5 Ways to Surrender Control and Let God Handle Your Life

Soda is addicting. Science has proven this. The sugar, the caffeine buzz, the carbonation – it tastes and feels so good. Who wouldn’t love it? The problem with addictions, however, is that if left unchecked, they can eventually kill you.

While I’ve never been addicted to soda, I used to be addicted to control. The satisfaction of having a say over how something turned out was sweeter to me than a Coca Cola sugar buzz. Or at least, that was until God stepped in.

By His grace, God showed me that if I wanted to find true satisfaction I had to let go of my cup – let the sticky soda fall on the floor – so that I could be refilled with something better. His Holy Living Water (John 4:14).

I’m convinced that learning to let go and let God have His way in our lives is the best thing we can do for ourselves.

If we believe, as it says in Colossians 1:17, that God “is before all things, and in Him all things hold together,” then we can trust and know thatHe’s got everything under control. We don’t have to hold our cups tightly and fill them with a toxic sludge that’s fueled by our own fears or desires. Instead, we can hand our cup over to the one who formed us and can fill us with His tender love, grace and mercy.

Let go and let God. He knows what’s best (Jeremiah 29:11). Here’s five ways to surrender control today and practice letting go and letting God:

1. Stop Striving & Start Abiding

I saw a Christian Instagram account the other day and the description read, “striving to be a Godly woman.” No disrespect or judgment here, but didn’t Jesus come so that we could stop striving? Psalm 46:8 says, “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth” (NASB). The first step in learning to let go of control is to stop striving. We don’t have to strive to make our life turn out a certain way; we just have to abide in Him (John 15).

2. Confess and Surrender Your Need for Control

If you’re like me and you crave control, the remedy for change is prayer. Go to God and be honest — tell Him how you feel. Say, “God I confess I like being in control. It makes me feel safe and secure. It makes me feel like I have a purpose. But I know that being a control freak isn’t going to get me anywhere. Help me surrender control to you each and every day. Help me trust in you deeply, so that I will not fear surrendering that control. Help me remember that you hold it all.”

If you’re having trouble surrendering through prayer alone, try taking out a piece of paper and write down the things you are holding so tightly to. One by one, lay the pieces of paper on the floor and as you’re doing so, imagine yourself literally laying them down at the feet of the Father.

3. Be Still and Know

In Exodus 14, we see the best Egyptian fighters try to capture the Israelites (this is the scene before the parting of the Red Sea). Instead of trying to control every little detail of their escape plan, in verses 13-14 Moses tells the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm … the LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still” (NIV). And you know what God did? He rescued them! He was in control the whole time, even when the enemy was on its way, ready to take the Israelites down. He can do the same for us when we trust and rest in Him.

4. Trust, Trust, Trust

Trusting in God is a lifelong process. Like many aspects o the Christian faith, it’s a choice that we make every day. We have to learn to let go of trying to figure out the “whys” of life and trust that God understands more than we ever could. Here’s what has helped me trust God when my flesh would rather trust myself: making a list of all the things God has carried me through, listening to Lauren Daigle’s song “Trust In You” on repeat, reading the Word.

5. Seek God

God holds the world in His hands — but we’ll never fully grasp the power and extent of those hands if we’re not tuned in to and focused on Him. When we surrender control, wait and trust in God’s plan, we can know that he will be faithful to lead us where He wants us to go. Jeremiah 29:13 says “You will find Me when you search for Me with all your heart” (NASB). Seek God and he will direct your steps.