Control Part 6
October 4, 2025
Control Part 6
There is a familiar saying in many spiritual circles: “Let go and let God.” It reminds us to stop holding on to our concerns and allow God to hold them. Yet we often clutch our problems tightly, thinking that we will finally discover a solution by turning them over and over in our minds. But holding on to the problem only harms us.
When we carry a concern in our body for a long time, it generates negative energy that spreads throughout our whole being. This energy often gravitates to one particular place. Bodywork professionals and intuitive medical healers mentally scan a person’s body and, without speaking with the the person, they detect the location in body where negative energy settled.
A story illustrates how dangerous it is to cling to our pain. One evening a bear snuck into a camp and took a sizzling iron pot of stew from a campfire. The next morning, campers found the bear dead in the forest, still hugging the pot to his chest. The red-hot iron had burned him all the way through. Because he would not let go, it killed him.
Though the story of the bear is only a metaphor, research shows that sustained negative thinking causes measurable changes in the brain’s hippocampus, which governs memory and learning, the amygdala, which triggers alarm responses, and the prefrontal cortex, which oversees rational thought. Persistent negative thoughts can upset the balance of neurotransmitters and reinforce destructive pathways in the brain. Holding onto our fears and negative thoughts is a killer. So, letting them go is essential.
Jesus said: "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed as fine as one of these.” Matthew 6 28-29. Embodying this knowledge does away with the need to let fear dictate our lives.
When we let go and let God, we surrender the ego’s control. We surrender with the head, the heart, and the body. Yet the ego rarely releases its grip without a fight; it tries to seize control again, even after surrendering. To prevent this, we must take an intentional step. We choose to love ourselves enough by refusing to suffer needlessly. We say, “My controlling is killing me; I do not deserve to live this way.” Self-compassion becomes the key to letting go. Self-compassion fosters trust in a higher power. Compassion and Trust arise from the soul because it is tethered to the divine.
Spiritual practice: Can you describe when you truly let go and allowed God to care for the issue?
Self-inquiry: What is the root fear that drives your need to stay in control, even when holding on only worsens things?
Prayer: Dear God,
Grant me the self-compassion to release my control. Amen.
