As much as we might want to take control of our lives, becoming spiritually mature and soul-centered is in large part about recognizing and accepting our relative powerlessness… and learning to be ok with that. Becoming soul-centered is about trusting in something, or Someone, beyond ourselves - and trust always involves releasing control. I think that’s ultimately what Jesus meant when he made this sometimes perplexing statement in Matthew 16:25 - “Those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”
Though it may seem counterintuitive, generally speaking there is more power in trust than there is in control. That’s one of the reasons that in scripture,God regularly announces God’s presence on the scene with the introduction, ‘Fear not!’ At the root of fear is a loss of control. But to experience the newness of life which God offers, we cannot give in to that fear. We must lean into trust.
It’s no coincidence that the first step in the Twelve Step recovery process is admitting powerlessness: ‘We admitted we were powerless over alcohol, that our lives had become unmanageable.’ Nor is it a coincidence that the second step is about trusting in a Higher Power: ‘We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.’ Releasing control - or more accurately, admitting we never had control - allows us to more fully entrust ourselves to the One who is Trustworthy.
In the me I want to be, John Ortberg observes: “The Twelve Steps followed by many recovery groups lay out a way of life that is the single greatest path to freedom for addicts the world has ever known. But at the core of the steps lies a great paradox: In which of the twelve steps does it say, “Now try really hard not to drink”? In which of the twelve steps does it even say, “Now decide not to drink”? Amazingly enough, the most powerful tool against the most powerful addiction in the world never asks people to decide to stop doing what is destroying their lives. Instead of mobilizing the will, its followers surrender their will. Try to overcome the problem by your will, and it will beat you. Surrender your will, and sobriety becomes possible. Surrender, which we think means defeat, turns out to be the only way to victory.”
Let go… and let God.