Ethan had always been in control. Or at least, he thought he was. He had his life mapped out—graduate with honors, land a six-figure job, buy a house, and settle into a comfortable routine. He worked harder than anyone he knew, making sure everything in his life went exactly according to plan. But life had other ideas.
One by one, things started slipping from his grasp. The dream job he thought was his fell through at the last minute. His relationship with his fiancée crumbled under the weight of his perfectionism. His father’s sudden illness drained his savings, leaving him feeling helpless. Ethan was drowning in frustration. “God, why?” he whispered one night, staring at the ceiling. “I’ve done everything right. Why is everything falling apart?”
A soft thought entered his mind: What if you’re holding on too tightly? The question unsettled him. He had always believed that control was the key to success. But for the first time, he wondered—was he actually the one getting in the way?
The next morning, he visited a park he hadn’t been to since childhood. He sat on a bench, watching a little girl struggling to fly a kite. She yanked the string impatiently, trying to force the kite into the air. But it just crashed to the ground. An older man—her father, perhaps—knelt beside her. “Let go a little,” he said gently. “You’re holding on too tight. ”Hesitant, she loosened her grip. The wind caught the kite, and suddenly, it soared.
Ethan’s throat tightened. He had been like that little girl, trying to force his life to go his way, yanking at the string, only to watch things fall apart. Sitting there, he took a deep breath. And then, for the first time in a long time, he prayed—not for control, not for things to go his way, but for the strength to let go.
From that moment, things didn’t magically become perfect. But something in him changed. He stopped striving so much. He started listening more—to God, to others, even to himself. And in that surrender, he found something he never expected, peace. Because sometimes, it’s only when we loosen our grip that we finally learn to fly.
The Blessing of Dying to Self
When we die to self, we don’t lose—we gain. We experience deeper peace, unshakable joy, and a closer relationship with God. Instead of striving, we rest in His grace. Instead of fear, we walk in faith. Dying to self is not the end; it’s the beginning of real life.
Are you ready to let go and trust Him fully?
