusting that God sees the full picture while I only see a pixel.
And it means believing that His plan doesn’t need my interference—only my obedience.
Heavenly Father,
Help me loosen my grip on the things that were never mine to control.
Teach me to trust Your hands more than I trust my own plans.
Calm my insecurities, quiet my impulsive reactions, and remind me that peace comes through surrender, not force.
Give me confidence in Your guidance, patience in Your timing, and faith in Your purpose for my life.
Today, I release the need to control, and I choose to rest in You.
Amen.
